10 Nut-Free Desserts to Make Summer a Little Sweeter

This summer my wine of choice is a Spanish Rosé (I haven't met one I didn't like).  My outfit of choice is an airy summer sundress.  And my motto of choice is "keep it simple."  Meals are lighter and freer.  Ingredients are fresher, preparation is simpler.   I flutter around the kitchen, barefoot, like a robin building a nest, gathering a bit of this and a bite of that and weaving all the pieces together into something that resembles a meal.  Then everything goes outside to the table in the shade, a refuge from the heat of the kitchen.  I don't know if it's the breeze that blows down off the mountains in the evening or the heat that radiates from the patio stones beneath my bare toes, but everything tastes a little sweeter out there under the trees.  I love to sit long into the evening, sipping a last glass of wine while the kids run around the yard or hop the fence to play with the neighbors.  When twilight falls we cover the table with candles and sit a little longer.  Summer is the season for savoring!

Here are 10 of my family's favorite summertime dessert recipes.  These are the ones I come back to summer after summer, year after year.  They're a snapshot of everything I love about summer, and of course, they're all peanut and tree nut free.

1.  Summer Berry Tart 

I make these fresh fruit tarts all the time in the summer.  This one uses a basic pastry shell that can be made ahead of time.  It's filled with simple vanilla pastry cream and topped with a mountain of berries - whatever is in season!  Get the recipe...

2.  Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream with Blueberry Syrup

  

I still say that my ice cream maker is the best small kitchen appliance I have ever purchased.  As a family with a peanut allergy, supermarket ice creams are typically unsafe.  I love being able to make any flavour we want at home.  Get the recipe...

3. Blackberry Pavlova with Blackberry Honey Syrup

  

I think it's safe to say that anything made with meringue is "my favourite."  Instead of neat little piped meringue cookies, though, I love to make big, messy Pavlovas in the summertime.  They're easy and unpretentious.  In fact the only "work" involved is to beat the eggs to stiff peaks.  Top it with a mound of fresh berries and you have the perfect summer dessert!  Get the recipe...

4.  Sunflower and Honey Swirl Ice Cream

 

I look at ice cream like a blank canvas, just waiting to be painted with the flavors of the hour.  This one is inspired but the peanut butter and honey sandwiches my mother would make for me as a child.  They were an easy summer treat.  Of course, this ice cream is completely peanut-free, but has that salty-sweet crunch that I remembered and loved from my childhood!  Get the recipe...

5.  Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

  

This is our go-to recipe for birthday parties, school celebrations or whenever we need a safe-for-her treat for Eva.  It's so easy to switch up the flavors in both the cupcakes and the frosting.  Fresh strawberries are a favourite!  Get the recipe...

6.  Cinnamon-Blackberry Galette

  

I love the simplicity of rustic, free-form pies, especially in the summer when I'm craving a fruit pie with a flaky, buttery crust... but not all the work.  This one is perfect topped with a little homemade ice cream, whipped cream or sweetened mascarpone.  Get the recipe...

7.  Peach and Sage Flower Galette

Here's another galette that I love to make.  I add the flowers only during the short season they're in bloom.  They add a unique "herbal" flavour that compliments the peaches so well!  But if you can't get sage flowers, it's just as good without.  Get the recipe...

8.  Vintage Banana Cream Pie

Banana cream pie is an American classic, but most of the time it's filled with processed ingredients and artificial flavors, even when made "from scratch." This one is made without all the yucky stuff, the way my grandma would make it - only milk and eggs, sugar and vanilla ... and lots of bananas!  You can make it in either a graham cracker curst or a traditional pie curst.  It's up to you!  Get the recipe... 

9.  Raspberry Shortcake

We were walking through one of our local bakeries a few years back, looking for peanut-free options, (which were very limited!).  The kids happened to see some little raspberry shortcakes in the dessert case and fell in love!  Of course, they weren't safe, so instead we picked up some fresh raspberries and cream and went home to make them.  These are so easy and perfect for the Fourth of July!  Get the recipe...  

10.  Orange Vanilla Cake

This cake reminds me of a walk on the beach - the sweet, salty smell of oranges wafting from the nearby trees and the clean white sand stretching out for miles!  It's quick and easy to whip together and perfect for a beach picnic or just straight from the refrigerator.  Get the recipe...