Simple Homemade Desserts For Summer
Love hosting garden parties? Love attending other people’s garden parties? It’s always good to bring some new ideas to the table. To be able to wow your guests, stay away from the classic or traditional party treats and instead opt for things that have a twist.
Summer desserts are a fantastic way to sweeten up your summer party. In this blog post, I’ve included a few easy, delicious and slightly unusual sweet treats. The guest won’t be able to accuse you of buying these desserts from the supermarket!
Summer Berry Pavlova
Ingredients
- 6 large egg whites
- 310g caster sugar (300 for the meringue and 2tbsp for the pavlova)
- 400 fresh strawberries/raspberries
- 200ml natural yogurt
- 1 vanilla pod
- fresh mint
Directions
- First, you need to preheat your oven to 150°C.
- Then separate the egg yolks and white and put them into individual bowls. Whisk the egg whites at a medium speed or until they start to form nice firm peaks.
- Keep the mixer running, and gradually add in the sugar and pinch of sea salt. Then turn up the mixer to the highest setting and whisk for around 7 to 8 minutes or more, basically until the meringue is white glossy and smooth. (If the meringue consistency feels grainy, whisk a little longer, but make sure to be careful not to let the meringue collapse.
- Line two baking trays with baking paper. Divide the meringue mixture evenly between the two trays and shape the blood into a circle. Place both of the trays into the oven and bake for 1 hour or until the meringue looks slightly golden and fluffy in the middle.
- Now for the summer fruits, halve or quarter then. You can use strawberries, raspberries or even both.
- Whip up the double cream and add the sugar, combined fully until soft peaks are formed before then add in yoghurt. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds and then fold into the creamy mixture.
- Spoon half of the cream mixture on top of the meringue halves and smooth it out. Then sprinkle half of the berries evenly around the cream mixture -, place the other meringue on top and press down gently, so that the two halves stick together.
- Lastly, spread the remaining cream mixture over the top layer and berries on top. Pick a few mint leaves and scatter them over. Tuck in and enjoy!
Oreo Sundae
Ingredients
Directions
- Put 2 scoops of ice cream in each sundae glass, and sprinkle the chocolate chips and Oreo pieces.
- Finish off the sundae with whipped cream, and cover it all over with Oreo crumbles.
Lemon Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 large ready-made flan sponge
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 3tbsp cornflour
- 350g soft cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4 lemons
- 1 vanilla pod
- 300ml cream crème fraîche
Directions
- Just before preparing the candied peel, grate 1 of the lemons.
- For the candied peel, cut long strips of peel from the lemon and then cut into thin julienne strips. Put them in a pan and cover with 100ml cold water, add in 100g of caster sugar and gently bring it to a boil, continue to stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Then simmer for a further 30 minutes, and after leave to cool.
- For the base, heat your oven to 180C/160C fan and lightly butter a 25cm cake tin.
- Trim the ready-made flan sponge so that it nearly sits in the flat base tin.
- Mix the sugar and cornflour in a large bowl. Add in the soft cheese and beat well until it has blended into a cream texture, then beat the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and crème fraîche, until smooth. Pour the mixture on top of the sponge base.
- Wrap the bottom third of the tin in clingfilm or foil to help prevent any leaks and sit in a roasting tray.
- Now pour into enough hot water so that it just covers the base on the tray, then put it in the oven for between 50-55 minutes, until the cheese is just set and a little golden on top. (Top up with more water if needed)
Lemon Tart
Ingredients
- 500g plain flour
- 140g icing sugar
- 250g unsalted butter
- 9 egg yolks
- 140g caster sugar
- 150ml double cream
- 2-3 lemons, juiced and zest
Directions
- The first thing to do is to start making the pastry and mix the flour and icing sugar in the bowl. Then rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the texture becomes crumbly. Mix in the egg yolks and if the mixture becomes too dry, just a couple of drops of water until it comes together.
- Roll the pastry into a ball and divide it in half. (If you don’t need all the pastry, you can freeze it and use it later.)
- Flatten out the pastry using your hands, wrap the dough with cling film, then chill for 30 minutes at least.
- Whilst your pastry is chilling, start making the filling. First, beat all the rest of the unused except for the zest, altogether. Sieve the mixture and stir in the zest.
- Remove your pastry from the fridge. Lightly flour your surface and roll it out to a thickness of about £1 coin, then place it into the tart tin. Make sure to press the pastry into all the corners and sides gently. Trim any excess pastry to make a clean appearance, then stab a few holes in the bottom using a fork, before then putting back into the fridge for a further 30 minutes.
- Now, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan. Line your tart with foil fill with rice or dried beans and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes until a biscuity texture and appearance.
- Once the pastry is ready, remove from the oven and pour in the lemon filling and bake again for 30-45 minutes until it just set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool, before removing the tart from the tin.
- Lastly, serve the tart at room temperature or chilled to the best taste.
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