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1 quart strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1. Whip the sweet cream until it holds soft peaks, then fold it into the sour cream; add sweetener to taste.

2. Put the berries in 4 bowls or stemmed glasses and top with the cream.

COEURS À LA CRÈME WITH STRAWBERRIES

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 24 HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

“HEARTS OF CREAM,” a lovely, classic dessert and one that takes very little attention or work.

½ pound cream cheese

1 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sugar

1 quart strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced

1. Use a fork or blender to cream together the cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla, and half the sugar. (If you use a blender and the mixture is too thick, add a little heavy cream or milk.) The mixture should be quite smooth. Put in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a clean dishtowel and place over a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. About a half hour before serving, toss the strawberries with the remaining sugar and let sit at room temperature. Turn the cream cheese mixture out onto a plate and divide into 4 portions or put some of the mixture in each of 4 bowls. Mix the berries, if you like, with a little more sugar.

3. Serve the coeurs à la crème topped with the berry mixture.

EASY SUMMER PUDDING

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES, PLUS OVERNIGHT RESTING

FROZEN POUND CAKE is fine for the summer pudding (homemade is better, of course, though not one in ten people will know the difference), but fresh berries are essential.

1½ pounds raspberries, fresh or frozen

¼ cup sugar, or to taste

1 pound pound cake

Lightly sweetened whipped cream, sour cream, or crème fraîche

1. Rinse the berries, then combine in a saucepan with the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, just until the berries soften and yield their liquid, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.

2. Meanwhile, cut the pound cake into roughly ½-inch-thick slices. Line a rounded bowl with just over half the slices of the pound cake to a depth of about 4 inches; pack the slices so they leave no (significant) gaps. When the berries are cool, strain them, reserving the liquid. Spoon the solids on top of the pound cake and drizzle with about half the liquid.

3. Cover with the remaining slices of pound cake, again packing them close together. Drizzle with all but a few tablespoons of the remaining liquid (refrigerate the rest).

4. Find a plate that will just fit in the bowl and press it down on top of the pudding. Weight it with a few cans (or whatever you can find that will do the trick) and refrigerate overnight.

5. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the pudding and invert onto a plate. Cut slices and serve with cream.

CITRUS WITH HONEY AND MINT

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 1½ HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

THIS DESSERT—the kind of thing that Jell-O is supposed to imitate—is unusual these days, but it’s easy and delicious, a nice use of fruit that’s available year-round.

1 grapefruit

2 medium (or 1 large) navel oranges

2 tangerines

2 temple or other juice oranges

1 tablespoon honey, or to taste

1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, plus a few mint leaves for garnish

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1. Over a bowl, cut the grapefruit in half and section as you would to serve it at the table, being sure to catch all the juice; you want small pieces with little or no membrane or pith. Peel the navel oranges and tangerines, then, over the same bowl, trim off most of the white pith that clings to their surface. Separate into sections and cut into small pieces if necessary, again being sure to catch all the juice. Strain the fruit. To the reserved juice, add the squeezed juice of the juice oranges.

2. Toss the fruits with the honey and mint and put them in 4 small bowls. Put the juice in a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Wait a couple of minutes, then warm the mixture over low heat, stirring to dissolve the gelatin. Cool slightly, then pour the juice mixture over the fruits in the bowls.

3. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until the liquid