Irresistible dessert ideas featuring chocolate and seasonal summer berries

The sweet, fragrant, and tangy flavours found in fresh berries taste divine when paired with rich, creamy chocolate all year round. But there’s no better time to enjoy this heavenly combination than in summer — when raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and cherries are in season in the UK. Chocolate and summer berries are a match made in heaven.

Here’s a little more information about what’s in season, our favourite dark, milk, and white chocolate and berry desserts, and a few of our own chocolate recommendations to add the “cherry on top” as they say…

What summer berries are available in the UK?

In the UK, different types of berries are ripe and ready to pick at different times throughout the summer.

During June, you’ll find that cherries, raspberries, blackcurrants, red currants, and gooseberries are all ready to harvest. As July comes around, fragrant blueberries and strawberries will be ready to pick too. For ripe, juicy blackberries, you might have to wait until late summer — August or September.

You should be able to tell what’s in season by seeing what’s growing around your local area, popping up in friends’ gardens, and in stock at your local grocery shop. If you live in a rural area, you could visit your local farm shop.

Why not learn more about eating seasonally and what’s in season when?

Now for some delectable chocolate and summer berry recipes…

Dark chocolate and summer berries recipes

The three most popular chocolate grades (dark, milk, and white) all work splendidly with summer berries for deliciously distinct reasons. These are our favourite dessert recipes based on each type of chocolate.

First: dark chocolate. Deep, vibrant dark chocolate brings rich cacao notes and the most powerful depth of flavour to any dessert. When coupled with summer berries, the fruit’s bright natural flavours within summer berries balance out the chocolate’s decadent, bitter flavour profile.

Cherry chocolate brownies

These Cherry Brownies from Jamie Oliver make fresh cherries the star of the show against a rich backdrop of dark chocolate. These brownies would make heavenly post-dinner treats or mid-afternoon snacks.

Chocolate and raspberry pavlova

Fall head over heels with this crisp and chewy chocolate meringue with a crimson raspberry topping. See Nigella’s Chocolate and Raspberry Pavlova recipe for all the details.

Dark chocolate and berry chocolates

Try our tipsy Kirsch Cherries — whole pitted cherries, soaked in kirsch and enrobed in layers of milk and dark chocolate. Alternatively, our dark chocolate Blackcurrant Selector is a chocolate bite that boasts a punchy, fruity kick. For a tangy, sweet, and rich truffle, sample our Sour Cherry Selector.

Milk chocolate and summer berries combos

Oh, milk chocolate — the ultimate crowd-pleaser. With the perfect cacao percentage for a scrumptious yet mellow chocolate experience and a hearty dose of milk for all the creaminess you could wish for, we can’t get enough of our classic 40% and 70% Supermilk chocolate genres.

We adore how summer berries add some extra flavour and excitement to these milk chocolate desserts.

Fruity chocolate bark

Lots of chocolate bark recipes require dark chocolate, but we think you can make a fabulous bark using milk chocolate, too.

Take inspiration from this Salted Fruit ‘N’ Nut Bark featuring a dark chocolate base, a drizzle of white chocolate, mixed nuts, and freeze-dried raspberries. Or this Homemade Chocolate Bark from Jamie Oliver.

To make a milk chocolate bark, simply use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate or change up the ratios of milk, dark, and white chocolate. We think that freeze-dried raspberries make a wonderful fruity addition, but feel free to add other ingredients like dried or fresh fruits.

After all, it’s always fun coming up with your own unique recipes!

Champagne and raspberry possets

These light, and fragrant Champagne and Raspberry Possets from BBC Good Food are a perfect summertime alcoholic dessert. Though these possets don’t contain any chocolate, this recipe calls for shortbread biscuits to serve — and we think our chocolate-dipped Chocolat Shortbreads are ideal.

Milk chocolate and berry chocolates

For a bite of mellow milk chocolate and raspberry zing, try our Raspberry Smoothie Selector. Or if you’d like to add a touch of caramel to the mix, discover our Raspberry Macarons with real raspberry whip and milk-caramel discs.

White chocolate and summer berries ideas

Finally, for those who enjoy their chocolate on the light and creamy side, try these white chocolate and summer berry ideas.

White chocolate berry cheesecake

Why stick to just one berry variety when you could use multiple? This White Chocolate Berry Cheesecake from BBC Good Food pulls out all the stops. With raspberries, raspberry jam, strawberries, and blueberries — you’ll be in for a treat with this one.

Use our high-cacao white chocolate to achieve the depth of richer chocolate grades.

White chocolate-dipped strawberries

Some of the best desserts barely require any preparation. This is the case with white chocolate-dipped strawberries — you don’t even need to follow a recipe.

To start, melt your chocolate (carefully to prevent burning), then dip in your strawberries while holding the stalks. After you’ve coated your strawberries in a decadent layer of chocolate, arrange them on a plate and leave them to set in the fridge.

This is a delectable dessert that’s perfect for sunny days and garden parties.

White chocolate and berry chocolates

For a simple taste of bliss, our Raspberry-White Chocolate Batons unite real raspberries with utterly creamy 36% white chocolate. Alternatively, our elegant Neapolitan Macarons feature milk and white chocolate discs with a mellow strawberry whip.

Summer berry delights from Hotel Chocolat

Our chocolatiers are always inspired by the fresh, bright flavours found in fruit, leading them to create delectable fruit-inspired chocolates year on year. To taste some of our own chocolate and berry creations, take a peek at our fruity chocolate collection.

Will you be tempted by our Raspberry Riot Chocolate Bar, our Eton Mess Slab, or our Strawberry Cheesecake Selector? There are no wrong answers…

Eager to learn more about this timeless flavour combination? Explore the world of fruit and chocolate.