Salt Lake dessert makers go harder in summer than any other time of year. It’s not just the usual rotation getting refreshed. These are limited runs, small-batch flavors, and builds that only make sense when Utah farms are in full swing. Some of this disappears next month. Here’s what’s actually worth going out of your way for right now.
Forty Three Bakery
📍 733 W Genesee Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84104
Forty Three Bakery is a small-batch pastry operation run by baker Andrew, who works with laminated dough the way most people wish more bakeries in Utah would. This summer, he takes whatever fruit is most interesting at the farmers market and builds seasonal pastries around it: chocolate-huckleberry fruit, bourbon-peach fruit, raspberry danish with vanilla cream and brown sugar streusel. The menu changes constantly based on what’s available, which is the whole point.
The croissants and danishes alone are worth the visit on any given day, but the summer stone fruit builds are what make this one of the more exciting pastry stops in the county right now. The menu is genuinely unpredictable, which means checking their Instagram before you go is worth the 30 seconds. Limited quantities, early-week visits give you the best selection.
Rockwell Ice Cream
📍 115 Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Rockwell makes everything in-house daily using all-natural ingredients and 16% butterfat, significantly higher than standard ice cream. Less air gets churned in, so the result is denser and more intense. The black (rasp)berried treasure, one of their July’s special, is creamy, tart, bold, and worth the dig. Summer rotating builds have included seasonal berry and peach flavors that lean into what’s actually ripe.
Pints run $12. The downtown location sits near Eccles Theater and City Creek. It’s a natural stop before or after something in the neighborhood.
Nielsen’s Frozen Custard
📍 3779 W South Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan, UT
Nielsen’s has been making frozen custard in Utah since 1981 using a patented double-custard freezing process that produces a smoother, denser texture than standard ice cream. Every batch is made fresh a few times per day from real dairy cream, eggs, and natural flavorings. The concretes (thick frozen custard mixed with your choice of add-ins) are the main event: butter pecan, caramel cashew, peanut cluster, and toffee almond are the consistent favorites.
Named one of the 100 Best Things to Eat in America, which sounds like marketing until you actually try one. Pricing is reasonable. The Millcreek location on Highland Dr is the original Salt Lake County spot. South Jordan Pkwy works if you’re on the south end of the valley.
Brooker’s Founding Flavors
📍 11953 Herriman Main St, Herriman, UT 84096
If you want super-premium ice cream using local organic dairy and no artificial colors or flavors, Brooker’s is the place to be. The staff dresses in Revolutionary America costumes and the whole shop leans into 1776 aesthetics. The ice cream is genuinely excellent. “Boston Massacre” is the richest chocolate sundae in the county. Apple pie ala mode, key lime cheesecake, and seasonal fruit builds are the other standouts.
They also do colonial-style crepes and hot drinking chocolate, which makes this more of a full dessert experience than just a scoop stop. The Herriman locations make this one of the most geographically accessible options for South Valley residents. Same menu and hours at both spots. Worth going on a weekday if you want to browse without a line.
Cloud Ninth Creamery
📍 928 E 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Cloud Ninth Creamery is seasonal-only, open May through September each year. Everything is made from scratch in-store: ice cream, gelato, sorbets, shaved ice, and Dole Whip. The gelato uses purees from local Utah farms, which is what makes the summer menu taste different from the year-round stuff you’d find elsewhere. Huckleberry, banana cream pie & chocolate, and pineapple dole whip are the current standouts. The Dole Whip uses actual Dole pineapples and is the right call on a hot afternoon.
Open until September, but the window is shorter than it feels. Pricing runs $1–10 per person. The owner is usually around and happy to walk you through what’s fresh. Weekday afternoons are the move before weekend crowds show up.
Crispy Cones
📍 2885 S 5600 W, West Valley City, UT 84120
Crispy Cones started in Utah and has more locations here than anywhere else in the country. Fresh dough baked rotisserie-style into a warm cone, dusted with cinnamon and sugar, filled with soft serve, a spread (cookie butter, Nutella, peanut butter, strawberry jam), and toppings. Warm cone, cold soft serve. That contrast is the whole point and it works well.
Fast, customizable, and easy to find across the county. Check the website for the location nearest you. Good for any age and a reliable option for groups with varied tastes.
Blue Moo
📍 9035 Temple Dr, West Jordan, UT 84088
Blue Moo is a local Utah soft-serve chain that’s become a summer institution for families on the west side of the valley. The soft serve is made fresh and the seasonal flavors rotate throughout summer, with tropical and fruit-forward builds showing up consistently. The mixes and combinations are the fun part: swirl builds, dipped cones, and specialty shakes that change based on what’s seasonal.
West Jordan and the surrounding West Valley locations make this a reliable spot for residents in that corridor who don’t always want to drive into the city for a good scoop. Budget-friendly and family-focused without feeling like a chain.
Every summer, I end up saying I’m going to try a bunch of new places, then somehow keep going back to the same one. So, this list is as much a reminder for me as it is for you.
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to get out of the house, this is it. Order the dessert you’ve been thinking about all week. Summer’s too short to keep putting it off.
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