Fresh figs have a short season, and once they are sitting on the worktop — dark blue, heavy and right on the edge of bursting — they deserve more than a plate of cheese on the side. A dessert pizza is the answer. The base is the same familiar yeast dough you would use for an ordinary pizza, but instead of tomato and mozzarella it gets creamy mascarpone, honey and chopped nuts on top, and the edges are folded in, so they puff up into an airy frame around the topping.
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In the air fryer it bakes at 180 °C, and the 16 minutes in the basket give you exactly the combination you are after: a base that is crisp underneath, a folded crust that is golden and light, and figs that turn warm and syrupy without cooking away completely. Count the rising time in, and the dessert is ready 96 minutes after you start — but you are only active for the first 20 of them.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
Why I love dessert pizza with fresh figs in the air fryer
A dessert pizza is a small pizza. It is not meant to fill up four people, it is meant to round off a meal, and that is exactly why the air fryer is a better tool than an oven at full blast. The basket is hot in a couple of minutes, the airflow hits the base hard from below, and you avoid firing up a whole oven for a piece of dough the size of a plate.
Then there is the balance in the topping. The mascarpone is rich and almost neutral, and works as a creamy cushion under the fig flesh, the honey brings sweetness and a hint of floral bitterness, and the chopped nuts are the crunchy contrast that keeps the mouthful from going soft all the way through.
The difference between an air fryer and an oven
An ordinary pizza you want to bake as hot as possible. A dessert pizza is the exact opposite: the sugar in the honey and the fig flesh caramelises long before the dough is done, so at full pizza temperature the top turns black while the middle is still raw. The 180 °C keeps the two things in step. On the other hand the air fryer works faster than an oven at the same temperature — typically 20-30 percent shorter baking time — because the air moves instead of standing still around the dough.
My kitchen test: dessert pizza with fresh figs
I have baked this one in my Philips XXL, and 180 °C for 16 minutes is the point where the base releases from the basket with a dry click and the crust has taken colour all the way round. The dough got 60 minutes to rise under a tea towel on the worktop, and with 20 minutes of prep the whole thing lands at 96 minutes from flour to dessert.
On my first attempt I ran it hotter, because I was thinking pizza rather than dessert. That was a mistake: the honey turned dark and bitter at the edge, and the figs collapsed into mush long before the dough was baked through. The second time I stuck to the 180 °C and left the pieces of fig large, and the difference was easy to see — they held their shape, turned warm through and gave up their juice without disappearing into the mascarpone.
Fold the edge in thoroughly and press it firmly in place. The folded crust keeps the mascarpone and the fig juice up on the pizza instead of in the bottom of the basket.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The mistake that ruins the most dessert pizzas is the temperature. If you turn the heat up believing that pizza has to be baked hot, the honey and the fig sugar burn off, and you end up with a bitter crust and a doughy middle — stick to 180 °C all the way. The next one is a base that is too thick: the dough has to be rolled thin, otherwise the heat never reaches the middle, and the topping makes it damp from the inside. Fold only the edge itself in, so the rest of the base gets the heat directly. The third is skipping the rising time — those 60 minutes are what give you the airy, bubbly crust, and without them you get a compact biscuit that tastes of flour.
How to serve dessert pizza with fresh figs
It should be eaten warm, while the mascarpone is still soft. Cut it into triangles and put a few things on the table alongside:
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream that melts down into the warm topping
- Grated lemon zest and a few leaves of fresh mint for acidity and freshness
- Extra toasted walnuts or pistachios for crunch
- A strong espresso or a small glass of sweet dessert wine
- A bowl of Greek yoghurt if you want to pull the sweetness down a little
Storage and reheating
Dessert pizza is best on the day it is made, because the dough draws moisture from the mascarpone and the figs within a few hours. If you have leftovers, cover them, put them in the fridge and eat them the next day. Reheat them in the air fryer at the same 180 °C, until the base is crisp again — a couple of minutes is enough, and keep an eye on them, because the honey takes colour faster the second time round. Avoid the microwave: it makes the base rubbery.
Dessert pizza looks more ambitious than it is. You use an ordinary pizza dough, a handful of things from any supermarket, and an air fryer you probably already have in your kitchen. If you have fresh figs in the house, there is no reason to wait.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but soak them in lukewarm water or a little orange juice first, until they are soft again. Dried figs are noticeably sweeter and more concentrated than fresh ones, so cut back on the honey, otherwise the pizza turns out too sweet.
The 60 minutes of rising time are what give you the airy folded crust. If you skip it, the pizza will still bake, but the crust turns out compact and the dough tastes more of flour. If you are short on time, it is better to make the dough in advance and let it rise in the fridge.
Recipe
Dessert pizza with fresh figs in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Bagepapir (til airfryer)
- 1 Brush
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
Shopping list
Ingredients
How to make it
Dough
- Mix 250 g plain flour, 1 tsp dried yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in a mixing bowl together with the salt.
- Add 150 ml lukewarm water and 1 tbsp olive oil, and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave the dough to rise somewhere warm for 60 minutes, until it has roughly doubled in size.
Topping
- Whisk 200 g mascarpone together with 2 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla sugar, until the cream is smooth and airy. Chill it until you need it.
- Rinse 6 pcs fresh figs and cut them into wedges. Roughly chop 40 g walnuts on a cutting board.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 °C on the fan setting.
- Divide the dough in two and roll each piece out into a round base of about 18 cm, so it fits in the basket. Fold the edge in by about 1.5 cm all the way round and press it lightly in place, so the pizza gets a thick, folded crust.
- Put the base on a piece of baking paper cut to fit the basket, and brush the folded crust with 1 tbsp butter.
- Bake one base at a time at 180 °C for 8 minutes, until the crust is golden and the base is baked through. Repeat with the second base.
- Leave the bases to cool for 5 minutes, so the mascarpone cream does not melt when you spread it out.
Our notes for the recipe
Roll the base slightly thinner in the middle than out at the edge. That way the folded crust rises high and turns airy, while the middle stays crisp under the cold cream. Variation:
Swap the mascarpone for ricotta or cream cheese, and use pistachios or toasted almonds instead of walnuts. A single pinch of flaky sea salt on top of the honey brings out the sweetness of the figs. Serving:
Serve the dessert pizza warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a few leaves of fresh mint on the side. Portion size:
The dough makes two bases, each cut in two. If your air fryer is smaller, you can roll the dough out into three smaller bases and bake them one at a time.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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