Fruit leather generally isn't used as an ingredient in baking or cooking; it is a self containing snack that is eaten as it is, like Gold Fish crackers or jawbreaker candies. Fruit leather is tough to chew, and therefore isn't incorporated into desserts unless chopped into small pieces. However, there are many possible ways to consider incorporating fruit leather into pastries and confections either as ingredients or as decorations on top.
Instructions
1. Incorporate fruit leather as a body ingredient, meaning it is not a decorative afterthought topping. Uses include chopping it into small bits and stirring it into batters like cake, muffin, cookie and brioche dough batters or in any recipe that calls for chocolate chunks, nuts and other dried fruits such as raisins. Stir fruit leather into biscotti dough, fudge, brownies, scones, chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins and especially in fruitcakes. Chop into fine pieces - too large of strips are difficult to eat.
2. Decorate a pastry or cake with cut or rolled fruit leather. Though fruit leather is not a common asset in any pastry or confectionery, its most common role is when used is as a decoration or topping. Sprinkle shredded bits on top or cakes or cupcakes, roll small pinwheel flowers to stick on top of petit fours or tarts or cut out shapes for decorating. As a flat substance, fruit leather can be cut into any shape you can manage. Either use cookie cutters or free hand with a knife to create stripes, polka dots or other shapes to attach to the tops or sides of cakes.
3. Create a wrap or sleeve around a pastry or confection. Use fruit leather as the wrapper for dessert sushi, in lieu of a paper cupcake liner, or around the sides of cakes to hide layer levels and to keep it all in - sort of like a cake corset. Such sleeves are difficult to cut into and eat, however, their presentation value is high.
4. Sandwich the fruit leather in any type of layered pastry. Cut small circles of fruit leather to slip between macaroni shells, in between cookie sandwiches, under pie crusts or cheesecakes.
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