Recipes and Cooking Seasonal These Summer Desserts Showcase Your Favorite Seasonal Flavors By Katlyn Moncada Katlyn Moncada Instagram Katlyn Moncada is the associate food editor at BHG.com, sharing food news and tutorials on becoming better home cooks. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, photography, and video production. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 4, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Blaine Moats Put a new spin on your favorite summer desserts by incorporating fresh seasonal produce, utilizing campfire and cookout flavors (hello, s'mores!) in creative ways, or serving chilled and frozen sweets instead of the bubbly bakes of fall and winter. Each of these summer dessert recipes highlights the best of the season. 01 of 17 Strawberry, Mango & Rose Pavlova View Recipe Andy Lyons It only takes a handful of ingredients to make this stunning summer dessert. The hint of rose along with the fresh mango and strawberries really makes the flavors shine. Make sure you allow your egg whites to come to room temperature for the meringue—it helps create more volume. 02 of 17 Blueberry Ice Cream Pie View Recipe Blaine Moats Chef Scott Peacock's sensational summer dessert comes together with ripe blueberries, vanilla ice cream, and a few kitchen staples. The ground almonds in the homemade nut crust adds a brilliant crunch to every bite. Buy It: 9-Inch Pie Plate with Lid ($15, OXO) 03 of 17 Key Lime Cheesecake Bars View Recipe Andy Lyons When it's too hot to bake a cheesecake, look no further than these dreamy no-bake bars. The zesty filling is made from a blended mixture of cottage cheese, cream cheese, and gelatin. Whipped topping keeps the cheesecake bar's texture nice and fluffy. Buy It: Hamilton Beach Stack and Snap 12-Cup Food Processor ($59, Target) 04 of 17 Pick-a-Flavor No-Churn Ice Cream View Recipe Carson Downing Creamy ice cream is the perfect summer dessert. It's even better when there's no ice cream maker required. Whip up this simple three-ingredient no-churn ice cream and add in any toppings you like. We have 14 flavor variations to try if you need any flavor inspiration. 05 of 17 Strawberry Granita View Recipe Blaine Moats With origins in Sicily, granita is a semi-frozen Italian dessert usually made of fruit, sugar, and water. When the weather warms up, grab a few pounds of fresh strawberries for this refreshing summer dessert. You can also make this frosty treat with a combo of mixed berries. A simple lemon cream makes a tasty topper. These Light Summer Desserts Are Seasonal Sweets You Can Feel Good About 06 of 17 Coconut Fruit S'mores View Recipe Andy Lyons S'mores are the ultimate summer dessert. But when there's no campfire around, you can still enjoy the flavor combo. Customize these indoor s'mores by swapping the blackberries for your favorite summer fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, or plum slices. 17 Delicious Ways to Dress Up a Classic S'mores This Summer 07 of 17 Stove Top Peach-Raspberry Cobbler View Recipe Kritsada Panichgul Take advantage of summer-ripe peaches and make this speedy cobbler on a warm day. Instead of making pie dough for the crust, we use frozen puff pastry, which gives a crispy bite to the sweet-tart stove top cobbler. 08 of 17 Grilled Donuts View Recipe Andy Lyons Planning a backyard cookout? Keep the fire going and throw some donuts on the grill for an easy summer dessert. It's the perfect 10-minute grilled treat to serve on a hot day. Serve with one (or both!) of the homemade dipping sauces to make a fancier display. 09 of 17 Blueberry Lemonade Poke Cake View Recipe Jacob Fox OK, this summer dessert does require the oven, but we promise it's worthy of the 25-minute bake time. Just one bite of the lemonade-infused cake steeped with a homemade blueberry sauce will give you plenty of sunny vibes. 10 of 17 Berry-Cornmeal Shortcakes View Recipe Blaine Moats We love a good strawberry shortcake in the summertime. Here we infuse in-season berries with crystallized ginger and orange marmalade. For a twist on the classic shortcake, we threw some cornmeal in the batter. It adds that little something extra to every bite and will have everyone asking for the recipe. 11 of 17 Frozen Neapolitans View Recipe Jason Donnelly For a new take on the classic three-flavor ice cream, we made a delicious frozen summer dessert. Chocolate rice cereal serves as the base for the strawberry-chocolate-vanilla combo you know and love. Feel free to change up those ice cream flavors for new treats every time! 22 Healthy Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Recipes 12 of 17 Upside-Down Almond-Plum Cake View Recipe Jason Donnelly Plums are a seriously underrated fruit when it comes to making summer desserts. Those cute little stone fruits (though you can swap-in peaches or apricots here, too) make a delicious topping when combined with a brown sugar-honey sauce. 13 of 17 Cherry Bake with Pound Cake Topper View Recipe Allow tart cherries to take the spotlight in this summer dessert idea. In addition to the fresh red cherries, the tart factor is amped with some added dried cranberries as well. To keep prep time to a minimum, purchased pound cake is used as the crumbly topping. 14 of 17 Raspberry Custard Brûlée View Recipe Mark Thomas Try this variation on classic crème brûlée by layering fresh raspberries and blueberries with creamy custard. Plan ahead: These custards need to chill in the fridge up to 24 hours before enjoying. Top with caramelized sugar. I Tried the 3-Ingredient Crème Brûlée, and Yes, It's as Easy (and Delicious) as It Sounds 15 of 17 Margarita Cupcakes View Recipe Matthew Clark This summer you can sip your margaritas and eat them, too. The tangy cupcakes really do contain tequila and triple sec in both the batter and the frosting. It'll be the perfect summer dessert pairing for days spent by the pool. Buy It: Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Muffin Pan ($40, Williams Sonoma) 16 of 17 PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches View Recipe Alison Miksch Two classic favorites (ice cream and PB&J) combine to make the ultimate mash-up dessert. Transform refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough into your "bread" for sandwiching vanilla ice cream and your choice of jam. Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes That Aren't Just Sandwiches 17 of 17 Tarragon Ice View Recipe Greg Scheidemann When it's sweltering hot, this frozen summer dessert is going to cool you down fast. Snipped tarragon from your garden punches up the flavor of lemon ice—and adds a pretty, party-worthy twist that hits the spot at summer get-togethers. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit