Sweet Crust Pizza

Although you might think Italians will cringe at the thought of a sweet pizza, there are, in fact, plenty of recipes that transform the classic savory pizza into decadent desserts. Perhaps less traditional and renowned than the classic Margherita, pizze or pizzette dolci are a common fare for plenty of sweets enthusiasts in the Italian peninsula. After all, what is pizza crust if not a great vehicle for carrying other fantastic ingredients on top? Our recipe for sweet pizza crust comes via Father Dominic Garramone, a monk from the Order of Saint Benedict who gained fame on a PBS cooking show and has authored many cooking books. His sweet dough is easy, straightforward, and is the perfect base for dessert pizzas of any kind. You'll need to plan ahead, as the dough needs at least 2 hours of proofing time, but only 20 minutes of hands-on work.

These measurements make two medium-thick 12 (8 slices) to 14-inch (10 slices) pizzas so you'll have plenty of desserts to go around. If serving the pizza after a complete meal, you might need just one slice per person but can't go wrong with having more. Depending on the toppings, one slice will be sufficient to satisfy that sweetest of teeth. Some of the hundreds of combinations you can make with this versatile dough include chocolate spread and fresh fruit topped with powdered sugar; salty cheese and caramel sauce with slivered almonds; or fruit compote and vanilla ice cream. Try using dulce de leche topped with sliced bananas and chopped walnuts, sweet mascarpone with tart cherry jam on top, or any preserve or spread of your liking, topping each slice with a generous scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

You can easily knead the dough by hand, but if you have a standing mixer go ahead and use it with the hook attachment. Once the dough has risen, shape your crusts and bake in 400 F oven for 7 minutes, add the toppings if they need to be heated up, and give the pizza an extra 7 minutes until done. With most sweet pizzas, you can get away with just baking the dough on its own and topping it with the ingredients after it has come out of the oven, but it depends on the fruit or spreads you are using as apples and pears benefit from the full 14 minutes in the oven.