Cook the Book: 'Rustic Fruit Desserts'

nothing hits the spot like a fruit-based dessert. A simple pie or cobbler with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream is prefect, especially when the weather is warm and beautiful summer fruits and berries are in season.

Peaches, plums, apricots, and berries of all shapes and colors have been begun showing up in the markets—or will appear sooner than you think. What to do with this abundance? Rustic Fruit Desserts is a comprehensive guide to seasonal baking written by Julie Richardson, owner of Baker & Spice, and James Beard Award–winning chef Cory Schreiber of Wildwood. Both restaurants are located in Portland, Oregon.

If you've ever wondered what the difference is between a cobbler, crisp, and crumble, then Rustic Fruit Desserts is for you. Pandowdies, grunts, slumps, buckles, fools, trifles, and betties are all covered, too. Recipes for all manner of pastry crusts are given, along with various accompaniments, such as ice creams, creams, crumbs, and sauces.

Rustic Fruit Desserts guides you through four seasons of dessert. The book opens with spring desserts such as Rhubarb Cream Cheese Pie and Fresh Strawberry and Ricotta Tart, and continues into the summer with a Lemon Blueberry Buckle. Fall brings a Fig and Honey Cream Galette. The recipes become a little hardier in the winter: Apple Cobbler with Cheddar Cheese Biscuits and Olive Oil Citrus Cake, to name a couple. —Caroline Russock

Win 'Rustic Fruit Desserts'

Thanks to the good folks at Ten Speed Press, We are giving away five (5) copies of Rustic Fruit Desserts this week. All you have to do is tell us about your favorite fruit-based dessert in the comments section below.

Five (5) people will be chosen at random among the eligible comments below. We're sorry, but entry is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Comments will close Monday, June 8 at noon ET. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.

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