Summer Desserts: 22 Dessert Recipes to Make at Home

Summer desserts can be light, fruity, crispy, creamy, chilled, or frozen. Here are some of the best summer desserts you can make at home.

1. 1. Cheesecake: Cheesecake is a classic dessert for any time of year. Drizzle a homemade cheesecake with fruit syrup and top with fresh, in-season fruit like raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. If you’d rather avoid heating up your kitchen with the oven, try a no-bake cheesecake instead. No-bake cheesecakes feature whipped heavy cream folded into a cream cheese filling, smoothed over a cookie or graham cracker crust. Home cooks set the cake in the refrigerator for an extended period to produce an effect similar to a mousse.
2. 2. Galette: This rustic French dessert features free-form pastry dough topped with a sweet or savory filling. A traditional galette filling consists of fruit, butter, and sugar. You can make a perfect summer dessert with stone fruit or berries folded into buttery galette dough. Additional summer twists on this classic dessert include peach galettes, cherry galettes, or strawberry-rhubarb galettes.
3. 3. Gelato: Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert made out of a mixture of milk, cream, and sugar, giving it a rich, creamy texture that’s lighter than traditional ice cream in the US. Italian gelato often features flavors like vanilla, pistachio, and hazelnut, though you can create more summery flavors with ingredients like mango, watermelon, or fresh strawberries. Top gelato with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and crushed pistachios for a gelato sundae.
4. 4. Ice cream pie: Ice cream pie is a variation on an open-faced pie featuring a soft bottom layer of pie crust (often made from crushed graham crackers or cookies), a layer or two of ice cream filling, and a whipped cream topping. Like ice cream cake, ice cream pie is a popular summer dessert that is customizable to your favorite flavors. An ice cream pie crust can feature many flavors or textures, from fudgy brownies to cinnamon crumbly graham crackers.
5. 5. Ice cream sandwich: An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of a layer of ice cream between two cookies, biscuits, or wafers. Brownies, blondies, oatmeal-raisin cookies, sugar cookies, or chocolate chip cookies are all equally popular in Western-style ice cream sandwiches. Elsewhere, bakers may use crispy wafer cookies or bread buns.
6. 6. Icebox cake: Icebox cake is a no-bake dessert that home cooks make by refrigerating a whipped cream filling over a cookie crust until it sets to create a sliceable cake. Icebox cake is perfect for summer, as it saves you the discomfort of working with a hot oven.
7. 7. Kakigōri: Kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert made of flavored syrups and condensed milk. Unlike a snowcone, traditional Japanese kakigōri is light and fluffy after going through a hand-cranked machine that produces paper-thin ice shavings.
8. 8. Key-lime pie: Key lime pie consists of a creamy filling of Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. The pie mixture sets overnight in the fridge on top of a buttery graham cracker pie crust. Key limes are more tart and fragrant than the Persian limes most grocery stores sell. Top Key lime pie with a traditional meringue topping or whipped cream.
9. 9. Lemon meringue pie: Lemon meringue pie is a classic American dessert consisting of shortcrust pastry topped with lemon curd, all enclosed in a hood of meringue and baked until golden brown. To bake a lemon meringue pie, prepare all three components separately, then assemble them into a pie.
10. 10. Parfait: Parfait is a popular dessert of granola layered with plain or Greek yogurt and fruit in a tall, clear glass. Fill the bottom of a parfait glass with yogurt, then layer granola and summer fruit (like blackberry or blueberry) on top of it. Continue layering until the glass is full.
11. 11. Peach cobbler: This freeform dessert consists of a baked peach base and buttery biscuit topping. Enjoy your peach cobbler on its own, or add a whipped topping or homemade vanilla ice cream. Turn this dessert into a gluten-free peach cobbler by swapping the all-purpose flour with a wheat-free variety (such as almond flour). For other fruit cobbler variations, swap the peaches for cherries to make a cherry cobbler or use blueberries to make a blueberry cobbler.
12. 12. Pound cake: A pound cake gets its name from its simple ratio of ingredients: A pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Bakers typically use Bundt or loaf pans as vessels for baking pound cakes, which give the classic dessert its signature density. (For a moister, richer cake, add sour cream to the mix.) Add a cool whipped topping and fresh mixed berries for a sweet and tart summer dessert.
13. 13. Ricotta cake: Ricotta cake is an airy, Italian-inspired dessert that owes its rich flavor and moist, tender texture to the addition of creamy ricotta. Lemon ricotta cake features the bright, acidic flavor for a simple, not-too-sweet dessert that’s light enough to serve for summer breakfast or brunch. Top slices of this buttery lemon cake with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and fresh berries for a summery confection.
14. 14. Sherbet: Sherbet (sometimes called “sherbert”) is a frozen dessert consisting of a mixture of fruit purée (or fruit juice), sweetener, and a little bit of milk or buttermilk. Sherbet is creamier than sorbet but less creamy than ice cream or gelato. This fruity summer treat will cool you down on those muggy, humid summer evenings.
15. 15. S’mores: S’mores is a classic American dessert featuring toasted marshmallows and melted chocolate wedged between two graham cracker halves. Melt your s’mores in a broiler if you don’t have access to a campfire. Make different types of s’mores by swapping out the milk chocolate bar for dark chocolate or smearing your graham crackers with peanut butter before sandwiching your ingredients together.
16. 16. Strawberry rhubarb cobbler: This simple dessert consists of a juicy strawberry-rhubarb filling and a biscuit topping. Strawberry rhubarb cobbler has all the flavor of strawberry rhubarb pie without the fuss of making pie crust.
17. 17. Strawberry rhubarb pie: This summer fruit pie features rhubarb and sweet strawberries. The sweetness of the strawberries balances the tartness of the rhubarb, creating a blended flavor baked inside a crisp crust. On a hot summer day, strawberry rhubarb pie pairs beautifully with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
18. 18. Strawberry shortcake: Strawberry shortcake is a popular dessert that incorporates fresh strawberries and shortcake. While a strawberry shortcake is crumblier than a traditional cake, it is more tender than a classic shortbread. Top the shortcake with macerated sweet strawberries and fresh whipped cream for the perfect summer dessert.
19. 19. Summer fruit sorbet: This frozen dessert features fruit purée and sweeteners like simple syrup or corn syrup. Sorbet has a light taste and smooth, icy texture. This cool gluten-free dessert is also dairy-free and vegan (when bakers sweeten it with something other than honey), with a lower fat content than other frozen desserts. Create a summertime sorbet using fruits like mangoes, cantaloupes, or limes.
20. 20. Tarte Tatin: Tarte Tatin is a French upside-down tart that bakers traditionally make with apples. A summer-friendly variation uses peaches caramelized in sugar and butter instead of apples. Serve peach tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream or plain whipped cream.
21. 21. Tiramisu: Tiramisu is a no-bake Italian dessert. Classic tiramisu features alternating layers of ladyfinger sponge cake biscuits soaked in espresso and a creamy mascarpone cheese blend. Bakers dust the final layer of this dessert with bittersweet cocoa powder or fine chocolate shavings.
22. 22. Watermelon ice cream: This gluten-free, no-churn frozen dessert is a refreshing summer treat. To make watermelon ice cream, combine frozen watermelon chunks with your milk of choice (or some heavy cream) in a food processor or high-speed blender. (To keep this easy summer dessert dairy-free, use plant or nut-based milk, such as oat milk or coconut milk.) To make popsicles, pour the ice cream mixture into molds and place them in the freezer to set for another four hours.

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