When berries are no longer at their peak and apple season hasn’t yet started, stone fruits like peaches and plums are at their ripe, juicy best. These favorite desserts look gorgeous on the table thanks to their rosy, peachy tones and are a deeply satisfying way to end a late-summer meal. The recipes are flexible, too. Have plums? Swap them in for peaches if you like. Firm-flesh fruits are almost always interchangeable, so use what you love.
-
RecipePeach & Blueberry Galette
This rustic fruit tart is the perfect vehicle for ripe summer blueberries and peaches. The crust is free form—it just gets folded over the filling and then baked. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of crème fraîche. -
RecipeSummer Stone Fruit Shortcakes
Spring’s got its strawberries, and late summer has its stone fruit. This gorgeous shortcake features plums and apricots, but you can sub in peaches, nectarines, and pluots if you like. -
RecipeGrilled Peaches with Dukkah & Blueberries
Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of nuts, seeds, and spices that is so good you can eat pinches of it straight, as a snack. Daub some ripe peaches with olive oil, put them on a very hot grill, and then sprinkle them with dukkah. The result is a bit like peach pie without the crust: warm and yielding, with just a hint of char. -
RecipePlum Clafoutis
Plums are a great choice when making the traditional French dessert called clafoutis since plums are firm enough to stay intact. Quickly sautéing the fruit first concentrates its juice and creates a flavorful syrup that permeates the custard. -
RecipePeach, Plum & Apricot Cobbler
This cobbler is a terrific way to combine all the juicy summer stone fruits that are in season together. Include a mix of apricots, white peaches, nectarines, and Black Beauty plums. -
RecipeGrilled Nectarines with Blackberries & Ice Cream
No need to close up the grill come dessert time. The nectarines here are rolled in a buttery mix of honey and cinnamon and grilled to perfection. This “sundae” is especially good with caramel-flavored ice cream, but vanilla is also delicious. -
RecipeBrandied Apricot-Almond Slab Pie
Slab pies are like giant Pop-Tarts designed to feed a crowd. As the pie cools, the filling—made with both fresh and dried apricots—firms up enough that the slices can be eaten out of hand. -
RecipePeaches & Nectarines with Rosemary & Honey Syrup
Similar fruits make pleasing salads. Nectarines and peaches, both stone fruit, work well together because of their similar textures and sweet flavor. -
RecipePlum Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar & Cardamom Streusel
This dish, with its big wedges of plum, is coffee cake with a twist; the brown sugar and cardamom streusel make it truly special. -
RecipeApricot-Thyme Semifreddo
Fresh apricots are too juicy to use here—their juice would freeze into ice crystals that would mar the dessert’s smooth texture. Instead, use dried apricots, preferably the dark orange California variety for their intense, slightly sour flavor. -
RecipePoached Plum Sundaes
Poaching plums in dry white wine and vanilla makes them deliciously complex and even more succulent and juicy than they naturally are. -
RecipePluot-Blueberry Cobbler with Coconut Dumplings
The pluot—a cross between a plum and an apricot—is a perfect flavor partner for the ripe summer blueberries in this dumpling-topped cobbler. A dash of dark rum adds yet another layer of flavor to the filling. -
RecipeApricot-Vanilla Sparkling Wine Floats
A grown-up take on a root beer float, this dessert is elegant yet playful, and a great way to take advantage of stone fruit season. -
RecipePlum Tart with Lemon Shortbread Crust
This stand-out make-ahead tart looks impressive (read: definitely serve this to company!), but it’s surprisingly easy to make. In fact, it’s a pastry-phobe’s dream: you pat it into the pan—no rolling involved. -
RecipeSpiced Peach-Blueberry Pandowdy
Pandowdies were historically made with apples and bread dough. But this modern twist combines peaches and blueberries and exchanges the traditional bread dough for a buttery pastry topped with sliced almonds. -
RecipeLattice-Top Peach Pie
Rose Levy Beranbaum macerates the fruit and boils its juices to intensify the pie’s peachiness. -
RecipeApricots with Moscato & Thyme Syrup
This delightful salad begins by marinating dried apricots in a sweet Moscato wine. The wine plumps the apricots and then becomes part of a thyme-infused syrup. -
RecipeRaspberry-Peach Cake
This cake is terrific for breakfast or paired with summery picnic fare. Add a drizzle of berry sauce or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream and it turns into a great finale for any summer dinner. If you prefer plums, give this gingery variation a try. -
RecipeSugar-Roasted Peach & Cornbread Sundaes with Bacon Syrup
In this dessert, cakey cornbread is paired with the smoky-sweet peaches, salty bacon-studded maple syrup, and rich vanilla gelato. A sprinkle of fruity Aleppo pepper and minced fresh sage completes the sweet-salty-spicy-herbal equation.
