60 Beautiful Berry Desserts That You'll Want to Eat All Summer

By Kelly Vaughan
Pick your berries and eat them too! Here are 60 fabulous ways to use farm fresh summer berries in a variety of delightful desserts.
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Summer is berry season. First come strawberries, then raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. But before heading to the grocery store, keep these points in mind: The fresher the berries, the better they'll taste, so buy locally grown berries or, if you get the chance, pick them yourself at a farm. And choose organic berries if possible.

When you bring berries home, don't wash them—moisture on the surface encourages mold. Instead, sort through the berries: pick out any mushy ones, carefully pat dry any moisture on the berries, and store them in a clean, dry container. Berries don't have a long shelf life, so they are best used within a day or two after purchase. Rinse berries just before eating—or using in any of our delicious berry dessert recipes ahead.

Cobblers and crisps are some of the best ways to use pints of farm fresh berries. A sweet oat topping gets heavily sprinkled atop a jammy filling of macerated berries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice in this classic Blueberry Crisp. A Raspberry Buckle is somewhere in between a bread pudding, cake, and cobbler, and we're totally here for it. Our Blackberry Crumbles are miniature, individual desserts, and they're great for those times when you want to serve a slightly more elegant treat to a group of guests, like when you're throwing a dinner party.

We also love an updated twist on a classic childhood favorite. While strawberry shortcake never disappoints, why not try these Gingered Blackberry and Black Plum Shortcakes or Almond-Cornmeal Strawberry Shortcakes? With these recipes in your back pocket, you'll enjoy berries throughout the summer.

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Lemon Shortcakes with Basil Berries

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This light, crumbly shortcake soaks up the sweet juices from blueberries and raspberries that are tossed with lemon juice, sugar, and fresh basil. If you don't have a food processor, make these shortcakes with a pastry cutter.

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Naked Berry Chiffon Cake

Mike Krautter
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When there's an occasion really worth celebrating, make this layered, airy chiffon cake with a lightweight whipped cream. Despite its show-stopping appearance, the cake is incredibly delicate; fresh edible flowers and mixed berries are the picture-perfect finish.

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Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Marcus Nilsson
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This light-as-a-feather cake gets its airiness from egg whites and cake flour. It's filled with quartered strawberries and a light whipped cream filling for a fresh, natural sweetness.

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Raspberry Cobbler

Marcus Nilsson
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If you have an abundance of fresh raspberries, this is the recipe for you: The filling of slightly syrupy, macerated berries is gets topped with flaky biscuits. Brush the top of the biscuits with heavy cream before baking for true Southern flair.

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Two-Berry Tart

Mike Krautter
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Two types of berries are better than one. A mound of strawberries and raspberries sit atop decadent pastry cream. The tart shell can be made in advance and frozen if you want to get a head start on summer entertaining prep.

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Very Berry Ice Pops

Con Poulos
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Layer raspberry and blackberry purées for a color-block look in these refreshing pops. Using rocket-style molds makes them look like a classic ice cream truck purchase but trust us, the taste is so much better. (This is a versatile recipe, use whatever popiscle molds you have and feel free to sub in other berry purées.)

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Strawberry Icebox Pie

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If you were over-enthusiastic when you went strawberry picking and have more berries than you could ever possibly use, this is the recipe for you. It calls for two quarts of fresh strawberries that make a vibrant filling for this graham-cracker crust pie.

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Pavlova Wreath with Berries and Créme Fraîche

Mike Krautter
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Sugar-coated mixed berries lay lightly atop a creamy filling of crème fraîche and whipped cream. The wreath is a festive stunner, but feel free to make individual shells for serving as well.

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Berry-Granola Parfait Pops

Aaron Dyer
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Dessert or breakfast? These parfait pops do double duty. They're made with Greek yogurt, honey, chopped mixed berries, and granola so you could enjoy a popiscle for breakfast on the go! Another bonus: They're super easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to freeze before you eat one!

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Berry Sorbet

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One of the most refreshing summertime desserts, this sorbet is also simple to make. All you need are four cups of fresh raspberries, sugar, and water. Prep takes just five minutes then the sorbet needs a few hours to firm up in the freezer before you can scoop it.

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Berry Layer Cake

Mike Krautter
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This supremely beautiful berry layer cake is piped with swirls and twirls of black raspberry jam buttercream and topped with fresh berries. Save this for when you really want to impress your dinner guests.

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Pull-Apart Vanilla-Wafer Cupcake Cake with Berries

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Want the look of a sheet cake and the ease of cupcakes? This crowd-friendly dessert brings the best of both worlds. Another bonus: There's no need to decorate each cupcake, simply smooth vanilla buttercream over the top of the dessert and garnish with mixed berries.

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Double-Crust Berry Free-Form Pie

Randy Harris
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Chock full of fresh blackberries and raspberries, this pie feeds a crowd. And because it's free-form, there's no worry about having the right size of pie plate—this 14-serving pie is cooked on a baking sheet. If there is any leftover, we hear it's also really good for breakfast!

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Summer Pudding

Bryan Gardner
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Cut into this classic summer pudding and watch as colorful berries cascade onto the plate. This no-bake English dessert uses white bread as its base and the bread absorbs the tart juices and bright hibiscus color of the berries.

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Blueberry Lattice Pie

Mike Krautter
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About as classic as it gets, that's this traditional blueberry pie with an intricate lattice topping. Ice water and cold butter is key to getting a super flaky pie crust with several buttery layers.

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Martha's Buttermilk-Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust

Yossy Arefi
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Fresh blueberries are all the decoration this creamy, tangy dessert needs. The nut crust used for the tart shell is made with walnuts and flour rather than the usual graham cracker base.

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Berry Frangipane Phyllo Tart

Mike Krautter
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Blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries work well in the filling of this phyllo tart. The berries are added into the creamy, hazelnut frangipane right before baking. Just before serving, a layer of powdered sugar provides an extra-pretty finish.

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Filled Fourth of July Strawberries

Julia Gartland
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For a fancy two-bite dessert, try these ripe strawberries filled with sweetened cream cheese. They're also a yummy way to entice kids to munch on the fruit.

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French Fruit Tart

William Abranowicz
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When you taste this tart, you may say there's a certain je ne sais quoi to it. Every layer has something special; melted white chocolate is brushed on the crust, sour cream is mixed into a traditional pastry custard, and warm apricot jam is drizzled over the fresh berry garnish.

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Strawberry-Lemonade Icebox Pie

Con Poulos
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Call this a streamlined take on the lemon meringue pie. A basic graham cracker crust serves as the shell for a decadent lemony filling that relies on egg yolks and condensed milk for creaminess. Top with meringue and macerated strawberries for a luscious dessert all summer.

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Blueberry Tart

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A dessert for die-hard blueberry fans, this tart calls for six cups of fresh berries. Some are macerated with lemon juice and sugar then mixed with fresh berries for the filling.

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Banana, Berry, and Buttermilk Popsicles

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Use a blend of berries for a pop of patriotic color in these sugar-free popsicles. Your choice of honey or agave syrup adds sweetness to the naturally tart berries.

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Blueberry–Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Johnny Miller
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You can make these hand pies with frozen blueberries out of season, but when you have an abundance of fresh summer blueberries, you'll want to make them again—they're perfect for picnics.

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Blueberry "Bandanna" Tart

Mike Krautter
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This dessert combines two quintessentially American icons—the bandana and the blueberry pie. Use any shaped cookie cutter you want for the peep-hole pie crust, though we love Martha's interpretation of a classic paisley handkerchief. 

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Firecracker Ice Pops

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Fourth of July party-goers will love these patriotic pops. And for the cook, they're an easy way to utilize fresh strawberries and blueberrues in a treat that captures their natural color and flavor.

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Strawberry Ice Cream

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Homemade ice cream just might be the ultimate summertime dessert—and this recipe takes only 20 minutes to make. Of course, then you need to wait until it freezes firm. Take that time to plan how you'll scoop it? 

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Berries-and-Cherries Ice Cream Cake

Marcus Nilsson
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It's all about the assembly (and the chilling) with this dessert: macerate raspberries, blackberries, and cherries in vodka and sugar, then fold them into cherry ice cream and vanilla ice cream that form the layers atop a chocolate wafer cookie base, then cover the cake in melted dark chocolate. 

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Strawberry Tart

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If the presentation of this fragrant tart doesn't lure you in, then the combination of juicy strawberries and sweet, airy cream cheese filling should do the trick. 

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Blackberry Crisp

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One of the easiest ways to celebrate summer berries is with a crisp. This blackberry version uses five pints of berries beneath the simple butter-sugar-flour topping.

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Bourbon-and-Brown-Sugar Cake with Berries

Kate Mathis
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An easy-going cake that doesn't need any frosting, the juicy berries on the surface are all the decoration that's needed. 

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Striped Ice Pops