Who knew slivers of fresh pineapple buried beneath coconut-rum granita could be so elegant, refreshing and breezy? It's a wonderful palate cleanser post-dinner and pre-dessert, though we'd never adhere to such petty restrictions.
Salty-sweet desserts get a punch of crunch in this parfait. The flavour combo of creamy hazelnuts with a touch of cocoa and the juicy tartness of fresh strawberries is way too good! The whole thing takes about 40 minutes to make and it’s also dairy- and wheat-free, if you are that way inclined. We can hardly take our eyes off it!

This black pepper and strawberry ripple sundae is a hat-tip to the classic pairing of spicy pepper and tart strawberries. This recipe works best if you use an ice-cream maker. (Borrow a friend's.)

A well-known chocolate bar forms the muse for this eponymous Bounty cake from Serbian blogger Palachinka. "During the 1990s, these were years of economic sanctions, so locals became very inventive, replicating famous sweets that were too expensive to buy, such as the Bounty chocolate bar," she writes.

Source: Marija Petrović
"Growing up in an Asian family, most banquets or special occasion meals finished with a big platter of fruit. I’ve spruced things up a bit by adding a cleansing granita to the equation," says Adam Liaw. We vigorously salute his pairing of watermelon and cinnamon – the melon herbaceous and fresh, while the spice adds warmth.
Picture this, if you will. Smooth vanilla ice-cream studded with choc chunks and blessed with a half-cup of peanut butter. Following this, imagine the surprise of cinnamon-salt, peanut biscuits. A finer marriage of salty and sweet there never was.
Via the food dept.

Peanut butter and choc chunk ice-cream with cinnamon salt and peanut biscuits Source: Petrina Tinslay
"Every single Cantonese restaurant in the world has mango pudding on the menu. If white people order deep-fried ice cream, then Asians order mango pudding," writes Dan Hong. This clever reinvention is a balls-out texture party of delicate tapioca, mouth-popping pods (like those found at frozen yoghurt bars), baby beads of pomelo and crunchy granita.

Source: Mr Hong by Dan Hong (Murdoch Books)
A play on the popular Italian chocolate, these dainty ice-cream balls are one of those devil-may-care, three-ingredient affairs.
With its chunks of fruit bread, splash of Marsala and pops of raspberry throughout, this semifreddo is wholly delicious. Let it melt a smidge before eating. (Just a thought.)
The crumb on this delicious hot-cold sphere is made from shredded tortillas and cornflakes. If you've been perplexed by fried ice-cream in the past (and rightfully so), this Mexican version is a lovely introduction.