45 Berry Desserts You'll Want to Make All Summer Long

Put the season's colorful bounty on display by making one of these strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry treats.

By

Kelly Vaughan

Updated on June 7, 2022

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filled strawberries on cake platter — Photo: Julia Gartland

Summer is berry season: First come strawberries, then raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. But before you head to the grocery store, keep these points in mind: The fresher the berries, the better they'll taste, so buy them locally grown—or, if you get the chance, pick them yourself at a farm.

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, 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 your berries just before eating or prior to using them in any of the delicious berry dessert recipes ahead.

Here are some of our favorite ways to use fresh summer blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries in a variety of delightful desserts.

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Blueberry Crisp

blueberry crisp — Johnny Miller

Cobblers and crisps are some of the best berry desserts—and 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 Blueberry Crisp. It will be a welcome addition to any summertime dessert menu.

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Lemon Shortcakes with Basil Berries

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

naked berry cake adorned martha bakes strawberries blueberries — Mike Krautter

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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Raspberry Cobbler

raspberry cobbler — Marcus Nilsson

If you have an abundance of fresh raspberries, this is the berry dessert recipe for you: The filling of slightly syrupy, macerated berries is topped with flaky biscuits. Brush the top of the biscuits with heavy cream before baking for the perfect golden brown finish.

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Two-Berry Tart

red fruit tart martha bakes raspberries strawberries — Mike Krautter

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

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 when you use fresh berries to make the purées.

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Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

chiffon cake — Marcus Nilsson

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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Pavlova Wreath with Berries and Créme Fraîche

meringue wreath martha bakes strawberries blueberries — Mike Krautter

Sugar-coated mixed berries lay lightly atop a creamy filling of crème fraîche and whipped cream. Assembling the miniature pavlovas into a wreath is a visual stunner, but feel free to make individual shells for serving as well.

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Strawberry Icebox Pie

If you were overenthusiastic when you went strawberry picking and have more berries than you could ever possibly use, this is the recipe for you. It calls for 2 quarts of fresh strawberries that make a vibrant filling for this graham cracker crust pie.

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Berry Sorbet

berry sorbets

One of the most refreshing summertime desserts, this sorbet is also simple to make. All you need are 4 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-Granola Parfait Pops

Aaron Dyer

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 popsicle 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 Layer Cake

overhead of purple frosted berry layer cake — Mike Krautter

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

wafter berries cupcake cake

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

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.

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Summer Pudding

Bryan Gardner

Cut into this summer pudding and watch as colorful berries cascade onto the plate. This no-bake berry 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

blueberry lattice pie martha bakes — Mike Krautter

Go with a dessert your know everyone will love: blueberry pie. Our version cradles the fruit filling into a pate brisee crust with an intricate lattice topping.

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Martha's Buttermilk-Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust

buttermilk-blueberry-tart-with-nut-crust-120-d113085.jpg — Yossy Arefi

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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Filled Fourth of July Strawberries

filled strawberries on cake platter — Julia Gartland

Put a festive treat on the table in 15 minutes with this fancy two-bite dessert that's made by filling strawberries with sweetened cream cheese.

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Berry Frangipane Phyllo Tart

blueberry frangipane martha bakes — Mike Krautter

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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French Fruit Tart

french fruit tart — William Abranowicz

Every layer to this tart 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

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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Banana, Berry, and Buttermilk Popsicles

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 Tart

A dessert for die-hard blueberry fans, this tart calls for 6 cups of fresh berries. Some are macerated with lemon juice and sugar then mixed with fresh berries for the filling.

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Blueberry–Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Johnny Miller

Blueberry pie goes portable in this picnic-perfect dessert. The fruit is mixed with sugar, lemon juice, and flour and spooned onto quarters of dough spread with a rich cream-cheese mixture. The hand pies bake until the crust turns a crisp golden-brown.

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Blueberry "Bandanna" Tart

blueberry bandanna tart martha bakes — Mike Krautter

This dessert combines two quintessential 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

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

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Strawberry Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream just might be the ultimate summertime dessert—and this strawberry-studded version takes only 20 minutes to make. Of course, then you need to wait until it freezes firm.

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Berries-and-Cherries Ice Cream Cake

berries cherries ice cream cake — Marcus Nilsson

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. Finally, cover the cake in melted dark chocolate.

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Strawberry Tart

Strawberry Tart

The presentation of this fragrant tart will lure you in, but it's the combination of juicy strawberries and sweet, airy cream cheese filling that will keep you coming back for more.

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Blackberry Crisp

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

bourbon and brown-sugar cake with berries — Kate Mathis

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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Pressure-Cooker Raspberry Upside-Down Cake

raspberry upside down cake — Marcus Nilsson

When it's too hot to bake, turn on the pressure cooker or multi cooker to make this cheery, raspberry-topped cake.

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Lemon-Basil Custard Pie with Red Berries

Jonathan Lovekin

A few handfuls of raspberries, strawberries, and elderberries tossed in sugar rest atop a chilled custard infused with lemon basil. The herb, with its citrusy note, brightens the silky, rich filling of this beautiful pie.

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Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle

An easy, make-ahead, crowd-pleasing dessert—what's not to like about this trifle? We use a mixture of blueberries and raspberries to layer between cake and a cream cheese mixture, but you can use any type of berries you prefer.

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Raspberry-Ripple Meringue

Pink swirls of raspberry are folded through this cloudlike meringue that's topped with whipped cream and more berries.

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Almond-Cornmeal Strawberry Shortcakes

Here's a delicious update on the usual shortcake; cornmeal and almonds are added to the flour mixture to create a fine crumbly texture that soaks up the juices from macerated strawberries.

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Raspberry-Lemon Whoopie Pies

A summery take on a childhood classic. Mashed raspberries are folded into fresh whipped cream for a bright pink filling to sandwich between the lemony "pies."

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Blueberry Bonanza Bars

Almond, coconut, and honey granola make for a sweet, crunchy topping on these jammy blueberry bars.

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Raspberry Ice Cream Cake

When you're pressed for time but need a berry dessert, try this four-ingredient wonder. It's made with store-bought cake and ice cream, plus raspberries and confectioners' sugar. Best of all, it comes together in 15 minutes.

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Blackberry Puffs

Baked, buttery store-bought puff pastry serves as an easy and delicious shell for juicy blackberries and creamy mascarpone cheese.

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Strawberry Cake

Vanilla cake gets a summery upgrade with the addition of strawberries to this easy one-layer cake. Our pro tip to prevent the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake is to toss them in a couple of tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

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Blueberries with Maple Whipped Cream

Combining maple syrup with sour cream and heavy cream creates a sweet, slightly smoky foil for tart blueberries. This combination is delicious served on its own, or atop ice cream or even pancakes.

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Strawberry Cream Cake

This dessert is started by baking two layers of simple vanilla cake. While you wait, toss strawberries with granulated sugar and make the whipped cream filling, then layer the two elements between the cooled cake pieces and add more on top for a stunning finish.

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Fruit Pie with Crumb Topping

A simple pie crust, a filling of blueberries combined with sugar, flour, and lemon juice, and a buttery crumble topping make this berry dessert just irresistible.

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Blackberry Crumb Bars

Imagine a blondie topped with a delicious coffee cake crumble. Then add the season's most vibrant berries—that's this dessert. Need we say more?

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