41 Easter Desserts (to Delight in All Spring Long)
It’s springtime, which means Easter is nigh, which, if you celebrate the holiday, means you’ll need some Easter desserts. You’ve come to the right place.
Below you’ll find 41 dessert ideas for your Easter celebration, from hand pies and Bundt cakes to cookies and tarts. One of our pies, the Peanut Butter Pie With Hidden Fudgy Center, is 10 times better than a visit from the Easter Bunny carrying a basketful of Cadbury candy eggs and Peeps and Jelly Beans. We can scientifically prove this; we measured it in our laboratory. (No, we didn’t. We don’t have a lab.) There are also moon pies, ice cream sandwiches, and cheesecakes, because every Easter dinner needs to be followed by an Easter cake of some sort—and preceded by an Easter egg hunt, during which we anticipate there will be more sweet, pastel-colored Easter treats for the taking.
Now, let’s hop through this list of Easter desserts. (Sorry. Had to.)
Looking for more? We’ve got Easter mains, sides, and brunch too.
Rhubarb ricotta toasts, bibingka waffles, ham-and-cheese-croissant bake, and more Easter brunch recipes to satisfy your holiday cravings.
Like sumac-rubbed lamb, carrot Wellington, spring greens with bacon vinaigrette, and more dinner ideas for your holiday table.
Parmesan smashed potatoes, asparagus-artichoke galette, miso mac and cheese, and more sides worthy of your Easter table.
The airiest lemon cake, an apricot-almond tart, easy chocolate mousse, and more sweets to cap your Easter celebration.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi1/41Grandma Weesie’s Fried Peach Pies
If anyone could make a bangin’ Easter dessert, it was novelist Andrew Sean Greer’s grandmother Louise Thomason, also known as Grandma Weesie. If you want to read a heartwarming story, read his essay about love and pastries.
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua4/41Victoria Sponge Cake
Indulge your “Great British Baking Show” dreams with this fruit jam-filled, cream-slathered classic named for Queen Victoria of England. Best enjoyed with a cup of tea—or for Easter brunch.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness6/41Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Maybe pineapple upside-down cake isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Easter recipes, but the retro classic is a festive-looking people-pleaser—and this one gets an instant upgrade with sophisticated Luxardo cocktail cherries.
Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling By Mieko Takahashi7/41Key Lime Pie
Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Simon Andrews, prop styling by Sophie Strangio8/41Cookies and Black Sesame Ice Cream
Photograph by Eva Kolenko. Food styling by Susie Theodorou. Set design by Kira Corbin. On set producer: Jennifer Thomas.9/41Rum Cake With Sticky Maple Glaze and Coconut
It’s not a bunny cake—you’ll have to go to Easter Pinterest for that—but it is a Bundt cake, and it’s got rum in it. In other words, it’s the perfect dessert for adults.
10/41Simple Strawberry Shortcakes
If there’s a better combination of disparate parts—fresh strawberries macerated in lemon juice and sugar, homemade whipped cream, lemon-scented cream biscuits—please alert the media. (That’s us; we’re the media.)
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua11/41Confetti Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua12/41Carrot Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Whip
(1) It’s a sheet cake, so no need to worry about layers. (2) The carrots are blitzed in a blender, so no need to worry about grating (or shredding a knuckle). (3) The cream cheese frosting is airy and mousse-like, so no need to worry about a thing.
Photograph by Doaa Elkady, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker14/41Lemon-Poppy Seed Tart
A lemon tart recipe that doesn’t have you stand in front of the stove cooking lemon curd? We did that. Both the shortbread crust and the punchy filling for this spring dessert come together in the food processor.
