Desserts
3+ Sweet & Refreshing Dessert Recipes To Try This Summer
Updated on August 13, 2024
After a summer barbecue or picnic, one thing is for sure — there’s always room for dessert. Heat things up with Nightjar‘s elevated take on bonfire s’mores, cool down with chef Adrian Forte‘s refreshing rum and raisin ice cream and don’t miss the delicious Blackberry Almond Snacking Cake from Victoria’s Crust Bakery.
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Blackberry Almond Snacking Cake
“One way to use up an abundance of fruit in the summer is to make a simple white cake, toss a bunch of fruit on top, and let it bake into a big, delicious pudding. That’s what this cake is all about. Simply made, quickly tossed together, and ready for snacking any time of day.” – Tom Moore
Get the Blackberry Almond Snacking Cake recipe here.
Berry Upside-down Cake
“One of the things I love most about it is that I can make it with berries and then move on to plums and peaches as they come into season. The fruit caramelizes on the bottom or top (depending on which way you want to look at it), making for a flavourful, soft, moist cake. This doubles as a coffee cake for breakfast if there’s any left!” – Sandee Krause
Get the recipe for the Krause family’s Berry Upside-down Cake here.
Rhubarb Panna Cotta
“Tart rhubarb is hiding in the bottom of this creamy dessert, and the graham crumb on top adds crunch.” – Rosie Daykin
Get Rosie Daykin’s recipe for Rhubarb Panna Cotta here.
Fresh Corn and Peach Skillet Cake
“Corn and peaches are my favorite summer flavor combination, whether it’s in a salad or a dessert. With the fresh cream and mint, it’s the taste of summer, conjuring up bright and sunny images. It’s just what you want to be eating in July and August.” – Cory Vitiello
Get the recipe here.
Grilled Peach and Raspberry Melba
“This dessert conjures up memories of endless July days of 100°F Texan heat, when the air is dripping with humidity and there’s got to be a breeze and it’s just so darn hot that ice cream is the only thing that makes more sense than air-conditioning. Peaches were the high point of my childhood summers. My mom would always fancy up this simple recipe by finding the coolest glassware to present it in. It seemed to my eight-year-old self the height of elegance. I love to modernize retro classics, so my spin on original peach melba involves grilling or broiling the peaches instead of poaching them.” – Lisa Ahier
Get the recipe here.
Rum & Raisin Ice Cream
“This traditional Jamaican ice-cream flavor always reminds me of home. On the occasional Sunday (as a rare treat), after an early dinner, my family would shower, get into our Sunday best, and head over to Devon House, an old Jamaican mansion where ice-cream vendors would gather. We would all get to pick our favorite flavor and then run around the property. You can probably guess which flavor I chose.” – Adrian Forte
Get the full recipe here.
Fancy S’more
Nightjar’s S’more is an elevated take on the campfire classic, with a cold, creamy base of chocolate semifreddo—a half-frozen Italian dessert somewhere between mousse and ice cream—topped with gooey marshmallow and a crunchy, sweet white chocolate graham crumb. This dessert is an all-time customer favorite at Saskatchewan restaurant Nightjar, and when owners Derek and Shaun tried taking it off the menu, they were met with everything from disappointment to a poem on a postcard lamenting its removal (they still have the postcard!). The semifreddo and graham crumb can both be prepared ahead of time or even made as a dessert in their own right.
Get the recipe here.