Hot summer days call for light and fruity desserts! This Tropical Fruit Pizza is the perfect snack that the whole family will love.
Happy 4th of July! Hopefully, you’re reading this while you’re poolside or relaxing at the beach. If not, stop what you’re doing and go enjoy your day off!
I had a great weekend spent with family and I feel nice and relaxed. Save for the fact that there were fireworks going on at 1 am last night. Hooligans.
Does that make me an old fogey now? Anyway, we had a 4th of July themed gender reveal party for my brother & sister-in-law (It’s a girl!), and I made a couple of fruit pizzas for dessert.
I made the obligatory flag version with berries, and then I decided to try something a little more unique with this Tropical Fruit Pizza!
It has everything that a great fruit pizza should. A buttery sugar cookie crust that’s soft, but strong enough to stand up to the toppings, perfectly sweet cream cheese frosting, and all the fruit your heart desires.
I chose to add coconut extract to my frosting to give it a more tropical vibe, as well as toasted coconut on top for extra crunch.
For fruit, I decided to go with mango, pineapple, and kiwi, but you even could add papaya, passionfruit, or lychee. I wanted to keep tame since we have a fairly picky family, but the sky’s the limit with your fruit choices!
If you still need a last minute dish to take to a cookout this evening, this or a recipe from my Ultimate 4th of July Menu would be perfect!
Tropical Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the Toppings
- 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract
- toasted sweetened coconut
- various tropical fruits, sliced or chopped. (I used mango, pineapple, and kiwi)
Instructions
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Once smooth, add the sugar and beat on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch together. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once completely combined, cover the dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Chilling is mandatory.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan. Remove chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and press onto the pizza pan in an even flat circle. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. Be careful not to overbake. Allow the crust to cool completely before decorating.
- Proceed to chop or slice the fruit as you like.
- Make the frosting
- Clean out your stand mixer bowl and paddle attachment for the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beat for and 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and coconut extract, and continue to beat for 1 minute. Spread in a thick layer over the cooled sugar cookie crust.
- Decorate with fruit and toasted coconut.
- Cut into slices and serve. You can refrigerate leftovers but I would recommend 2 days max.
