Traditional and Specialty Fruit Desserts

This chapter also includes a selection of recipes ranging from the old-fashioned and rustic to the stylishly modern. Traditional North American favorites include cobblers, which are like fruit pies made in large baking pans, but without bottom crusts; crisps, which are like cobblers but with brown sugar streusel topping instead of a pastry crust; and betties, which have alternating layers of rich cake crumbs and fruit. These homey desserts are, for the most part, easy to prepare.

At the other end of the range of difficulty is the Caramelized Pear Charlotte, perhaps the most complex recipe in this chapter. Before preparing this dessert, you may need to review the information on Bavarians, mousses, and charlottes in chapter 20.