A Fruitful Bounty

• A selection of fresh fruits makes a refreshing, seasonal summer dessert. For an elegant dessert, chef Emeril Lagasse poaches peaches in a simple syrup with honey, lemon zest and rosemary, spooning the poached fruit on top of a cornmeal-olive oil cake. The poached fruit is equally delicious with ice cream or store-bought pound cake. A cobbler or crisp that features summer fruits like blackberries, blueberries or peaches under a crumbly crust is also a summer-time favorite. Served warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, fruit cobblers or crisps are also great for feeding large groups of people at holiday picnics and barbecues.
  
  

How Sweet It Is

• Ice cream is a simple, easy summer dessert as countless flavors can be found in the freezer cases of any grocery store. If you're looking for a fun activity as well as a delicious dessert, consider investing in an ice cream maker and whipping up a batch of ice cream yourself. Making your own ice cream allows you to create unique flavors that suit your own palate, and ice cream makers can also be used to make sorbets, which are lower in fat than most ice creams. Serve homemade ice cream in bowls and cones, or use it as the filling for a homemade ice cream pie. Real Simple magazine recommends making a quick, no-bake pie crust by combining melted chocolate chips with puffed rice cereal, pressing the mixture into a pie tin and freezing the tin until the crust is set.
  
  

Cool Cravings

• Desserts that are light, cool and sweet are perfect for summer entertaining. Martha Stewart's Blackberry and Ginger Trifle uses store-bought pound cake, homemade ginger syrup, whipped cream and blackberries to create a simple layered trifle that can be prepared in advance and left to sit overnight. Cold, creamy pudding is another excellent summer dessert, whether it comes from a boxed mix or made from scratch. Paula Deen's recipe for "Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding" combines both, with sweetened condensed milk and bananas added to a pre-packaged French vanilla pudding mix.
  
  

Summertime S'mores

• Closely associated with campfires and the great outdoors, s'mores are a classic summertime treat. The traditional s'more is made by roasting marshmallows over an open flame, then sandwiching the marshmallow between two graham crackers with a square of chocolate. The classic s'more is always a welcome dessert, but the cooks at Delish recommend a s'more made by spreading marshmallow fluff and chocolate-hazelnut spread on graham crackers, sandwiching a layer of banana slices between the two, then wrapping the s'more in parchment paper and tin foil before grilling until gooey.