Recipes and Cooking Desserts & Baking 15 Cute Summer Desserts to Bring the Sunshine to Your Next Party By Andrea Beck Andrea Beck Andrea Beck served as garden editor at BHG and her work has appeared on Food & Wine, Martha Stewart, MyRecipes, and more. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 4, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Kritsada Panichgul Summer wouldn't be the same without sweet treats, whether you reach for ice cream, s'mores, cookies, or pie. But you won't find any plain vanilla here—all of these treats are dressed up just for the summer to make them extra special (think ice cream tacos and flower-shaped macarons). In fact, these summer-themed desserts are so cute that you won't be able to resist making them to share with friends and family. 01 of 15 Beach Party Cupcakes View Recipe Blaine Moats A beach vacation is always a summer must. Luckily, this cute summer dessert brings the beach and the ocean to you. Decorate your favorite cupcake recipe with crushed vanilla wafer "sand" and decorating gel "waves", then really bring out the summer feel with donut hole beach balls and fruit leather towels. 02 of 15 Frosted Animal Cookie No-Bake Cheesecake View Recipe Matthew Clark This adorable cheesecake was inspired by one of the cutest childhood snacks around—frosted animal cookies! Use whole cookies to decorate the outer rim of the cheesecake, and cookie crumbs to form a sweet crust. Top everything off with a cool, no-bake cheesecake filling layered flavored with fresh strawberries, and the result is a super-cute, sweet tooth-satisfying summer treat. 03 of 15 Cheesecake-Filled Watermelon View Recipe Matthew Clark After you enjoy a fresh summer watermelon, save the rind and turn it into an adorable look-alike cheesecake. Start with a classic graham cracker crust, but instead of pressing it up the sides of your springform pan, use a circular, hollowed-out watermelon rind to make this cute summer food idea. Finish off your wedge of cheesecake "watermelon" with a few chocolate chips to imitate seeds. 04 of 15 Honeycomb Cake View Recipe Hannah Bigot Bees may not usually be welcome in the kitchen, but the adorable candy bees buzzing around this honeycomb cake can stop by anytime they want. A special trick makes the frosting on this layer cake look just like honeycomb (hint: it involves bubble wrap!). Of course, no hive is complete without honey—just drip some on the top and down the sides of this cute summer dessert before serving to make it look like the bees have been hard at work. 05 of 15 Edible Terrariums View Recipe Hannah Bigot Forget about watering these terrariums; just grab a spoon and dig in! Make this super cute dessert in a Mason jar, starting with a chocolate mug cake as the "soil." Chocolate frosting, graham cracker crumbs, and chocolate rocks and mushrooms all help set the scene, while plants made from green frosting really bring this cute summer dessert to life. 06 of 15 Ice Cream Tacos View Recipe Matthew Clark Cute, chocolatey ice cream tacos were made for a hot summer day. Unlike any street tacos you'll find, these adorable desserts have waffle bowl "shells" and your favorite ice cream for filling. Of course, no taco (or sundae) is complete without its fair share of toppings, so be sure to finish off each treat with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips, peanuts, coconut, and a cherry on top. 07 of 15 Cute Watermelon Bombe View Recipe Matthew Clark Watermelon meets sherbet in this cute summer dessert that layers lime, pineapple, and raspberry sherbet together to look just like fruit. Don't forget the seeds—this cute, cooling dessert uses chocolate chips as "seeds" you can eat! Freeze in a bowl, then flip upside-down so each serving looks just like a fruit slice. 08 of 15 Mini S'mores Blaine Moats Want s'mores without the hassle of getting a fire going? Just make these sweet mini s'mores! The marshmallows are broiled in the oven instead of roasted over a fire, so it's easy to make a big batch of these bite-size treats. Dip in melted chocolate and add a handful of sprinkles to make this cute summer food idea party-ready. 09 of 15 Donut Fruits View Recipe Hannah Bigot It'd be easy to mistake these cute decorated donuts for real pineapples, kiwis, and watermelons, but these cute summer desserts don't belong in a fruit bowl. Start with glazed donuts to speed the process along, and dress them up with melted candy coating, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and graham cracker crumbs. A platter of these donuts is a different treat than a classic fruit platter, but it's twice as cute and just as tasty! 10 of 15 Easy Flower Macarons View Recipe Matthew Clark If you can't get enough of macarons, dress them up for the warmer months by making these gorgeous flower macarons (they're so much more fun than just plain circles!). It's super easy to pipe the cookies into a basic flower shape, and even easier to add a creamy lemon filling to the center. This cute dessert recipe both looks and tastes like summer! 11 of 15 Flag Cake View Recipe Matthew Clark The 4th of July is one of the best occasions for summer-themed desserts. Of course, you can serve up this super cute flag cake whenever you're feeling particularly patriotic, but it'll be especially popular on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day. Best of all, you'll only need blueberries, raspberries, powdered sugar, and frosting to create an edible flag on top of your favorite cake. 12 of 15 Gorgeous Candied Flowers Matthew Clark Bring the garden to your table by making these pretty candied flowers. Start with a few different edible flowers, like fresh orchids, pansies, and rose petals, then coat them with a mix of water, egg product, and sugar. Once they've dried for a couple hours, fresh candied flowers make adorable seasonal cupcake toppers. 13 of 15 Carnival Cookie Fries Matthew Clark Make your regular batch of cookies more exciting for summertime by frying the dough instead of baking it. When you serve them with strawberry "ketchup" and mango "mustard" for dipping, these adorable sweet treats look almost exactly like regular fries. 14 of 15 Mason Jar Lid Pie View Recipe Matthew Clark Take advantage of all of those fresh summer berries and bake up a batch of these adorable mini pies. Since they're so tiny, they don't take long to bake, which means you can enjoy them sooner and don't have to have your oven on long when it's hot outside. Plus, you finally have a use for all the Mason jar lids rattling around in your cupboards! 15 of 15 Brownie Waffles a la Mode Kritsada Panichgul What's a new way to serve up brownies and ice cream? As waffles, of course! If it's too hot outside for baking, your waffle iron is a great way to make brownies without heating up your whole kitchen. Add a couple scoops of ice cream, and this brownie sundae is ready to help you beat the heat! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit