YUM! Fruitschetta (Fruit Bruschetta with Vanilla Orange Drizzle)

I love pretty food. I love to look at pretty food. I love to eat pretty food. Pretty food is delicious. Pretty food is decorative. Pretty food is happiness. Everyone has heard the saying “you eat with your eyes first” – and never was there a truer statement.

When you serve pretty food, like my Fruit Bruschetta with Vanilla Orange Drizzle, you don’t need a centerpiece – it makes a stunning statement on any table. And it tastes just as good as it looks.

The base of the bruschetta is toasted pound cake and the toppings are amazing! The key is using super fresh, ripe fruit for ideal sweetness, do not use frozen or canned fruit. I chose a bevy of berries, pineapple and banana, but you can use whatever fruits are in season. The sweetness of the fruit is balanced with a creamy drizzle, made with fresh juice and yogurt.

This treat makes a lovely breakfast, a satisfying snack or a delightful dessert!

You will need a loaf of pound cake, a single serve container of Greek vanilla yogurt, fresh oranges, pure vanilla extract and an assortment of fresh fruit. My store had a sale on fresh berries so I used raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, along with a fresh pineapple and banana. Use whatever fruits strike your fancy and use the leftovers for a smoothie!

Slice the pound cake into even slices, about 1/2 inch thick.

Line each slice of pound cake on to a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven.

After about 8 minutes, remove the pound cake slices from the oven and give them a flip.

Put them back in the oven to toast the other side. Remove after about 5 minutes and set aside to cool.

Chop all the fruit into small even pieces and add to a large bowl. Since the blueberries are small, they don’t need to be chopped so use those as a size guide.

Add the juice of half an orange to the chopped fruit and mix. The juice will help prevent the banana from growing and adds a nice tart sweetness to the mix. Cover and allow to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Add the yogurt, vanilla and orange zest to a bowl.

Squeeze the juice from the other half of the orange into the yogurt and mix well.

Transfer the vanilla orange yogurt to a clean, dry squeeze bottle for easy drizzling. If you don’t have a squeeze bottle you can drizzle with a spoon. But I suggest you get one for a buck at the dollar store – they are quite handy.

Arrange the pound cake slices onto a serving platter and spoon a dollop of fruit onto each one.

Drizzle the vanilla orange yogurt onto each fruit bruschetta slice.

So pretty. So delicious.

Fruitschetta (Fruit Bruschetta with Vanilla Orange Drizzle) 

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Cake, frozen or fresh
• 1 Cup Fresh Strawberries, washed and chopped into small pieces
• 1 Banana, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Pineapple, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Blackberries, washed and halved
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Raspberries, washed and halved
• 1 Container Greek Vanilla Yogurt (5 ounces)
• 1 Large Orange – you want the zest and the juice
• 1/4 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice the pound cake into 1/2 inch slices and place each slice on a baking sheet. Do not overlap (if using a frozen pound cake it must first be thawed).
3. Bake the pound cake slices until the bottoms are browned and toasty. This takes about 8 minutes.
4. Remove the pound cakes slices from the oven and flip each one. Return to the oven to toast the other side. About 5 minutes.
5. Remove pound cake slices from oven once both sides of each slice are toasted. Set aside to cool. Turn off oven.
6. Wash and chop fruit. You will want the fruit to be in small pieces. You can use the blueberries as the size guide as you won’t need to chop those.
7. Put all the chopped fruit and blueberries in a bowl.
8. Zest the orange before you cut it in half. Get as much zest from the orange as you can.
9. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the chopped fruit and mix. Chill the fruit for at least half an hour.
10. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, orange zest, vanilla extract and juice from the other orange half. Mix well. Transfer to a clean, dry condiment squeeze bottle if you have one.
11. Arrange the toasted pound cake slices on a serving tray.
12. Carefully spoon a dollop of the fruit on to each slice of pound cake.
13. Drizzle the vanilla orange yogurt onto each slice of fruit bruschetta.
14. Serve and enjoy!