Parfait

Looks pretty and tastes great. If you can find fresh raspberries at this time of year, layer them with the other fruits.

A simplified version of the classic Italian dessert, this looks lovely served in parfait glasses for a change. The recipe features pound cake and cream cheese instead of the traditional (but harder-to-find) ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese.

Offer butter cookies alongside this pretty pink dessert.

Begin preparing this delicious dessert at least one day ahead.

These are also nice for breakfast. Just top them with nonfat vanilla yogurt instead of the frozen yogurt suggested in the recipe.

A luscious caramel-lime sauce makes this dessert a real star.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Key lime pie, with its tangy custard filling and pastry crust, was popular in the Florida Keys at the turn of the century. The pie eventually evolved to include the graham-cracker-crumb crusts created in the thirties. We’ve layered all the components in wine goblets.

Dolce all'Amaretto Though this is nothing like the Treviso-born tiramisù popularized across the world, we've christened it with the same name because it's just as much a "pick-me-up." The hazelnut cookies soak up the sweet vermouth and are layered with the creamy, whipped mascarpone. Since no cooking is necessary, it is perfect for summer entertaining.

An easy substitute for the mascarpone, a soft Italian cream cheese, is 12 ounces cream cheese blended with six tablespoons whipping cream and 1/4 cup sour cream.

Offer cookies alongside this dessert.

Here's a sophisticated combination of homemade blackberry gelatin layered with vanilla cream. Make the gelatin at least one day ahead so that it has time to set.

Because they are prepared with purchased ice cream, these parfaits are super-easy to make. For a dramatic option, alternate layers of white and green mint ice creams.

Chocolate or coffee ice cream is also nice in this Italian-style dessert.

Though we used parfait glasses for this pudding to show off the layers, at the restaurant Stitt serves it in large coffee cups with saucers and spoons. The whipped cream topping looks like the foam on a cappuccino — hence its name.