41 Spring Desserts to Lure You Out of Hibernation
The flowers are blooming; the birds are chirping. Dessert just tastes sweeter in the springtime, and our favorite spring dessert recipes highlight all the wonders of the season—tangy rhubarb, sweet strawberries, juicy apricots, and much more. Whether you’re looking for a centerpiece-worthy Easter cake or strawberry hand pies to tote to a picnic, our collection of bright, light, and fresh spring desserts has something for any occasion. We’ve got plenty of easy dessert options too so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time soaking up the sunshine. As for those seasonal allergies, some local bee pollen might help.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua1/41The Strawberriest Pavlova
Meringue desserts like pavlova can seem daunting, but meringue isn’t as fickle as you may believe. You can make the components for this spring dessert a day ahead or start it in the morning before heading to the park or the pool. When you return, the meringue should be completely cooled and ready to assemble.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro2/41Foolproof Lemon Bars
Potlucks, picnics, Monday nights—most things are better with a lemon bar in hand, and with this beginner-friendly recipe, you won’t have to be without one again. The lemon filling has lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice for a puckery punch, plus whole milk for subtle creaminess. Want more lemon desserts? We’ve got plenty.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie3/41Blackberries and Vanilla Cream With Crispy Puff Pastry
This deconstructed take on French mille-feuille comes together quickly thanks to store-bought puff pastry. A quick riff on pastry cream, made from heavy cream and mascarpone, whips to soft peaks in seconds.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie5/41Miso White Chocolate–Macadamia Cookies
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Floral Styling by LaParis Phillips6/41Chocolate Sheet Cake With Brown Butter Frosting
How do you make chocolate sheet cake better? Just add brown butter frosting. This recipe would also make fantastic cupcakes.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski7/41Lemon Meringue Pie
For bold flavor, the filling of this lemon meringue pie gets the zest of four whole lemons. If you don’t have a rasp-style grater (or yours is dull), this is an excellent time to buy one.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Hazel Zavala and Caroline Newton8/41Buttery Jam Diagonals
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.9/41Apricot Tart With Whiskey-Pecan Frangipane
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin10/41Sheet-Pan Berry Shortcake
This supersized shortcake is our ideal spring dessert. Unlike traditional strawberry shortcakes, which bake in individual portions, this version bundles the dough into one big slab to up the drama and make your prep time easier.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Prop styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi11/41BA’s Best Cheesecake
Classic cheesecake recipes often get a graham cracker crust (which we fully support), but here we’ll grant you some leeway. Venture into your grocer’s cookie aisle to discover the many possibilities: vanilla or chocolate wafers, gingersnaps, shortbread cookies, Oreos, or any cookie or cracker that looks good.
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua14/41Carrot Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Whip
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh15/41Raspberry-Cardamom Yogurt Semifreddo
Photograph by Doaa Elkady, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker16/41Lemon-Poppy Seed Tart
Photograph by Shawn Michael Jones, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams, Food Styling by Micah Morton17/41Glazed Funnel Cake With Fruit Confetti
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni18/41Strawberry Galette
Of all the strawberry desserts on this list, this galette is one of the best ways to show off fresh, peak-season fruit. You’ll macerate fresh sliced strawberries in sugar to coax out their juices, then tuck them into a flaky, free-form pie crust.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Hazel Zavala and Caroline Newton20/41Baklava Cookies
Bite into this snickerdoodle-like cookie to find a surprise filling of honey-sweetened, gently spiced pistachios. Dust the cookies with crushed rose petals for a pretty finish.
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian21/41Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Give this retro classic an instant upgrade with fruity, rich Luxardo cherries. Intensely flavored and so-red-they’re-almost-black, Luxardos pack way more interest than the saccharine, candy-colored maraschinos seen in many other iterations of this classic dessert.
Photograph by Julia Stotz23/41Coconut Tres Leches
Salted whipped cream, a sweet coconut soak, and a slick of jam make this tres leches cake extraordinary. Any flavor of jam would work here—strawberry, guava, or pineapple. Or for citrusy punch, try it with lemon curd.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Christina Allen24/41Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies
Jammed with mix-ins, including dried sour cherries, rich chunks of dark chocolate, and crunchy toasted pecans, these gluten-free oatmeal cookies just may take the place of your go-to version.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Dayna Seman25/41Buttermilk Banana Cake
Got a bushel of overripe bananas? Put banana bread on the back burner and bake this extra-plush, cardamom-scented cake instead.
26/41Lemon-Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Keep this simple lemon pound cake recipe on hand for every spring occasion. It’s full of zing from the zest of eight whole lemons; for a more floral citrus flavor, try Meyer lemons instead.
Alex Lau28/41BA’s Best Key Lime Pie
A standout Key lime pie recipe is all about striking balance: The crunch of the homemade graham cracker crust should play off the sweet, tangy, custardy pie filling. This recipe delivers just that.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Shuai Wang, Prop Styling by Megan Forbes and Christina Hussey29/41Miso-and-Maple-Pecan Butter Mochi Cake
Photo by Alex Lau30/41Rhubarb Custard Cake
No need for buttercream—the rhubarb on top makes a natural decoration for this dessert. With a consistency falling somewhere between cake and custard, it’d make a picture-perfect Easter dessert.
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua31/41Triple Citrus Creamsicle Pie
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni32/41Strawberry-Biscoff Cheesecake Tart
This is possibly the simplest strawberry cheesecake you’ll ever make: It requires no mixer, no springform pan, and it bakes in 30 minutes flat. It’s a great dessert recipe for Mother’s Day brunch.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski33/41Banana Cream Pie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling ing by Pearl Jones34/41A Giant Panna Cotta
Free yourself from individual ramekins for a large-format, party-friendly panna cotta. And yes, it jiggles.
Photograph by Emma Fishman. Food styling by Pearl Jones.35/41Pink Grapefruit Sugar Cookies
Give soft, grocery-store-style sugar cookies a makeover with pink grapefruit zest, offsetting the sweetness of the swoopable Barbie-approved frosting.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon36/41Giant Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca37/41Anytime Almond Cake
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams38/41Triple-Chocolate Brownies
Test kitchen director Chris Morocco baked 144 brownies before landing on his Platonic ideal version: chewy, crackly-topped, and loaded with three types of chocolate.
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni39/41Fresh Strawberry Tart With Almond Crust
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Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jillian Knox, prop styling Sophie Peoples40/41Mixed Berry Bars With Brown Sugar Crust
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Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca41/41Any-Berry Lemon Ricotta Cake
