Summer is turning the corner, but the sweetness of seasonal fruit and time spent with friends and family doesn’t have to go just yet. We’ve got dessert ideas for a Labor Day barbecue or dinner party that channel the flavors of the ebbing season: stone fruits like peaches and nectarines, plus other seasonal treats like mangoes and prickly pears; frozen treats and make-ahead desserts for a crowd; and, best of all, a few things you can throw together when you’d rather be outside than spend hours in the kitchen. Some are easy, some are involved — but all are right at home in any late-summer spread.
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Plum Galette
Carson Downing / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans
Jacques Pépin’s family-favorite galette is a showcase for seasonal fruit that’s nearly impossible to mess up — and if summer’s plums aren’t available, it can be used with whatever fruit you have. The sugared sliced fruit is layered over a sweetened almond mixture and folded into a crumbly pâte brisée crust.
Pineapple-Coconut Soft Serve
Channel a tropical drink or a cup of Disney-favorite Dole Whip with this super-fluffy dessert, which requires just five ingredients and five minutes in the food processor. This soft serve is also completely dairy-free — and it can be spiked with a little rum for the flavors of a frozen piña colada.
Cherry Pie
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Is there anything better? This diner-style pie is topped with a classic lattice crust and stuffed with frozen sour cherries that cook into a sweet, jammy filling. (You could try it with fresh cherries, too, though you may have to cook them down a bit more.) The tart fruit pairs beautifully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Peach and Tomato Buckle
CEDRIC ANGELES
Both peaches and tomatoes are sun-kissed and deliciously juicy this time of year — and they make a surprisingly natural pairing in dishes both savory and sweet. Pastry chef Miro Uskokovic uses both fruits in this summery buckle, a cobbler-cake mashup topped with a sweet, crunchy almond streusel.
Almond-and-Plum Snack Cake
The slivered almonds might catch the eye first, but what really makes these cake bars sing is almond paste, which Uskokovic both blends into the batter and crumbles on top before laying down the fresh purple-red plums. The result is jammy and tender with pops of unexpected sweetness.
Prickly Pear Paletas
Labor Day typically coincides with the beginning of the season for prickly pear fruit, a favorite ingredient in Southwestern and Mexican cuisines. Here, the fruits (which you can buy online if the cactus doesn’t grow near you) lend their deep pink-red color and refreshing sweetness to simple ice pops.
Georgia Peach Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream
Cara Cormack
Atlanta-based cookbook author and baker Angie Mosier distills the flavor of summer in Georgia with this juicy double-crust peach pie. Bourbon-spiked whipped cream brings it all together with a subtle boozy bite — but it would be just as delicious with vanilla ice cream, too.
Fresh Mint Stracciatella Semifreddo
The base for this easy semifreddo is a refreshing mint custard, flavored by steeping it with two full bunches of the coolly fragrant herb. You’ll then fold hand-whipped cream into the custard and drizzle in swirls of melted chocolate for an airy and visually striking frozen dessert, no special equipment necessary.
No-Bake Peaches-and-Cream Cheesecake
No oven required for this fruit-forward cheesecake, which is kind of like an icebox pie: a super-creamy combination of ricotta and sour cream, with alternating layers of vibrant frozen peach puree in a crumbly graham cracker crust. Crown the whole thing with fresh peach slices and serve.
S’mores Icebox Cake
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
S’mores are great all gooey and warm, but the flavors and textures work beautifully in a cold context, too. This no-bake frozen dessert, with layers of graham crackers, salted fudge, and broiled-marshmallow ice cream, will catapult guests of all ages back to their own favorite campfire memories.
Mango Pie
Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Natalie Drobny / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva
Peach pie, blackberry pie — all the summer fruits seem to get the pie treatment this time of year. Why not mango? Former F&W restaurant editor Khushbu Shah developed her mango pie recipe for her 2024 cookbook Amrikan, filled with dishes that explore the meeting of Indian and American culinary cultures.
Espresso Martini Pops
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Turns out, transforming your favorite caffeinated cocktail into a popsicle is a great way to cool down while putting just the right amount of pep in your step. To achieve an alcohol ratio that allows the pops to actually freeze, we swap out the espresso for cold brew and add just enough vodka and coffee liqueur to give a hint of booze.
Melted Ice Cream Cake
Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
This ingenious cake comes from Pooja Bavishi’s cookbook Malai: Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors. Instead of freezing, you’ll harness the unexpected power of melting — pouring a melted pint of ice cream into the cake batter, then topping it with whipped cream and a masala-spiced icing.
Lemon Lavender Nectarine Cobbler
Sweet, perfume-y lavender is a natural match for the ginger-spiced nectarines in this summery dessert, which is topped with flaky, buttery buttermilk biscuits. Sprinkle more dried flowers over the finished cobbler for a rustic-elegant look.
Chocolate Milkshake
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Surprise the kids (or channel your inner child) with easy old-school milkshakes, which are surprisingly simple to prepare but look and taste like an extra-special treat. The cherry on top (other than the actual cherry, of course) is serving the shakes in pre-chilled glasses so they stay nice and frosty.
Tropical Jackfruit–Ginger Ale Sorbet with Charred Pineapple
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
In this simple but layered sorbet from Sam Fore, the chef’s roots in both Sri Lanka and Kentucky shine through. The sorbet itself is made with canned jackfruit, pineapple juice, and Ale-8-One, a regional Kentucky ginger ale. Charred pineapple, caramelized in the oven, is the perfect topping.
Sugared Melon with Cardamom and Mint
Let’s face it — you can bake or make frozen desserts all year round, but one thing you can’t replicate out of season is peak summer fruit. In this simple ode to the melon, Mississippi chef Vishwesh Bhatt macerates perfectly ripe cantaloupe and honeydew in cardamom sugar, then tosses in slivers of fresh mint.
