Desserts can be tricky for a Seriously Simple cook, especially as the temperature goes up. Making pie dough or baking a fancy cake isn't what I have in mind in the heat of the season: Ice cream pie answers the call for a decadent, delicious and very easy to-put-together dessert.

Here are two of my favorite ice cream desserts, perfect for entertaining since they are need to be made ahead and are easy to assemble.

The first, my 5-minute icy confection says it all: five minutes for a wow-factor sweet. Since you are buying the crust, insert the premade crust into a pretty pie plate, either simple glass or porcelain for a pretty presentation. Softened ice cream is spooned into the crust and frozen. Then a simple decoration can be added, such as nuts, drizzled syrup, grated chocolate or patriotic sprinkles. A warm berry compote (made from blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) is spooned over the pie slice just before serving.

For a red, white and blue Fourth of July theme, I use strawberry and vanilla ice cream for the pie and serve with a blueberries-only sauce; garnished with raspberries, blueberries and whipped cream, and it's a knockout summer dessert. I also look for little American Flags to decorate the tops of the pies.

In the spirit of another all-American treat, the second pie (a banana split ice cream torte) requires a little more work. But is fun to create your own!

A quick tip: Make sure the ice cream is soft enough to work with but not already melting; remove the ice cream from freezer for 20 minutes before working with it.

Either of these pies is easy to make and can involve children as well, as they can help decorate the finished frozen dessert. This is a great item to keep in your freezer. Just remember to remove the pie from the freezer 15 minutes before serving for easy slicing.

5-Minute Ice Cream Sundae Pie with Blueberry Sauce

Serves 6 to 8

For the pie:

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