A combination of all-purpose and potato flours gives this simple summer tart a delicate, crumbly crust. Plums, peaches, or berries can be substituted for apricots. Penny De Los Santos
Sweet and juicy peaches, apricots, and plums are a sticky, happy snack eaten out of hand, but they truly shine in this array of seasonal dishes, from a refreshing gin-spiked fizz to apricot-studded grape leaves to a traditional peach cobbler.
Apricot-Almond Tart
You can substitute the apricots in this juicy tart for plums, peaches, or even berries.
Hungarian Plum Cake (Szilvás Pite)
Yogurt adds a slight tartness to this cake from home cook Mária Keresztes Kovács. Our recipe calls for plums, but apricots, peaches, or any stone fruit works too.
Green Bean and Peach Salad
Summer peaches pair remarkably well with sweet caramelized onions and crisp green beans in this salad from Deb Miller of Lawrence, Kansas.
Moscato and Peach Gelée
This refreshing gelée gets its light, fruity flavor from ripe peaches and semisweet fizzy moscato wine.
Plum Pie
Grape jelly intensifies the flavor of ripe plums in this sweet-tart summer pie from Drummond Ranch pie contestant Tracy Harris.
Tuică De Prune (Fermented Plum Brandy)
Fruit-steeped brandies like this one, common throughout Transylvania and Hungary, are easy to make at home: Plums and sugar are simply left to ferment for two weeks, and then infused into brandy.
Olive Oil Quatre Quarts with Chopped Fruit
This variation on a classic French pound cake, in which ingredient quantities are determined by relative weight, uses olive oil instead of butter for a light, fresh flavor. The recipe was developed by SAVEUR contributor Nancy Harmon Jenkins, who recommends using a Polder Kitchen Scale for accurate measure.
Apricot Tarts with Pistachios
Lightly sweetened apricots are baked quickly in a simple short-bread crust for these rustic tarts, which are garnished with vibrant green pistachios and fleur de sel. Other stone fruits, like plums and peaches, will work just as well.
Peach Ice Cream
Sweet, pale orange ice cream flavored with ripe, juicy peaches simply screams summer.
Apricot Salsa with Mint
Apricots’ ripe acidity lend themselves well to this cooked fruit salsa, simultaneously tangy and sweet.
Roasted Peaches in Bourbon Syrup with Smoked Salt
In his cookbook Salted, Mark Bitterman writes of this peach, cinnamon, and salt recipe: “Your first bite will expand the boundaries of sensation, separating your mouth from the rest of your body, and you’ll be feeling spiciness in the warmth of your hands and smokiness in the tingling of your toes.” We agree.
Plum Tart
The recipe for this quick and easy tart comes from the fifth edition of Joy of Cooking (Bobbs-Merrill, 1963), and features crushed amaretti cookies, walnuts, and brandy-soaked raisins.
Apricot Cake
This simple sour cream cake is brightened by lemon zest and dotted with ripe apricot halves that cook down to intense tangy sweetness in the oven.
Peach-Raspberry Trifle
Layers of coconut sponge cake, raspberries, tapioca, and bourbon-stewed peaches in easily portable mason jars make this trifle perfect for summer picnics. The compote and the cake can be made up to two days ahead; store them in airtight containers in the fridge. Get the recipe for Peach-Raspberry Trifle »
Plum Strudel
This satisfying pastry layers plum preserves and walnuts for a gooey, crumbly cake.
Ginger Peach Pie
A touch of spicy ginger and cinnamon add warmth and depth to sweet summer peaches in this pie.
White Peaches Poached in Sauternes
For this very delicate dessert, use bottled spring water and a light, good-quality sauternes or barsac. The peaches shouldn’t marinate too long, so make them in the afternoon for dinner that night.
