Electric Mixer

Everyone's free to be a kid again with one of these wickedly good frozen treats in hand. Chewy blondie cookies bookend a thick layer of lemony ice cream (store-bought vanilla bumped up with lemon juice and zest) ribboned with a speedy blueberry compote.

Make this delicate dessert in a shallow ceramic baking dish so that when it's baked, all that's visible is a sea of golden, toasty caramelized bread slices.

Crown broiled peaches with pillows of meringue and a bit of honeyed crunch.

Adding grated orange peel amps up the melon's flavor, and layering whipped cream with the icy granita makes for an intriguing contrast of both texture and temperature.

Exotic ginger-poached peaches are served with light, delicate meringues and softly whipped cream in a dessert that's great for summer entertaining (the peaches and meringues can be made a day ahead). A serrated vegetable peeler makes quick work of peeling the peaches.

Akashah's tasty citrus torte is both gluten-free and a source of healthy unsaturated fat.

Apricots and almonds have an affinity for each other, as you'll discover in this marriage of the stone fruit and a cool semifreddo dotted with crushed almond praline.

By its very nature, a Pavlova is a little wild—as proved by these three tiers of airy meringue, which crack and crumble to reveal marshmallowy interiors while the berries' juices puddle all over drifts of whipped cream. And that playful mix of textures and flavors sure tastes delicious. Meringues aren't usually made with moist brown sugar, but here it adds a deeper kind of sweetness. Baking them in cake pans, another unusual technique, helps these meringues crisp up.

With its ample doses of maple syrup, cream, and the freshest berries, this easy, elegant treat will knock apple pie off its pedestal. True to the spirit of Yankee thrift, any leftover berry mixture can be put to good use at tomorrow's breakfast table, as a topping for pancakes.

This is a great frosting for the Carrot Cake . The lemon zest complements the cream cheese so perfectly that I sometimes even snack on this frosting—I just can't get enough of the sweet, tangy flavor! If you want extra oomph on the Carrot Cake, add minced ginger to the lemon zest.

I love using this as a frosting or a filling because it is light and creamy, and less sweet than the Classic Americana Icing. It tastes just like whipped cream. Editor's note: This recipe is used as the filling for Sarah Magid's Goldies , an organic take on Twinkies.

Top these delicious bite-size cheesecakes with fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and/or blueberries.

These moist, tender treats are a cross between a cookie and a cake. They're delicious plain, but also make nice ice cream sandwiches.

Simple, tender buttermilk cake with a sugary crunch: We like it full of raspberries, but you could substitute any berry you pick up at the farmers market.

An amazing mix of textures and flavors—nutty, sweet, salty, plus a touch of heat from the peppercorns.

Baking the cake in one 12-inch round pan creates a dessert with presence. Assorted edible flowers make an easy, great-looking garnish.