6 Grape Recipes for Fall Desserts: More than Just a Snack!

Did you know that grapes have a season? Well that season is fall, and that time is right now! That means there is no better time than today to buy all sorts of delicious grape varieties—Concord, Muscat, Red Flame, Thompson Seedless, to name just a few—and to find them both locally and for a good price. If your idea of eating grapes stops at plucking them from the vine (which is absolutely scrumptious!) check out these six suggestions of grape recipes for fall desserts. They’ll get you taking grapes to a whole new level of sweetness this season.
- Fresh Grape Tart:Bake a tart shell (either full-sized or mini-sized pie shells are great!) and allow to cool. Fill shell with vanilla pastry cream, custard, or firmly whipped cream. Cover entire top of pie with halved grapes. Chill and serve cold.
- Grape Compote Tart:Prepare tart as above, but skip the fresh grapes. Instead, prepare a cooked grape compote as the topping: Cook a bunch of whole grapes down in a saucepan with a splash of water or orange juice and a small scoop of sugar. Thicken compote with a small spoonful of cornstarch or arrowroot and pour over tart. Chill and serve cold.
- Frozen Grapes: Place plain grapes in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes. Enjoy as they are! For an extra sweet treat, halve the grapes first then roll in powdered sugar.
- Grape Crisp: Replace half or all of the fruit in a traditional crisp recipe with halved grapes. If you’re going halvsies on fruits, grapes pair well with apples or pears.
- Grape Cake: Take your favorite recipe for blueberry cake, cupcakes, or cornbread, and replace the blueberries with halved grapes.
- Roasted Grapes: Preheat oven to as high as it will go, anywhere from 450-500F. Toss whole grapes with a splash of olive oil and a bit of grated orange zest. Arrange on a baking sheet and cook until grapes just begin to pop open, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately toss with a hefty spoonful of honey and small splash of orange juice. Serve warm or chilled (Grapes and syrup will thicken if chilled).
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Image adapted from Flickr, kthread, CC BY 2.0