You’ll want to make our Best Berry Desserts all summer long. These dreamy, seasonal sweets are ideal for casual dining or dinner parties!

Berry Recipes are a delicious way to celebrate any occasion. These Pies, Tarts, Shortcakes, Cheesecakes, and everything in between are the perfect way to end a meal.

Berry Desserts Collage.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You’ll Love these Berry Desserts
2 Strawberries:
3 How to Select the Best Strawberries
4 What’s the Best Way to Clean Strawberries?
5 More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love:
6 Raspberries:
7 Selecting Raspberries
8 How to Freeze Raspberries and Other Berries
9 More Delicious Raspberry Recipes:
10 Mixed Berries, Blackberry and Blueberry Recipes
11 More Mixed Berry, Blackberry, and Blueberry Recipes
12 Plus More Berry Recipes You’ll Love:
13 Frequently Asked Questions

Why You’ll Love these Berry Desserts

Strawberries:

Local strawberries are the first to ripen, so a good strawberry shortcake is always on our June menu. From there, I make tarts, parfaits, and even cheesecakes topped with luscious, juicy strawberries. Scroll through and let me know your favorites!

Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream featured image.

Strawberry Shortcakes with White Chocolate Mousse – The doctored-up whipped cream make these irresistible.

Strawberry Parfaits

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits – Layering sweet berries and a light cheesecake-inspired mixture makes for a terrific summer dessert.

Fresh Strawberry Tartlets | Dreamy tartlets topped with luscious cream cheese filling and topped with berry slices.

Fresh Strawberry Tartlets – These gorgeous tarts showcase the best of summer strawberries.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle | Layers of angel food cake, boozy berries and cream cheese filling

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle – A showstopping dessert with sweet berries, angel food cake, and a light cheesecake filling.

Mascarpone Cheesecake | The most creamy, luscious cheesecake topped with sweetened balsamic strawberries.

Mascarpone Cheesecake with Balsamic Strawberries – The addition of mascarpone cheese gives an Italian twist to this lovely dessert!

Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe - No Jello needed, just pure ripe strawberry flavor for the perfect summer dessert!

Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe – Nothing shouts summer like a strawberry pie!

How to Select the Best Strawberries 

Use your eyes and nose to pick out perfect strawberries for your desserts. The tastiest strawberries will be totally red, without a green or white area near the stem. The tiny strawberry seeds should not be brown and dried, as this indicates older strawberries. Plus, the berries should be glossy, not dull.

If your berries are in a plastic container, check the bottom to ensure there aren’t any moldy or bruised berries in the package. And you should also be able to detect the lovely aroma of fresh strawberries when they are fresh and ripe.

What’s the Best Way to Clean Strawberries?

Wait until an hour or so before you start cooking to wash off your berries. Moisture will accelerate their deterioration. Gently rinse them off in a colander, and after letting them drain, pat them dry with paper towels. PRO-Tip: Alternatively, if you’re worried about pesticide residue, you can soak them for 20 minutes in a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts water. Drain and pat dry. This will also keep them fresh longer.

More Strawberry Recipes You’ll Love:

Raspberries:

When the raspberries are plump and sweet, it’s time to explore all the amazing raspberry-based desserts. A raspberry sauce is perfect with a flourless chocolate cake, but we really love a raspberry pie. What berry recipes do you like to make?

Selecting Raspberries

When picking out berries for your raspberry recipes, look for plump, unmarred berries that are brightly colored with a slightly hazy cast. Like with strawberries, inspect all sides of the packaging for spoiled berries.

White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake slice on a round white plate with fresh raspberries and a red handle fork.

White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake – A swirl of raspberry sauce makes an elegant topping for this white chocolate-infused cheesecake.

Stack of Streusel Topped Raspberry Cookie Bars on a small round white plate.

Raspberry Squares – Made with fresh berries and a buttery crumb topping, you’ll adore these berry bars!

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova - A sublime dessert with a chocolate meringue topped with berries and cream.

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova – Many of my friends had not eaten a pavlova until I shared mine. Another gorgeous raspberry dessert!

Raspberry Amaretto Bundt Cake | Pound cake full of fresh raspberries and flavored with extracts and liqueur.

Raspberry Amaretto Bundt Cake – Perfect for picnics and potlucks!

Lattice Topped Raspberry Pie on a white plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a fork.

Lattice-Topped Raspberry Pie – My Mother-in-Law introduced me to raspberry pie. Oh, so delicious!!

How to Freeze Raspberries and Other Berries

If you hit a berry patch or a local farmers’ market and purchase too many berries, it’s easy to freeze them for later. With raspberries, you’ll want to rinse them first and let them dry on a dishcloth or paper towels. I like to first freeze them on a sheet pan, then transfer the frozen berries to a  freezer-safe zip-top bag. Like raspberries, blackberries are very fragile and can be frozen in the same manner.

Strawberries can be frozen like raspberries, either whole or cut in half. Blueberries should not be rinsed first, as this can toughen the skins. Note that most frozen berries will be soft and juicy after they’re defrosted, but can still be used to make pies, crumbles, crisps, smoothies, fruit sauces, and more.

More Delicious Raspberry Recipes:

Mixed Berries, Blackberry and Blueberry Recipes

To shake things up, use a mixture of berries. Doesn’t a tart with concentric circles of gorgeous fragrant berries make a stunning statement? Click through to see what magical mixture of berries is needed to create a wonderful, mouthwatering Razzleberry Pie.

And how about boysenberries? They’re a magical hybrid made from crossing raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries! They make a magnificent pie! And my husband adores blueberry desserts—especially a homemade blueberry pie.

Razzleberry Pie | Raspberry, Blackberry and Blueberry Pie with a crumb topping.

Razzleberry Pie – A triple berry winner!! I can never resist a berry pie.

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars on a round white plate with fresh blackberris and a red handled fork.

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars – 3 Delicious Layers!!

Summer Fruit Tart | Pastry crust with whipped cream and cream cheese filling topped with glorious summer berries

Summer Fruit Tart – Take the time to arrange your fresh berries for a stunning dessert!

Mixed Berry Torte on a dessert plate with a fork and berries.

Mixed Berry Torte – A simple cake recipe that garners rave reviews!

More Mixed Berry, Blackberry, and Blueberry Recipes

Plus More Berry Recipes You’ll Love:

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Select the Best Berries?

Use your senses to pick the best berries. They should have a sweet aroma, be bright in color without signs of unripe/green or yellow areas, bruising, or deterioration, and not feel mushy. Toss shriveled or moldy berries.

Should You Wash Berries Before Using?

It’s best to give them a quick rinse to remove any dirt, pesticides, mold, or other contamination. A mixture of 1 part vinegar and 4 parts cool water works in two ways.
It cleans the berries plus it helps lengthen the time they stay fresh by killing any mold or bacteria that will accelerate spoiling. Rinse in cool water after soaking and dry thoroughly (use a salad spinner lined with paper towels to minimize bruising) or spread them out on paper toweling.

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