A meal is never complete without a dessert and especially when it is summer, who wants to do without their favourite sweet dish! And desserts with seasonal summer fruits as base, high in water content and flavour, help beat the heat too.

Desserts based on fruits like mango, mint, variety of melons served with a combination of ice cream or sorbet are set to be popular during the coming summer months. Also, ice cream-based desserts will maintain their appeal.

“Keeping all factors in mind, we have come up with a cold watermelon cheese cake made using low fat cream. Low fat means less calories and watermelon, to keep you hydrated. We also offer Chocolate mint Opera that is served with mango sauce in a cube of watermelon,” said Anoop Paul, pastry chef of Ssence, The Suryaa.

The most popular desserts among Delhiites are Chocolate Fudge or warm Chocolate Brownie served with a shot of chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream. Nothing beats the combination of warm, rich Chocolate Brownie and a dollop of ice cream.

Anoop further added, “Mango and mint mousse, chocolate ice cream cake served with a shot of warm chocolate sauce, desserts served with a combination of sorbets, like our Valrhona Mousse, a combination of dark and blonde chocolate mousse served with Bailey’s Sorbet, can be refreshing desserts during this summer.”

“Parfait, Panacotta, Tiramisu, mousse, ice creams, Kulfi/ Matka Kulfi, Kulfi Faluda, Rasmalai and gelato are some of the other desserts which work best in the summer months,” said chef Ajay Mathur, executive chef of The Lalit.

In terms of making a simple dessert at home one can make an easy dessert – Fruit Ala Mode. Cut fruits into cubes and put them on a dessert plate and top it up with a scoop of mango ice cream. Garnish with chocolate curls, whipped cream and mint sprig.

Another one is Mango and Mint Souffle, made from eggs, sugar, gelatin, whipped cream, mango puree, diced mango and mint leaves. First, soak the gelatin in cold water and place it on a double boiler, then beat the yolks with half the amount of sugar on the double boiler. After that roughly chop the mint leaves and add the whipped cream to the egg yolk mixture, add in the pureed mango along with chopped mint and gelatin. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the remaining amount of sugar until light and fluffy, fold in the egg whites into the cream mixture. Pipe into glasses and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Finally, serve with diced mangoes and garnish with a sprig of mint.Chef Chintamani Arya, from Aanch, said, “We highly recommend Coconut Cigars for our dessert lovers. These are made of coconut filled in a thick layer of spring roll sheet and served with chilled ice cream. It is one of the light and easy to digest desserts.”