Sorbet

The sorbet can also be made with pluots or plumcots (plum-apricot hybrids).

Rhubarb and strawberries usually meet in late-spring pies. This dessert plays on the combination's sophistication. When roasted, rhubarb becomes more intense in flavor and color while still retaining its shape. Rose water contributes a floral delicacy (use it sparingly; a little goes a long way), and strawberry sorbet imparts a cool note.

Just a few minutes in a hot skillet gives the sauce a complex flavor. If you've got an extra minute or two, skip the chocolate chips and garnish the sundaes with chocolate curls shaved off the edge of a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler.

Calvados—Normandy's celebrated apple-cider brandy—is heady stuff, and by that we mean it has the power to transport you to a French bistro or farmhouse kitchen. This digestif-and-dessert combination would be sensational after a roast pork dinner.

If you're stopping at a Greek market for ingredients, grab some butter cookies.

We love to make sorbet when local berries are in season. The Simple Sugar Syrup keeps in your fridge for weeks.

The combination of plums and red wine gives this sorbet a stunning fuchsia color and a deep, fruit-filled flavor. Think of it as fruity mulled wine that's been frozen into a refreshing dessert.

If you're searching for a showstopping dessert (that is secretly easy to make) to serve company, look no further. Each gorgeous — and delicious — tricolored slice is a canvas of decorative swirls: vibrant orange, deep purple, and creamy white.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, go to Summer Cooking Guides. This is the perfect chocolate sorbet — very rich and full of bittersweet chocolate flavor. Use a top-quality cocoa powder; it will make a huge difference. And be sure to use a large saucepan, since the mixture will bubble up as it boils.

The perfect ending to a springtime brunch. Use the best strawberries you can find for that "real berry" flavor.

Cassis, also known as black currant, has a deep, velvety, ripe-berry flavor, along with a slight sourness; this sorbet plays up those qualities. We use bottled nectar, but if you find fresh black currants, you can certainly make your own (see cooks' note, below).

Graham crackers make a fun garnish.

If you can't find white peaches and nectarines, this dessert would also be lovely made with the yellow varieties.

The prototype for this wonderfully tangy sorbet was discovered in Hua Hin, Thailand, where we tasted a hibiscus sorbet made by chef David Bedinghaus at the Anantara Resort & Spa.

A perfect ending to any Asian meal.

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. My husband Matt and I created this recipe long before we opened The Bent Spoon. We have such special memories of picking baskets full of strawberries and making them into this bright reddish-pink sorbet, which captures their fresh-picked essence. We now use it in the top layer in our red, white, and blue cake. Because it's such a simple recipe, it's important to get fresh, organic berries picked at the height of their flavor. At the shop, we don't strain them — we like to keep the fruit as close to its natural state as possible. But if you dislike bits of seeds in your sorbet, feel free to strain the base before chilling it. The quality of the water is important as well — if your water has a bad aftertaste, so will your sorbet — so we recommend using bottled. The optional egg white helps to stabilize, emulsify, and preserve the texture of the sorbet if you are going to keep it in your freezer for a few days.

Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from Gabrielle Carbone, coproprietor of The Bent Spoon ice cream parlor in Princeton, New Jersey. This recipe makes a luscious, blue-purple sorbet that's perfect for our red, white, and blue cake. It's a pretty simple recipe — the quality comes from fresh, organic berries picked at the height of their flavor. The quality of the water is important as well — if your water has a bad aftertaste, so will your sorbet — so we recommend using bottled. The optional egg white helps to stabilize, emulsify, and preserve the texture of the sorbet if you are going to keep it in your freezer for a few days. Also optional is straining. At the shop, we don't strain — we like to keep the fruit as close to its natural state as possible. But if you dislike bits of seeds in your sorbet, feel free to strain the base before chilling it.

Though we've divided this recipe into two sections, it really contains just four ingredients: rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup. (Adding a little corn syrup to a sorbet helps give it a velvety texture.)