The Frozen Food You Need To Start Grating For A Quick Dessert

If you're daunted by an involved baking project or a finicky mousse, you only need one frozen ingredient to grate into a bowl for a quick, refreshing, and guilt-free dessert. Frozen fruit is a one-stop-shop for your own, homemade shaved ice dessert. Not only does frozen fruit come in many varieties, but they are all rock-hard ice substitutes that you don't need a machine to shave.

Simply take your favorite frozen fruit or fruit medley to a microplane like this one from Amazon to get those delicate icy flakes bursting with flavor and sweetness. While shaved ice needs a sweet syrup to infuse it with flavor, the fruit itself acts as both the texture and flavor agent. Microplanes will get you the thinnest shave, but you can also use the smallest grate on a box grater. Of course, you can also add fruit to a food processor or blender as you would to make a smoothie and simply blitz or pulse a few times to break the frozen fruit down into a crushed ice-like texture.

If you're willing to open your pantry along with your freezer, you can make a more elaborate dessert by combining frozen fruit with other canned and bottled staples. Think Carnation-sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, nut butters, Nutella, yogurt, and anything off this list of our favorite flavored fruit syrups!

Shaved ice, specifically fruit-flavored shaved ice, is a global favorite on par with ice cream for a light summer treat. So, you can draw inspiration from frozen treat traditions near and far. The first shaved ice treat that comes to mind is the Japanese street food kakigori, an impressive layering of shaved ice, fresh fruit, syrups, and sweetened condensed milk. A tasty take on kakigori could include shaved strawberries layered with sweetened condensed milk, and shaved frozen honeydew, drizzled with tangy lemon syrup. Shave kiwi over vanilla yogurt and finish with a dusting of matcha powder.

You could shred frozen mango into a cup with a drizzle of lime juice, spicy, sweet chamoy, and a sprinkle of Tajín for an easy take on a raspada or chamoyada. Shaved frozen pineapple and this Goya sweetened coconut cream with shredded coconut flakes and crushed cashew nuts would be another delightful tropical dessert. Frozen cherries and raspberries shaved over dark chocolate chips, Nutella spread, and a dash of amaretto would be ultra-indulgent. Meanwhile, a peanut butter and jelly fan would love to stir a spoonful of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey into Greek yogurt topped with shaved frozen blueberries and peaches.