23 Summer Dessert Recipes

Last week I celebrated the arrival of summer — forever synonymous with soft-serve ice cream, days at the beach, and the end of the school year — with a compilation of seasonal recipes shared on the blog throughout the years, covering everything from breakfast through to dinner. But you didn’t think I’d forget dessert, did you?! Surely not.

To round out last week’s post then, here are 23 recipes for summer desserts, some featuring the season’s best (peaches and blueberries! Cherries and watermelon!) and others designed to keep you cool on a boiling day, requiring no oven and minimal effort. I’ve got recipes for crisps, cobblers, and crumbles, ice creams and semifreddi, popsicles and panna cotta, not to mention a s’more dessert too for all you Americans who find Summer is not complete without a graham cracker filled with melted milk chocolate and a toasted marshmallow.

With no further ado, then: make your sweet tooth’s week (or summer?) and read on.

For summer recipes that cover you breakfast through to dinner, click here.
Want to see more of the blog’s recipe compilations? Click here!

Blueberry Pie Bars

Blueberry Pie in a portable, compact square, no fork, spoon, or plate required. Bonus: This recipe also skips the pie crust and uses instead a it with a crumbly, buttery base that also acts as streusel-y topping. Click here for the recipe.

S’MORE BARS

A genius way to make classic American s'mores for a crowd: this dessert is basically just one giant s'more baked in a pan and cut into squares: 4th of July dessert, sorted. Click here for the recipe.

Nectarine Blueberry Crumble

The topping here is reminiscent of an oatmeal cookie — crisp and spiced with cinnamon — heaped a top a pile of at-their-peak super-sweet nectarines and blueberries that emerge from the oven, bubbling cheerfully. Click here for the recipe.

Peach Cobbler

This Peach Cobbler elevates peaches them simple seasonal snack to perfect summer dessert. This recipe is just what a cobbler should be -- its pared down, straightforward, peach-centric and downright delicious, plus a cinch to make. Click here for the recipe.

Peach Raspberry Pie

The raspberries add a grounding note of tartness to the peaches, becoming jammy once baked and adding a splash of color, while they’re at it. The crumble topping comes together along in the same bowl as the pie dough. Click here for the recipe.

Blackberry galette

A mash-up dessert: this is a cheesecake, but also a pie, and delightfully similar to a very large Danish. It is sturdy enough to be cut into slices and eaten with your hands, making this picnic perfect and a good way to showcase summer blackberries. Click here for the recipe.

Blueberry crumble pie

The very pinnacle of Summer pie perfection -- here we have a sweet, juicy blueberry filling balanced out with a bit of citrus, poured into a buttery, flaky crust and topped off with a spicy sweet cinnamon crumble. Click here for the recipe.

Tiramisù alle fragole

Think of this as classic strawberries and cream crossed with tiramisù – here we have a heavenly mix of berries, mascarpone, and ladyfingers which go pleasantly soft and spongey after a dip in sweet-tart strawberry juice and a rest in the fridge. Click here for the recipe.

S’MORE PIE

I really didn't think that the classic s'more could be improved on or was worth modifying, but then I met this pie, which is basically a big circular s'more, cut into slices and served up to your guests, who will think you're a genius. Click here for the recipe.

ALMOND PANNA COTTA

This Almond Panna cotta — from the cookbook Bitter Honey — is gorgeous, softly wobbly and rich and creamy, infused with toasted almonds and vanilla bean. The grand finale — sweet, juicy cherries, tipsy with rosé — add a hit of summer. Click here for the recipe.

panna cotta al caffe’

Panna cotta with a deep, defined coffee flavor, reminiscent of an iced coffee, extremely refreshing and cold, rich and creamy. Add a little chocolate sauce over the top of this simple, no-bake dessert if you want to dress things up.. Click here for the recipe.

semifreddo al pistacchio

Semifreddo is a cross between mousse and ice cream (with a texture that is a bit softer than ice cream). This pistachio semifreddo is divine, sublime, blissful, off-the-charts good, and tastes just like a toasted pistachio. Swoon. Click here for the recipe.

SEMIFREDDO ALLE FRAGOLE

This semifreddo is unabashedly lush and strawberry-centric, reminiscent of a bowl of strawberries dolloped with freshly whipped cream, refreshing and indulgent all at once, and just what you want to eat on a boiling day. Click here for the recipe.

butterscotch sauce

Homemade butterscotch sauce comes together in a matter of minutes, a question of stirring a few ingredients together in a pan. The resulting sauce is addictive, buttery, vanilla-y, and salty all at the same time. It turns every dish of ice cream it touches to gold. Click here for the recipe.

hot fudge sauce

Truly the best hot fudge sauce I've ever had, deeply chocolate-y and just sweet enough, perfect over the ice cream flavor of your choice (my preference: pistachio). Bonus: it takes 10 minutes to whip up. Click here for the recipe.

chocolate p&B ice cream

This ice cream is 100 times better than anything you'd buy in the store, and to not make it this summer would be an injustice. It's reminiscent of a frozen Peanut Butter cup, with the most perfect of all textures, smooth and rich and decadent. Click here for the recipe.

RASPBERRY YOGURT POPSICLES

These popsicles are way more flavorful and substantial than the freezer section popsicles I grew up — the yogurt balances the tart raspberries perfectly with a hint of honey mixed in every bite. I also consider these a completely acceptable breakfast in the summer. Click here for the recipe.

VANILLA CARAMEL ICE CREAM

This homemade vanilla ice cream — gooey with swirls of caramel — is made without eggs and only requires a few ingredients that need to be whisked together and refrigerated until cold, then processed in the ice cream maker. Ben & Jerry who?! Click here for the recipe.

gelato al cioccolato

This recipe for gelato al cioccolato -- the first recipe I ever made with my ice cream maker back in high school – is packs an intensely chocolatey punch with a smooth, dreamy consistency. It will transport you directly to Italy at the first bite, guaranteed. Click here for the recipe.

CREMA DI CAFFE’

This crema di caffè is the definition of refreshing, smooth (no ice or sugar grains here!) and rich (I <3 Heavy Cream) plus intensely coffee-flavored, made even more special with the addition of a little hazelnutty Nutella. Click here for the recipe.

nutella banana fudge pops

These pops are made with three ingredients that can ostensibly be eaten for breakfast (yogurt, bananas, nutella) and therefore I retain that these make a perfectly acceptable breakfast option on a sweltering summer day.. Click here for the recipe.

butterscotch pudding pops

These pops are not at all icy or fruity like your average popsicle, but rather smooth and creamy (think frozen pudding on a stick). The flavor here is sweet but not cloyingly so, with toasty undertones courtesy of caramelized brown sugar and butter. Click here for the recipe.

watermelon granita

Summer watermelon is fantastic eaten as is, but when dressed up with a splash of bright sunny lime juice and just enough sugar to enhance its natural sweetness, then frozen and scraped into granita, it becomes truly spectacular. Click here for the recipe.