This dessert was inspired by “Tomato Tim” Stark of Eckerton Hill Farm at the Union Square farmers’ market in New York City. We were talking one morning and he gave me some tomatoes that were so sweet they tasted like berries. So I roasted them and paired them with super-ripe blackberries for an after-dinner fruit salad. Use a mix of tiny tomatoes for the best-looking and -tasting dessert.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 to 6 on it¿s own or 12 as part of fourplay

　　

For the Streusel

3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, softened

　　3 tablespoons (37g) sugar

　　Scant 1/2 cup (55g) all-purpose flour

　　2 tablespoons (15g) almond flour

　　2 tablespoons (17g) sliced almonds, chopped

　　1/2 teaspoon (2g) coarse salt

　　

For the Tomatoes

1 pint (453g) ripe red grape or currant tomatoes

　　2 tablespoons (40g) honey, preferably lavender

　　2 teaspoons (17g) extra-virgin olive oil

　　Coarse salt

　　

To Serve

Tomato Sorbet (page 237)

　　Lemon-Basil Sorbet (page 233)

　　6 ounces (170g) blackberries

　　

For the Streusel

Step 1

Heat the oven to 350°F or 325°F on convection. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment.

　　

Step 2

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, chopped almonds, and salt and mix at low speed until crumbly.

　　

Step 3

Gather the streusel by the handful and compact it in your hands. Break it into small clumps onto the baking sheet.

　　

Step 4

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring the streusel about halfway through baking. Let cool on a rack.

　　

For the Tomatoes

Step 5

Heat the oven to 200°F or 175°F on convection.

　　

Step 6

Put the tomatoes in a small baking dish. Toss with the honey, the olive oil, and salt to taste.

　　

Step 7

Roast until the tomatoes start to collapse but still look intact, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (currant tomatoes will roast more quickly). Let cool on a rack.

　　

To Serve

Step 8

Combine equal amounts of the sorbets in a bowl, stirring just enough to make swirls.

　　

Step 9

Cut some of the tomatoes and blackberries in half. Toss the blackberries with the tomatoes. Spoon into small bowls. Top each with a scoop of the mixed sorbets and sprinkle streusel over everything.

　　

make it simpler

Step 10

You could substitute your favorite salty-buttery cookie for the almond streusel, and crumble it on top.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__