61 Berry Desserts to Bake Before Summer’s Up

Two summer stars in one stunning treat. A bit of whole-wheat flour offers the cake just a touch of earthy, nutty flavor.

You’ve had raw strawberries and vanilla ice cream before, but just wait until you try them roasted. A stint in the oven concentrates their sweetness.

The key to this hybrid is the brown sugar-oat streusel on top, which stands in for traditional lattice pie crust.

Soft lemon cakes meet delicate raspberry-infused cream and fresh fruit for an easily transportable dessert that will change how you picnic forever.

Food coloring? We don’t know her. Instead, the crust gets its vibrant pink hue from freeze-dried strawberries.

Despite its fancy appearance, this sweet-tart dessert is a breeze to put together. The chocolate layer is similar to mousse, but it’s nothing but melted chocolate folded into whipped cream.

While we encourage making this dessert with homemade biscuits (since they’re impossibly fluffy and infused with lemon zest), you can save time by substituting store-bought ones. We don’t judge.

We modernized this old-school British dessert by preparing it on a sheet pan instead of in a crystal-cut bowl, which makes the meringue, whipped cream and fruit way more accessible.

Panna cotta is a much simpler filling for these shortbread tarts than pastry cream since it doesn’t require you to bust out the stand mixer.

What if we told you that you could make a killer pint of ice cream without a fancy ice-cream maker? Here, raspberries are blended with a few pantry staples in the stand mixer instead.

These fruity clouds of meringue are as stunning as they are easy to make. Serve them at your next dinner party to wow your guests.

Leave it to baker extraordinaire Erin McDowell to create a foolproof soufflé recipe. The key is not overmixing and being gentle with them from start to finish, so they don’t deflate.

The strawberries are layered on the bottom of the pan, so they form a sweet, caramelized topping for the cake as it bakes. In other words, it basically “frosts” itself.

Move the burgers and dogs aside to make room on the grates for slabs of angel food. Fresh whipped cream and blueberry sauce transform the store-bought cake into something spectacular, so your guests won’t suspect the shortcut.

Get in, we’re going to Paris. These light-as-air puff pastries are not only stuffed with vanilla crème pâtissière, but they’re also bursting with fresh passionfruit pulp and raspberries.

Keep this simple recipe in your back pocket for any event that calls for a red, white and blue dessert. The filling is tangy and rich, thanks to the ricotta-cream cheese base.

The recipe is super versatile, so feel free to spruce up the tart by tossing in warm spices or citrus zest, adding sliced pears or peaches or substituting frozen berries for fresh.

Ah, the galette, or as we like to call it, the lazy baker’s pie. You won’t have to fuss over the freeform crust: Just pile the fruit in the center, fold the edges over and bake until bubbly.

This beauty is like a cross between cornbread, coffee cake and a blueberry muffin. The brown sugar streusel qualifies it as dessert, but feel free to have the cornbread for breakfast instead.

All these cuties require is a whisk, mixing bowl and a handful of pantry staples. Good luck stopping after just one.

When a cheesecake craving hits but you don’t have the energy to make one, turn to this ten-minute crowd-pleaser. It’s marbled with strawberry preserves, but we wouldn’t blame you for adding freshly chopped berries to the mix too.

Made with easy store-bought biscuits brushed with honey butter. Up the summer ante by adding a toasted s’more-style marshmallow to each shortcake.

As if buttery, sweet-tart lemon bars weren’t flawless enough, these have a secret ingredient that turns them a rosy shade of pink: fresh raspberry puree.

Graham cracker crust and silky cream cheese filling don’t need any tweaking to be delicious. But once you try cheesecake crowned with a zingy raspberry topping, you might never look back.

With so many blueberries piled on top, this confection is basically a fruit salad. Go ahead, have a slice (or um, two) for breakfast.

Psst: Make this your cast-iron skillet’s next project. Bonus points for dragging a spoon through the batter to achieve a swirly marbled pattern.

This pie looks like it was plucked straight out of a fairytale. Chalk the blush-colored meringue whisps up to blitzed freeze-dried raspberries.

Gluten-free almond shortcake + strawberry-chia jam + coconut-cashew whipped cream = plant-based heaven.

The intense raspberry flavor in these larger-than-life cookies pairs seamlessly with malty, nutty rye flour. Feel free to freeze the dough for up to two months so you can bake them whenever a craving strikes.

Yup, you can make so much more than lava cake in your trusty microwave. The best part is that the recipe only makes one serving, so you won’t be stuck with a ton of leftovers (though there are worse problems to have).

Sure, the cake is free of refined sugar, loaded with fiber and contains 10 grams of protein per slice. But generous doses of maple syrup, blueberries and coconut sugar keep its flavor on the sweet side.

Isn’t she lovely? Sink your teeth into two layers of fluffy meringue, sandwiched together with whipped cream that’s infused with lemon curd and raspberry jam.

You won’t believe how mind-blowingly easy the pink icing is to make. (We’re talking mashed strawberries and confectioners’ sugar.)

Despite its Insta-worthy looks, this crepe cake couldn’t be easier to assemble. Add flecks of crushed freeze-dried raspberries to the crepe batter to make them even fruitier.

The store-bought lemon cake mix won’t know what hit it once it’s being filled with homemade blueberry syrup.

There’s no need to chase down the ice cream man for one of these bad boys ever again. Plus, the homemade version of these ice pops is free of food coloring and corn syrup.

If boozy ice pops are more your thing, these three-ingredient gems have your back. The only tough step in the recipe is waiting for them to freeze before digging in.

Thanks to a press-in pecan crust made with coconut oil instead of butter and a cashew-coconut milk filling, this dessert is equal parts dairy-free and indulgent.

Three surprising ingredients take this stunner over the top: minced rosemary in the crust, balsamic vinegar in the fruit and sour cream in the whipped topping.

Any dessert topped with a layer of lilac meringue that tall is one after our own heart. Be sure to boil the filling for a full 30 seconds after adding the cornstarch, so all its flavor cooks out and the pie sets properly.

Any summer baby would be thrilled to have these at their birthday party. Not only are there lightly sweetened strawberries in the center of each cupcake, but they’re also topped with fresh ones and a dollop of whipped cream.

Bring on the antioxidants. They’re healthy enough to have for breakfast (thanks, whole-wheat pastry flour), yet still indulgent enough to snack on before bed.

A single steamed beet and lots of fresh raspberries keep this pretty-in-pink pick from being overly sweet. Don’t even get us started on the mini meringue kisses.

One bite and boom: You’re a kid who’s wrist-deep in a sundae all over again. This calls for all the rainbow sprinkles.

Proof that simplicity can be delicious (even without frosting). All this fruit-topped dish needs is a hefty scoop of fresh whipped cream.

Consider it a one-way ticket to paradise. Luckily, your humble blender can pull the treat off without the help of a shave ice machine.

We’ve had enough arugula salads in our life to know that floral, freshly cracked black pepper and summer berries are soulmates.

Rolled buttercream-filled sponge cake topped with meringue marshmallows > reindeer-shaped sugar cookies. It’s just a fact.

If you aren’t familiar with blender muffins, we’re about to change your life. Instead of whisking (and whisking) the batter, all you do is dump the ingredients in a blender and whirl them until combined.

For those days when your heart screams “pie” but your brain says “takeout.” You’re only 35 minutes away from flaky, jammy bliss.

They’re sweet, tangy and oh so filling, thanks to a decadent base of cream cheese and butter.

If you’re wondering why this crostata looks so much like a galette…well, it’s because they’re basically the same thing, only the former is Italian and the latter is French. The more you know.

A layer of smooth, tangy cream cheese filling is just the foil for the sugary crumb topping and sour blackberries.

Strawberry jam-infused cream cheese filling? Check. Sweet-and-salty pretzel crust? Check. St-Germain-kissed fruit? You bet.

These bold handhelds have Valentine’s Day dessert written all over them. Sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies for a next-level ice cream sandwich.

They’re stuffed with blueberry-vanilla goat cheese and lemon-spritzed blueberry filling, so each pie is kind of like a dough-wrapped charcuterie board.

Cream cheese. Honey. Biscuits. That is all.

Devour these whole-grain bars for breakfast, lunch or dessert. The vanilla glaze on top is totally optional (but we can’t think of a good reason for skipping it).

Warning: This cake will make you actually want to get out of bed in the morning. Wash it down with a hot cup of joe (or better yet, a white chocolate mocha).

Using a star-shaped cookie cutter to slice the peaches and nectarines makes this simple dessert look a million times more impressive.

Is it cool if we drink the blueberry glaze straight from the saucepan? Top each donut with a flourish of sprinkles, dried blueberries or edible flower petals.