Fall desserts you really can make at home.

For a fast apple tart, you can use a sheet of store-bought puff pastry.

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My absolute, all-time favorite desserts are best this time of year. Apple Crostata, Pear Clafouti, Perfect Poached Fruit, French Apple Tart, Old Fashioned Apple Crisp - they’re not only simple recipes, they’re the best of remembered flavors. When I don’t have time to make dessert for guests, I know I can just serve runny brie with fresh pears or apples. I think you really stop to savor the sweetness of a perfectly ripe autumn pear when served as-is!

Perfect Poached Fruit 📸 Quentin Bacon

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Ask Ina:

“What’s the best base pastry recipe to have up your sleeve?”

I know pastry sounds daunting to a lot of people! There are two dough recipes I love because they’re so simple and versatile, you won’t believe it. The French Apple Tart dough in Back to Basics looks complicated, but you really can make it at home with just four ingredients (five, if you count ice water!). I use Granny Smith apples, but you can substitute any crisp, tart apple. Just remember: ice-cold butter is the key to really good pastry. When the heat of the oven hits the cold butter, it gives off steam, and that’s what makes light, flaky pastry.

Crostatas are basically free-form tarts where the edges of the dough are simply folded over the filling before baking. Very rustic! They can be adapted to whatever fruit is in season, such as raspberries and rhubarb in the spring, peaches in summer, and apples or pears in the fall. I love the combination of sweet pears with tart cranberries, and just a hint of orange. The dough makes enough for 2 crostatas, so you can serve one tonight and freeze the second for another time! How easy is that??

French Apple Tart, Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata, & Apple Crostata 📸 Quentin Bacon

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This Week’s Favorites:

• We’re doing the second photoshoot for my next cookbook this week! One of my favorite parts of the process is choosing the tableware for each recipe. People think that everything needs to match perfectly to create a beautiful table setting. I actually think it looks effortlessly chic if you mix things up - but thoughtfully! I like to choose different glasses and napkins with a simple, consistent color palette.

• I was happy to contribute a guest post to Caroline Chambers' wonderful Substack, What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking. My short interview will be up tomorrow (9/17), and on Saturday, I’ll be sharing one of my go-to recipes for when I don't feel like cooking! I hope you enjoy them!