Fruits of all colors and shapes, to refresh or satisfy a 'sweet tooth', with or without added alcohol, to drink, eat or lick, the key to summer fruit recipes is that they are simple, full of vitamins and that almost all the main ingredients can be harvested even in the home garden... and they are also an excellent alternative to less healthy desserts.
Although this summer is not exactly the most summery, we can at least conjure up a summer atmosphere with seasonal fruit. Nectarines, peaches, bananas, pineapples, watermelons, melons, berries and many more fruits of different colors and shapes with an abundance of vitamins offer a huge number of creative opportunities for tasty and quickly prepared desserts. If you're not drooling yet, you will be, because here are 8 fun ways to use summer fruit.
1. Strawberry, mango and pineapple ice cream pops
If strawberries, pineapples and mangoes are excellent fruits in themselves, how delicious they are only in the form of colorful refreshing ice cream lights that will satisfy both young and old sweet lovers. The recipe is simple:
Ingridients:
For 16 lights.
Strawberry part:
– 2 cups of frozen strawberries
– 2/3 cup of water
For the mango and pineapple part:
– 1 cup frozen mango chunks
– 1 cup of frozen pineapple chunks
– 2/3 cup of water
Puree the strawberries with a blender and add water. Spread the mixture over the candle molds so that a third of each mold is covered with the strawberry mixture. Do the same with the mango pieces and then the pineapple pieces.
Add sticks to the light models and stick them in the freezer for a few hours (more than 6 hours if you didn't use frozen fruit)... and then hope for nice sunny weather when the refreshing fruit lights will be even more pleasant.
Tip: to get the lights out of the model more easily, hold it under hot water for about 20 seconds.
2. Agua de Sandia
Agua fresca means fresh water, to which can be added melon, blueberries, limes, lemons, cucumbers, strawberries and, if desired, cereals, seeds, nuts... Agua de sandia literally means watermelon water, and the recipe for it is ridiculously easy. For a summer drink that will surely become your favorite sip this summer, all you need is water, a blender and watermelon, a fruit that contains a lot of water (it's great for hydration on hot summer days) and is already naturally sweet.
Ingridients:
For 6 persons
– ¼ fresh watermelon
– 750 ml of cold water
– juice of 2 squeezed limes
– ice cubes (optional)
– a large jug, a blender and a colander
Cut the watermelon into cubes, mash them in a blender, add half of the water and mix until the pieces of watermelon completely fall apart and thicken the water (if desired, the watermelon seeds can be removed before mixing). Add the juice of 2 squeezed limes and pour the drink through a strainer into a large jug. Pour in the rest of the water and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, add ice cubes, pour into glasses, add umbrellas and you are ready for hedonistic summer lounging and sipping.
Tip: Such water is edible only on the first day, after which it loses both color and taste.
3. Fruit summer salad
Plums, mirabelles, pears, apples and other summer fruits are so much tastier if they come from the home garden. Mixed and with the addition of fresh mint, it will surely bring back childhood memories... or create new ones.
Ingridients:
For 2-4 people
– more red and black plums
– 1 peach and 1 nectarine
– 1 apple and 1 pear
– juice of ½ lemon
– fresh mint leaves
The preparation of summer fruit salad is completely simple: wash the fruit, cut it into pieces, mix them, sprinkle with squeezed lemon juice and sprinkle with torn leaves of fresh mint. An excellent and healthy dessert that will surely be welcomed on even a hot summer day.
Tip: add a spoon or two of homemade ice cream or cold yogurt to the fruit salad.
4. Mango ice cream
Creamy, juicy and homemade ice cream is the best. So much better if it's made of mango. The recipe that follows requires a little more physical work, but all the effort will be rewarded with the first bite of this mango goodness.
Ingridients:
For 2 people
– 2 pieces or 1 kg of mango
– 200 g of powdered milk
– 200 g of low-fat cream
– 1 cup of milk
– ½ cup of sugar
Peel the mango, cut it into cubes and mix them in a blender to make a 'puree'. Add milk powder, a cup of milk, half a cup of sugar and low-fat cream. Blend for 2 minutes... and voila, almost. Only a 'draft' of mango ice cream is ready. While it is still liquid, pour it into a container and place it in the freezer. The mixture is then taken out of the freezer every 3 hours and beaten well with a fork to break up the frozen pieces. Do this three or four times and then leave the ice cream in the freezer overnight. The next morning will be difficult only because the ice cream will have to wait until dessert time after lunch, when the wait and work will definitely be worth it.
5. Virgin or naughty strawberry sorbet
A dessert for adults, which always fits, is best when served in a beautiful glass and in even better company. Naughty strawberry sorbet is a refreshing, light, sweet and sour dessert with Prosecco, while the virgin, non-alcoholic version is made with soda.
Ingridients:
For 4-6 persons
– 2/3 cup of sugar
– 2/3 cup of water
– 2 cups prosecco (or soda)
– 1 ½ cups of fresh strawberries
Only 4 ingredients are needed for this delicious dessert. Syrup and strawberry puree are prepared separately from them.
To prepare the syrup, mix sugar and water and cook over low heat until the sugar melts completely, remove from heat and let cool.
In between, place 2 cups of Prosecco in the freezer (it should be very cold, but not frozen, so it should be in the freezer for between 30 and 60 minutes).
Blend the berries to make a puree.
When all the ingredients have cooled down, mix them well in a blender. Transfer everything to a container that goes into the freezer. Take the mixture out of the chest every four hours and mash the contents well and break the frozen pieces (you can also mix it in a blender). We do this 3-4x before serving…. Let the sorbet chill a little while you prepare for the arrival of friends and a perfect summer night on the terrace.
6. Lemonade by the cube
Citrus! Refreshing fruits that quench thirst, fill with vitamin C and strengthen the immune system. If lemonade is already great, how good it is with grapefruit and orange! Inflow of energy and fresh strength guaranteed!
Ingridients:
– 3 oranges
– 2 grapefruits
– 4 lemons
– 1 liter of soda
– ice cubes
Simply squeeze the juice from the listed citrus fruits (save a few slices of each for decoration at the end), pour soda or sparkling water, add ice and slices of grapefruit, lemon and orange. For even more color and flavor, you can add fresh mint leaves... and enjoy!
READ MORE: Summer nutrition for good looks and excellent well-being
7. Apricot pastry, sugar-free, gluten-free
The only one in the series of recipes that requires the use of an oven. But this dessert is so juicy, full of flavors, easy on the body and quick to prepare, that the heat of the oven will be immediately justified.
Ingridients:
For 6 persons
Biscuit:
– 5 eggs
– 1 teaspoon of baking powder
– 60 ml of honey
– 190 g of almonds
– a little warm milk
Stuffing
– 500 g of Greek yogurt
– 10 g gelatin powder
– 1 lemon
– 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
– 100 ml of honey
– 300 ml of whipping cream
At the top:
– 10 apricots
– 1 tablespoon of rum
– 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
– 60 ml of honey
Preparation instructions:
Separate the yolks and whites and beat the whites into snow.
Grind the almonds until fine and mix them with honey and egg yolks to get a frothy mixture. We add snow from egg whites to this.
Heat the oven to 180 C and cover a 26 cm baking dish with baking paper. Place the biscuit mixture on top and bake for about 30 minutes. Pour warm milk over the hot biscuit (you can add a little rum) and let it cool completely. Mix yogurt, honey, vanilla extract and lemon pulp. To this mixture, add the cream, which we whipped separately. Mix well and add powdered gelatin, prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spread the mixture nicely on the cooled biscuit.
For the top part: wash the apricots, cut them and boil them for a few minutes. Then peel them and cook them in honey for a few more minutes on a low heat. Cook until the liquid is released and the mixture thickens really well. Add the vanilla essence only at the end. Remove the mixture from the heat and blend into a smooth puree. Let it cool down well and only then pour it over the biscuit filling.
Let the pastry cool overnight in the refrigerator, and the next morning we have a great start to the day.
8. Stuffed figs
Have you been on holiday in Greece? This delicious bite will take you back to a Greek beach in no time…
Ingridients:
– 19 smaller figs
– 60 ml of honey
- 120 ml ricotta (you can also use light cottage cheese or mascarpone)
– 60 ml of roasted and chopped almonds
Mash the ripest fig with a fork and mix with honey.
Cut an X into the remaining figs and spread the quarters out like flowers.
Mix and mash the ricotta and almonds in a small bowl. Stuff the figs generously with a spoon. Pour the honey with the mashed fig over the stuffed figs.
Tip: You can also add crushed pistachios to the mixture with ricotta and almonds. Mmmm……
