Peter Gordon

Pear, Quince and Chocolate Pizzas

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Preparation info

  • Serves

    6

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

A World in My Kitchen

A World in My Kitchen

By Peter Gordon

Published 2003

  • About

A Japanese food magazine that I have occasionally written for once asked me if I had ever made a dessert pizza, which may seem an unusual idea at first but really a pizza is just a carbohydrate base with a topping (think of it like a flat tart). Many years ago I did make a dessert pizza and this is it — a real taste treat. The base is a variation of brioche, a sweet yeast bread enriched with butter and eggs.

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon active dried yeast
  • 3 tablespoons tepid milk
  • 80 g (2 ½ oz) brown sugar
  • 1 egg plus two yolks
  • 300 g (10 ½ oz) flour
  • pinch salt
  • 150 g (5 oz) butter, softened but not melted
  • 150 g (5 oz) bitter chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 3 pears, cores removed and cut into 8 wedges each
  • 100 g (3 ½ oz) quince paste, cut into ½ cm (¼ in) cubes

    Method

    Dissolve yeast in the milk with 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar and leave in a warm place. When it begins to froth, whisk in the egg and yolks.

    Sift flour with salt and remaining brown sugar and put three-quarters of it into a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and bring together either by hand or with a dough hook.

    Add butter in four equal batches, mixing well between each addition. Knead in remaining flour mixture. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until doubled in size — about 1 hour.

    Knock dough back with your fist and knead briefly then divide into six balls. Press each ball between your hands to make a disc about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. Place on a lightly buttered baking tray.

    Divide chocolate between bases, then pear wedges and lastly quince paste. Leave in a warm spot for 10 minutes then place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 5 for about 20 minutes. The pizzas are cooked when the bases are golden and crusty and the tops golden.