Simple Fruit Salads and Cooked Fruits

After a rich meal, a piece of fresh fruit can be a light and refreshing dessert. Most diners, however, are happier with something that requires a little more effort from the kitchen. Serving fresh fruit, such as berries, with cream or a sauce such as sabayon, crème anglaise, or coulis often satisfies these desires. (See chapter 12 for a selection of dessert sauces.) A simple fruit salad can be an attractive alternative. Marinating fresh fruit in a flavored syrup adds a new dimension to the fruit and also allows the pastry chef to make an attractive mixture of colorful, carefully cut seasonal items.