Food Ingredients Fruits 32 Fresh Fruit Desserts for All Seasons By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 23, 2022 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: © John Kernick A ripe, beautiful piece of fresh fruit is nature's ultimate dessert, a gift of the season meant to be enjoyed at its peak. When the fruit is incorporated into a pastry, cake, or custard, that peak is prolonged just for a moment, one to be shared and delighted in. This collection of fruit desserts is a kaleidoscope of colors and flavors that spans the seasons. We've got a creamy, wintery grapefruit caramel pie, a springtime mixed berry crisp, a juicy blueberry-nectarine pandowdy to celebrate summer, and a towering apple-rum spice cake ideal for fall. Read on for these and many more fruit recipes to make throughout the year. 01 of 32 Lemon-Olive Oil Cream Meringue Tart Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall With a shortbread-like tart crust, a rich lemon-olive oil cream filling, and an Italian meringue topping, this tart by acclaimed pastry chef Claudia Fleming feels like a luxurious take on lemon meringue pie. It's ideal for any occasion you want to cap off with an impressive dessert. Get the Recipe 02 of 32 Almost-Instant Soft-Serve © Greg DuPree In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. The creamy, sherbet-style dessert is one for the ages: It uses just four ingredients and comes together with a quick whirl of the food processor. Make it with strawberries, mangoes, or blueberries. Get the Recipe 03 of 32 Honeyed Fig Crostatas © CON POULOS Individual fig tarts are an easy and elegant dessert for dinner parties. To serve, the baked crostatas are topped with sprigs of thyme and fresh figs tossed in honey. Get the Recipe 04 of 32 Blueberry-Nectarine Pandowdy © John Kernick This sweet and juicy baked fruit dessert from pastry chef Megan Garrelts features nectarines, her favorite summer fruit. Garrelts ingeniously forms her go-to citrus sugar cookie dough into a slice-and-bake log to use as the topping. Of course you could swap plums or peaches for the nectarines, and raspberries or blackberries for the blueberries. Get the Recipe 05 of 32 Apple-Rum Spice Cake Tara Donne A tender chiffon cake pairs well with the light and billowy frosting, seasoned with spicy-fresh ginger juice. Warm spices and a shot of rum add a kick to the apple compote that makes this a centerpiece dessert for the adult table. Get the Recipe 06 of 32 Raspberry Tart with a Pistachio Crust © Stephanie Foley Pastry chef Jennifer McCoy often brings this raspberry tart, with its creamy filling and pistachio-studded crust, to dinner parties. She packs the components separately and assembles the tart just before serving. Get the Recipe 07 of 32 Piña Colada Pie Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In this swoon-worthy dessert, the classic tropical flavors of a piña colada cocktail are transformed into a pie featuring layers of silky coconut custard and a caramelized pineapple jam made by simmering fresh pineapple with brown sugar. Adding rum to the hot pineapple mixture burns off the harsher taste of the alcohol while leaving a pleasant kick. Get the Recipe 08 of 32 Strawberry Shortcake with Star Anise Sauce © Anna Williams A trio of ingredients — high-quality white chocolate in the batter, crème fraîche and heavy cream in the icing — makes this all-American dessert especially rich and moist. Get the Recipe 09 of 32 Passion Fruit and Coconut Cream Parfaits © Ngoc Minh Ngo Pastry chef Koa Duncan's fantastic passion fruit and coconut parfait is layered with crunchy bits of cashew praline, making for a beautiful combination of textures and flavors. Get the Recipe 10 of 32 Black Currant Cheesecake Victor Protasio This vibrant purple cheesecake, flecked with bits of fruit, sits in a sweet, buttery crust and gets topped with juicy, syrupy macerated currants. Folding egg whites into the batter creates a light, fluffy texture. Get the Recipe 11 of 32 Lemon-Thyme Sorbet with Summer Berries © Frances Janisch Endlessly versatile, flavored syrups can be churned with ingredients like pureed fruit, fruit juice, or fresh herbs in an ice cream machine to make sorbet. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten first developed this breezy lemon-thyme ice for F&W. "Lemon-thyme, that's my guy," Vongerichten says. Get the Recipe 12 of 32 Banana Layer Cake with Mascarpone Frosting © Quentin Bacon Mascarpone is an Italian cheese that's super rich, delicate, and creamy. Here, it's simply blended with powdered sugar to create a sublime, snow-white frosting. For the best results, buy the freshest mascarpone possible. Get the Recipe 13 of 32 Peach Ice Cream with Caramel-Bourbon Swirl Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Tart, buttery, and sweet, the caramel-bourbon swirl here comes through in the best of ways, balancing the rich notes of crème fraîche in this silky, swirled ice cream. Fresh, ripe peaches add a great bit of texture in every bite. Get the Recipe 14 of 32 Pear, Honey, and Parmigiano-Reggiano Tart Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley This sweet and savory dessert tart pairs Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper with juicy pears and a drizzle of fragrant honey. The addition of Parmigiano-Reggiano to the pastry dough gives the already flaky crust an extra richness and a subtle nutty flavor. Get the Recipe 15 of 32 Biscoff Banana Pudding Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley The subtle spice of Biscoff cookies helps to balance the sweetness of each decadent layer of creamy custard and fresh bananas in this tall and impressive banana pudding for a crowd. It's inspired by one made by 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi's aunt Yolanda, of Beaumont, Texas. Get the Recipe 16 of 32 Pineapple Carpaccio with Lemon Sorbet and Candied Zest © Stephanie Shih Here's a refreshing dessert that both looks and tastes spectacular. If you can find one, try a pineapple labeled "gold." It's a relatively new hybrid that's always lusciously sweet. Get the Recipe 17 of 32 Cherry Empanadillas Farrah Skeiky This delicious cherry filling will convince you that empanadillas aren't just for savory fillings. These empanadillas are fried until golden brown, then glitzed up with a pretty pink glaze. Get the Recipe 18 of 32 Apricots and Plums Poached in Rosé Wine © Marie Hennechart While visiting Spain's Navarra region, chef Alex Raij saw fruit trees growing in a parcel of Garnacha vines. To pay homage to the mixed plot, she plucked apricots and plums and poached them in a rosé made from Garnacha grapes. Get the Recipe 19 of 32 Brûléed Key Lime Tarts © Quentin Bacon This outrageous riff on Key lime pie has an Oreo crust and a crisp caramelized top. It's served with Key lime sauce for an extra layer of sweet-tart flavor. Get the Recipe 20 of 32 Blueberry Panna Cotta with Blueberry Chia Pudding Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee Start with blueberry panna cotta, top it with a blueberry and chia seed pudding, and finish it with a pile of fresh blueberries for a blueberry trifecta. Chia seeds add crunchy pops of texture to this creamy dessert. Get the Recipe 21 of 32 Buttermilk-Biscuit Peach Cobbler © John Kernick Star chef Bobby Flay's secret to a perfectly crisp topping is to bake the biscuits separately from the fruit so the undersides cook fully. Then, just before serving, he sets the biscuits on the fruit and bakes them for a few more minutes, so they can soak up some of the juices without getting soggy. Get the Recipe 22 of 32 Apricot, Almond, and Brown Butter Tart © Tina Rupp This dried apricot tart is crispy and tender, tangy and sweet all at the same time. The recipe also works with fresh apricots; just omit the poaching step. Get the Recipe 23 of 32 Mango Fluff Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen "The secret to my recipe is the sweetened canned Kesar mango pulp, which makes the resulting fluff just sweet enough," says chef Sam Fore. "Airy whipped cream gives each bite a light and decadent mouthfeel." This fruity and delicate chilled mousse, with its silky, cloud-like texture and bold sweetness, is sure to become a regular at your summer table. Garnish it with slippery fresh mango and spicy candied ginger. Get the Recipe 24 of 32 Deep-Dish Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie © Tina Rupp The dough for this classic pie can be made with just butter, but swapping in some lard yields an even flakier crust. Cornstarch works best to thicken juicy fruit pies like this one. Get the Recipe 25 of 32 Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver This icebox cake is the answer to summer days when you want to serve a beautiful cake but it's too hot to turn on the oven. It's creamy, it's dreamy, and it's so simple to make. Crushed cookies, fresh raspberries, and layers of tart raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream transform into a gorgeous marbled layer cake in about 15 minutes — no frosting required. Get the Recipe 26 of 32 Mixed Berry Crisp with Matzo Streusel Abby Hocking Sweet-tart berries, tossed with just enough sugar and lemon juice, get topped with salty-sweet crumbled matzos for the perfect springtime dessert. Serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream or dollops of barely sweetened whipped cream. Get the Recipe 27 of 32 Strawberry Tiramisu Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas In this sunny take on tiramisu, coffee and chocolate are swapped out for bright, zesty orange and ripe strawberries. A touch of balsamic vinegar, orange liqueur, sugar, and jam deepens the flavor of the berries without overpowering it, while orange zest brightens layers of mascarpone cream. Get the Recipe 28 of 32 Fresh Fruit Cake The inspiration for this cake comes from a classic German apple kuchen and a fruit cake. It's studded with a fall assortment of cranberries, pears, and apples. Get the Recipe 29 of 32 Apple Crostata with Brown Butter Streusel © Justin Bernhaut This free-form apple tart is filled with tart apples, topped with streusel, baked until golden brown, and served with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup. Get the Recipe 30 of 32 Blackberry Fool with Calvados © John Kernick A classic British dessert of pureed fruit folded into whipped cream, a fool is one of the first things designer Peter Ting learned to make after moving to England in 1976. To give this one a little extra sophistication, he macerates half the blackberries overnight in Calvados, then tops the fruit with dollops of whipped cream he's mixed with blackberry puree. Get the Recipe 31 of 32 Chilled Grapefruit-Caramel Meringue Pie © Tina Rupp Most pastry chefs love lemon and orange, but for this recipe Deborah Snyder champions grapefruit. In one cold, creamy dessert, she layers pink grapefruit curd in a crunchy graham cracker crust with caramel cream, caramel sauce, and a delicate topping of fluffy meringue. Get the Recipe 32 of 32 Stone-Fruit Panzanella with Zabaglione © Cedric Angeles A classic Italian panzanella combines juicy tomatoes and bread cubes. Here, chef Chris Cosentino swaps in stone fruits like apricots and peaches for the tomatoes. Then he pushes the dessert over the top by dolloping the "salad" with an airy zabaglione, a frothy sauce of egg yolks whipped with sweet dessert wine. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit