Easy freezy: eight fruity recipes for frozen summer treats – no ice-cream maker required

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When it's a hot summer and the good stuff from the Christmas paddock – berries, stone fruit, watermelon and bananas – is getting past its prime in the fruit bowl, these frozen treats are just a quick whiz through the blender away.

Who needs an icy cold ice-cream machine when you can churn up a granita, sorbet or a refreshing block ice in the blink of an eye with a blender and a few hours in the chiller? You can get most of these recipes sorted in under 15 minutes, leaving heaps of time for the ultimate summer pastime: doing not a thing at all.

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Tell the kids they're having a treat for brekky. But little do they know, it's actually a nutritional powerhouse that's good for 'em. I've got an ice-block mould that's hiding a tasty mix of oats (with lots of fibre), yoghurt (high in calcium) and some antioxidant-rich berries. A squeeze of lemon zest gives it a bit of zing, and you can swap the berries out for whatever fruit you've got at home, like bananas, mango or pineapple.

Ben Tish’s strawberry granita

You might as well give some refreshing desserts a go that incorporate poached peaches, or rockmelon garnished with lime and tequila.

Ravneet Gill's peach melba icecream

This treat, according to Ravneet Gill, "sings of summertime". Ripe roasted stone fruits and raspberry sauce star in the pastry chef's take on this retro dessert, which was created in the UK back in the late 1800s by French chef Auguste Escoffier as a tribute to Aussie operatic soprano Nellie Melba. Gill's recipe gives the cold classic a modern twist, ditching traditional vanilla ice-cream as its base for a version that gets blitzed through with canned peach puree to kick up the peach flavour.

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A goodserve with the kids – or a guilt-free dessert for adults that's not too bad for you. Tom Hunt gives new life to overripe fruit – just chop it up, chuck it in the deep freeze, then whizz it with some plain yoghurt to make a soft-serve-style tutti frutti sorbet. Throw on your favourite toppings – think grated chocolate, toasted coconut flakes or pieces of crunchy macadamia nuts.

Marc Grossman’s banana sticks

Fair dinkum, tryin' frozen banana as a sweet treat's a dead set good idea, says chef Marc Grossman. His easy vegan recipe involves chuckin' frozen banana halves into a ripper of a dark chocolate mixture, which is tightly wrapped around them, then sprinkling with some crunchy toppings. Cheeky tip: stash your old lollipops or coffee stirrers instead of buyin' new sticks to make 'em at home.

Benjamina Ebuehi’s mango and Tajín semifreddo

Adds tequila or mezcal to the berries.

Angela Hartnett's watermelon negroni ice pops

Which packs the mould with overripe fruit, milk, chia seeds and a sweetener of your choice to create a creamy, frozen rainbow coolie.

Anna Jones' sweet and refreshing melon sorbet

"It couldn't be an easier one to make," says Anna Jones of this watermelon sorbet that's just got four ingredients (three if you chuck the frozen berry garnish, and a couple if your ripe melon's sweet enough to leave out the maple syrup). Frozen bits of diced melon get chucked into a high-powered blender, along with (optional) maple syrup and the juice and zest of a lemon. The result? A dessert that's as chilly as a cold comfort and "dressing my ice-cream-obsessed bloke's cravings", says Jones.