20 Dreamy Berry Desserts

From sorbets and pies to cobblers and cakes, these berry desserts are sure to please.

By

Food & Wine Editors

Updated on May 18, 2023

Angel Food Cake with Berry Compote — Photo:
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle

This collection of dessert recipes celebrates berries, whether ripe and in-season or preserved at their prime in the freezer. From pavlovas to cakes, sorbets, cobblers, and pies, we have a dessert for every occasion, regardless of what plump berries you happen to have on hand. Wondering what to do with a couple pints of fresh cherries? A batch of warm, flaky Cherry Empanadillas might be just the thing, or perhaps a baking dish filled to the brim with bubbling Polenta Cherry Cobbler. For a more refreshing end to a summer meal, look no further than Fany Gerson's tart and fragrant Raspberry-Hibiscus Sorbet or Tyler Malek's intensely flavored Boysenberry Oat Milk Sherbet. Whether you're inspired from a pick-your-own farm stand or eyeing a bag in the frozen section, revel in the flavor of berries with one of these fantastic desserts.

01 of 20

Sour Cherry Pie

Overhead view of sour cherry pie, fresh from the oven. — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Almond and sour cherries have complementary flavor profiles; together, they create a delicious and elegant pie with perfect flavor balance. The frangipane and sour cherries give the pie a tender and custard-y filling with a pop of tartness and textures. Sour cherry season is fleeting, so be sure to make this pie while the fruit is around. (If you're yearning for an off-season sour cherry pie, feel free to use canned sour cherries.)

02 of 20

Cherry Empanadillas

Cherry Empanadillas on a white plate, ready to serve. — 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. If you don't have a cherry pitter, a chopstick does a surprisingly good job of removing the pits.

03 of 20

Polenta Cherry Cobbler

Overhead view of Polenta Cherry Cobbler being served on a splatter-patterned surface. — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Kay Clarke

A few spoonfuls of polenta add a sunny color and nutty depth to this twist on a classic cherry cobbler. Sour cherries are abundant at farmers markets in the early summer (you'll probably want to use a cherry pitter to make short work of prepping them), and frozen sour cherries are available year round in many supermarkets.

04 of 20

Boysenberry Oat Milk Sherbet

Boysenberry Oat Milk Sherbet — Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones

Here's a satisfying vegan frozen treat. The base of this delicious sherbet is made with oat milk, which provides a surprisingly smooth texture. The berries are roasted to intensify their flavor and color, then pureed and added to the oat milk base, which turns the sorbet a stunning color.

05 of 20

Black-and-Blue Pie with Brown Sugar Crumb

Black and Blue Pie with Brown Butter Crumb, drizzled with heavy cream. — Victor Protasio

Chef and author Nicole Rucker uses huckleberries and blackberries to create this namesake black-and-blue filling, but a mix of any brambleberries and blueberries will do. Rucker crushes a single large handful of the berry filling to help create the perfect saucy consistency. A crumb topping adds texture and helps absorb some of the pie's juices, allowing it to slice cleanly.

06 of 20

Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake

Chocolate Raspberry Icebox Cake, ready to be served. — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

This 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. 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.

07 of 20

Double-Decker Meringue Cake with Summer Berries

Double Decker Meringue Cake with Summer Berries, served on cream-colored plates. — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

The meringue topping expands as this stunning cake bakes, so be careful not to spread it all the way to the edges of the cake batter to make removing the cake from the pan easier. Top with whatever berries are in season at your market, or use your favorite sliced stonefruit.

08 of 20

Mixed Berry Cornmeal Biscuit Shortcakes

Mixed Berry Cornmeal Biscuit Shortcake, served on small white plates. — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

For these shortcakes, macerated fresh berries and homemade whipped cream — flavored with vanilla and lemon zest — are served atop a buttery, tender split cornmeal biscuit for a summery dessert. Stacking and patting down the dough as opposed to kneading it helps you avoid overworking and creates layers of flaky, buttery flavor. The addition of cornmeal in the dough adds great texture and flavor to the biscuits.

09 of 20

St. Louis–Style Cheesecake with Blueberries

Overhead view of St. Louis Style Cheesecake with Blueberries, served on an speckled enamel ware plate. — Johnny Autry

Chef Andrae Bopp contributed this stellar recipe to F&W in 2020. Hidden beneath a mound of juicy summer berries (Bopp uses native huckleberries, but blueberries are fine), a thin layer of sweetened sour cream crowns this luscious no-fuss cheesecake based on his great-grandmother’s recipe.

10 of 20

Lemon Chiffon Cake with Blueberry-Coriander Buttercream

Overhead view of lemon chiffon cake with blueberry coriander buttercream — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Pastry chef Sasha Piligian channels summer vibes to create her show-stopping baked goods, like this epic layer cake. She starts with two flavor-packed components — a tart-sweet Meyer lemon curd for the filling and a coriander-spiced blueberry jam to flavor and tint her fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. For a final flourish, Piligian embellishes the frosted cake with edible flower petals, mint leaves, pools of glistening blueberry-coriander jam, fresh blueberries, and sliced citrus.

11 of 20

Blueberry Panna Cotta with Blueberry Chia Pudding

Dessert glasses of blueberry panna cotta with blueberry chia pudding — Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

Pastry chef Paola Velez starts this dessert with blueberry panna cotta, tops it with a blueberry and chia seed pudding, and finishes it with a pile of fresh blueberries for a blueberry trifecta. If you haven't had chia seeds yet, here's a delicious way to give them a try. They add crunchy pops of texture to this creamy dessert, and they're good for you, too.

12 of 20

Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie

Overhead view of a Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie, fresh from the oven. — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Tart cranberries are roasted with lemongrass and gochugaru (Korean chile flakes) to give this vibrant pie its fruity and fragrant kick. Roasting the cranberries concentrates their flavor and allows you to control their doneness, resulting in juicy, bursting berries in every bite. Thin strips of dried mango plump as they soak up the flavorful juices, giving the filling a pop of tropical brightness. Garnish with a sprinkling of granola just before serving for a crunchy, streusel-like topping.

13 of 20

Raspberry-Hibiscus Sorbet

Close- up of a scoop of Raspberry Hibiscus Sorbet — Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

This sorbet by chef and ice cream maker Fany Gerson has a creamy texture thanks to the addition of corn syrup or honey, which increases the sugar content and helps make the final product richer, less icy, and more scoopable. Bright and airy, with the perfect balance of creamy and tart from the raspberries, the sorbet makes for a great palate cleanser. With just the right amount of a floral hit from the hibiscus, this is a super-refreshing summertime treat.

14 of 20

Summer Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla-Mascarpone Biscuits

Summer Fruit Cobbler With Vanilla Mascarpone — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Let the farmers market be your guide when it comes to this cobbler — any mixture of fresh summer stone fruits and berries can be cooked down to make the perfectly sweet-tart, jammy filling. The tender vanilla-mascarpone biscuits have a shortcake-like texture and a delightfully crunchy top from the turbinado sugar.

15 of 20

Strawberry Icebox Cake with Maple-Ginger Cream

Strawberry Icebox Cake — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas

If you love strawberry shortcake, this inspired icebox dessert is for you. Buttery, rich shortbread cookies make an inspired (and easy) base for the cake, layered with plenty of sliced strawberries and a creamy filling with hints of spicy fresh ginger and sweet maple syrup. A topping of strawberries macerated in maple syrup adds a final burst of berry flavor.

16 of 20

Angel Food Cake with Three-Berry Compote

Angel Food Cake with Berry Compote — Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle

Light and fluffy angel food cake becomes more decadent as it soaks up the sweet juices from a farm-stand-berry compote.

17 of 20

Strawberries-and-Cream Gelato Cake

Strawberries-and-Cream Gelato Cake, sliced to reveal layers of sorbet and gelato. — Victor Protasio

With only two ingredients (ripe strawberries and sugar), Jon Snyder’s vivid sorbet explodes with fresh fruit flavor. He layers the sorbet with two different gelatos — sour cream and strawberry — for creaminess and a layered berry flavor. Alternatively, you may whip up the sorbet and save some time and effort by purchasing store-bought gelatos. Or, if convenience is essential, simply use your favorite flavor combinations of store-bought gelatos, ice creams, and sorbets to build the cake using this method.

18 of 20

Summer Pavlova with Fresh and Grilled Berries

Overhead view of Summer Pavlova with Fresh and Grilled Berries, sliced into large wedges. — Con Poulos

Instead of piling this pillowy Pavlova with just fresh berries, Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple grills some of the berries in a packet, so they get deliciously juicy.

19 of 20

Goat Cheese Cake with Mixed Berries

Goat Cheese Cake with Mixed Berries, served on an ethced glass platter. — Andre Baranowski

Goat cheese gives a twist to traditional cheesecake and adds a savory element to this not-too-sweet dessert.

20 of 20

Lemon-Thyme Sorbet with Summer Berries

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. Jean-Georges Vongerichten first developed this breezy lemon-thyme ice for F&W, then started serving it as a special at his Mercer Kitchen.

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