The Best Strawberry Desserts to Enjoy All Season Long

Pastry chef Michelle Polzine makes her riff on strawberry shortcake with sweet, intensely flavored Seascape strawberries and fragrant Meyer lemon cream.

Chef Carlos Salgaldo makes these fantastic tamales by charring strawberries in a skillet, then mixing them into a buttery masa filling.

As stunning as it is delicious, this creamy strawberry-and-sour-cream gelato cake from Jon Snyder is the perfect centerpiece for summer celebrations. 

Semi-dry Riesling, which is refreshing and not too sweet, is the secret to this impressive, balanced dessert. Dried apricots lend a gentle bitterness while the strawberries add sweetness and impart the rosiest color. 

With a perfectly buttery crust and a sweet, jammy filling, this slab pie from Joanne Chang is one of the most delicious desserts you’ll eat all summer.

Pastry chef Jen Yee makes these pretty sandwiches with a simple Japanese dough that combines sweet glutinous rice flour, sugar, water and strawberry jam.

Chef Andrea Reusing makes every part of these lovely baked Alaskas from scratch—even the graham crackers for the base. She says it’s OK to use store-bought grahams, though, and also says that if making homemade ice cream isn’t your thing, you can sub in a good prepared brand. 

When crafting new paletas for her company La Newyorkina, Fany Gerson’s rule of thumb is this: If the colors of her ingredients go together, the flavors will, too. These bright, red-and-orange-hued ice pops are perfect to make in May when juicy strawberries are at their peak.

This silky cheesecake gets sweetness and tang from a blend of cream cheese and sour cream. Matzo meal and ground almonds replace the usual graham crackers in the crust for a nutty, toasty crunch. Topped with sugary strawberries and toasted almond slivers, this cake makes a beautiful centerpiece at any table.

To guarantee homemade gelato’s luscious consistency and purity of flavor, Jon Snyder suggests thickening gelato with cornstarch rather than eggs. The result has less palate-coating fat than ice cream and lets the fruit shine.

“It doesn't get much easier than strawberry shortcake, but this family-style version I created definitely makes it foolproof,” Ben Mims writes. “Instead of punching out all those small cakes, the dough is pressed into a pan and baked as one giant cake, which is much quicker and less stress-inducing, especially when you want an effortless dessert for a weeknight that truly takes no time at all.”

Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson pairs a subtly tangy berry granita with honey-sweetened pesto in this refreshing summer dessert. Choose the sweetest, juiciest berries for the most flavorful granita.

This simple cake relies on a well-aerated batter for its light texture; cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy before adding the flour for best results.

The chile-induced heat in this dish doesn’t kick in until the last moment, creating a gentle afterburn that is cooled by sweet strawberries and a smooth bed of tangy cream.

With only two ingredients (berries and sugar), Jon Snyder’s vivid sorbet explodes with fresh fruit flavor. This super-simple recipe calls for the ripest strawberries and requires an ice cream maker.

You’re never too grown up to enjoy a good ice pop, and this recipe is the perfect excuse to celebrate your inner kid. The sweet orangey flavor of Grand Marnier accents the fresh, juicy strawberries for a fruity flavor that’s perfectly balanced by tangy crème fraîche. 

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.

A mixture of spelt and almond flours, gently combined with cold butter and creamy buttermilk, creates tender, fluffy biscuits that cover this juicy strawberry cobbler filling. Use the sweetest, best-quality berries from the market; their flavor is the foundation of this seasonal dessert.

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.