5 Easy Summer Dessert Hack Recipes

Recipes by Gavan Knox. Follow him on Instagram and TikTok.

Frozen Lemonade Pie

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups sweetened condensed milk
• ¾ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 1 Tablespoon fine grated lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
• 3 cups whipped topping, thawed
• 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, thawed frozen lemonade concentrate,  lemon zest, vanilla extract and salt until completely combined. The mixture will thicken up.
2. Gently fold the thawed whipped topping into the lemonade mixture until smooth and uniform in appearance.
3. Pour the filling evenly into your graham cracker pie shell and transfer the pie to your fridge to chill for 20 -30 minutes before, moving to your freezer for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight, to freeze and set.
4. Serve straight from the freezer for a silky, ice-cream like texture.
5. Store and serve straight from the freezer as needed.

Garnish tip: If you want to elevate this and add an extra fruit punch try using freeze-dried fruit as a garnish. Crush the fruit pieces into a powder and sprinkle it over just before serving. You can sprinkle it all over, use some baking parchment to make a stencil for a decorative shape, or dust it on your serving plate.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tacos

Ingredients

Taco Shells

• 5x 8 inch soft tortillas
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup salted butter, melted

Strawberry topping

• 1 cup strawberries, roughly chopped
• ¼ granulated cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 2 Tablespoons cold water

Cheesecake filling

• ½ cup cream cheese, softened
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• ½ cup whipping cream

Directions

Taco shells

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. In a large flat dish mix the graham cracker crumbs and ground cinnamon.
2. Cut 4 rounds out of each tortilla shell with a cookie cutter to get 20 shells. Dip each tortilla round into melted butter then coat in graham cracker crumb mixture.
3. Flip a muffin tin upside down. Place the tortilla pieces in between muffin cups. Bake 10 minutes until just golden brown. Let cool in pan.

Strawberry topping

1. In a small pot, pour water, add sugar and strawberries. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer to soften the strawberries. Occasionally stir to break down the strawberries.
2. Dissolve cornstarch in water and pour into strawberry mix and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (mixture will be slightly chunky). Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Cheesecake topping

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Add in the whipping cream and beat on medium speed, until it thickens. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag.
2. Fill the cooled taco shells with cream cheese filling and top with 1/2 tsp strawberry filling. Sprinkle with additional graham cracker crumbs. Any remaining strawberry sauce can be used for dipping.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Watermelon Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 seedless watermelon

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup powdered sugar

Fruit Toppings

2 cups fruit to your liking. Choose from:

• sliced strawberries
• diced peaches
• blueberries
• raspberries
• kiwi
• halved cherries

Garnish

• mint leaves or edible flowers optional
• honey or maple syrup

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth
2. Add the Greek yogurt and fresh squeezed orange juice and beat until smooth.
3. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely smooth
4. Cover and chill while preparing fruit.
5. Slice watermelon about 1 to 2 inches thick and then cut into wedges.
6. Spread, or pipe, a couple tablespoons of the cream cheese glaze on each slice being careful not to have it run off the edge.
7. Add an assortment of cut fruit to the top of the frosting
8. Garnish with fresh mint leaves or edible flowers, or to your liking. Serve immediately.
9. *Any remaining cream cheese glaze can be stored in refrigerator or served as a fruit dip.

Peach & Strawberry Dump Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (796ml) can sliced peaches, drained, with 1 cup juice reserved
• 2 (85g) package strawberry-flavoured gelatine powder
• 1 (375g) box golden cake mix
• ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
• ½ cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange peaches over the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
3. Sprinkle the gelatine powder over peaches, then sprinkle dry cake mix over gelatine. Dot with butter pieces, then pour 1 cup reserved peach juice combined with the ½ cup water over the top.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is browned, about 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Frozen Candy Grapes

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) seedless grapes
• Gelatine powder, for coating (choose one or more flavours), such as:
• Raspberry
• Berry Blue
• Orange
• Lime
• Lemon
• Grape
• Strawberry
• Black Cherry
• Peach
• Watermelon

For each flavour used:

• 2–3 tablespoons flavoured gelatine powder

Directions

1. Remove the grapes from the stems. Wash thoroughly in a colander and drain well. The grapes should remain slightly damp, as this helps the coating adhere.
2. If making multiple flavours, divide the grapes evenly among several small bowls.
3. Sprinkle 2–3 tablespoons of the chosen gelatine powder over each bowl of grapes. Gently toss or shake the bowl until every grape is evenly coated. Add a little more gelatine if needed.
4. Arrange the coated grapes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking tray or baking sheet, leaving a little space between each grape.
5. Freeze for 2–3 hours, or until the grapes are completely frozen.
6. Transfer the frozen grapes to an airtight container or freezer-safe zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
7. Enjoy straight from the freezer for the best icy, candy-like texture.

*Top tip: Green grapes pair especially well with lemon, lime and watermelon gelatine, while red grapes are delicious with raspberry, grape, black cherry and berry blue.