Published: 03/22/2023
Spring has sprung! The delicious dessert aromas wafting from my oven this time of year are just as enticing as the fresh air outside: sunny citrus, juicy strawberry rhubarb pie, puffy choux pastry, and fluffy angel food cake. Find some of my favorite spring dessert recipes on this page.
And if you’re craving something savory, try this herby rosemary focaccia.
If you’re looking for fresh dessert inspiration as the weather begins to warm, I have 20 Spring Dessert Recipes for you today. Pictured above is my fabulously balanced zesty and sweet lemon blueberry tart.
Spring is also a wonderful time to use vanilla sugar in your baking because a lot of seasonal recipes include vanilla as the star ingredient. Have you tried this vanilla biscotti before? Vanilla perfection.
And if you’re thinking ahead, start some homemade vanilla extract now so that it’s more than ready for holiday gifting! I use it in many, many recipes.
20 Spring Dessert Recipes
Find a new favorite below!
Brown Butter Berry Tea Cakes
These brown butter berry tea cakes are delicate miniature sponge cakes. The browned butter gives the batter its depth of flavor, which accents the juicy berry at the heart of the tea cake. They’re similar to madeleines, but much easier to prepare!
Carrot Cake Loaf (Quick Bread)
Adapted from carrot cake and pumpkin bread, this supremely moist carrot cake loaf is even more wildly delicious than it looks. It’s dense, yet ultra soft and flavored with brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Serve plain or spruce it up with walnuts, raisins, pecans, and/or top with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. No matter how you serve it, this quick bread will become a staple in your kitchen.
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
These lemon ricotta cookies are like little bites of tangy, moist lemon cake. Topped with a sweet lemon glaze, they’re fresh, light, and completely irresistible. If you love lemon cookies, you’ll also get a kick out of these super easy lemon coconut drop cookies.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
This recipe turned me into a strawberry rhubarb pie fanatic! The pie filling holds together nicely and the homemade pie crust is phenomenal. You can top it with a lattice pie crust, or switch up the pie’s topping. Maybe you want a crumble topping like from my apple crumble pie? Go for it!
Lemon Blueberry Tart
Cool, creamy, and refreshing lemon blueberry tart comes together with 10 ingredients. The simple lemon filling, swirled with homemade blueberry sauce, is nestled in a flaky shortbread crust. This was a Sally’s Baking Challenge recipe one year and had hundreds of participants making and loving it!
Perfect No-Bake Cheesecake Recipe
By following my no-bake cheesecake recipe, you’ll be gifted with a smooth and creamy dessert that sets up beautifully in the refrigerator, no eggs or oven required. If you’re looking for the classic version, this cheesecake recipe is my gold standard and it has almost 400 4 or 5 star ratings. (Thank you everyone who takes the time to rate recipes, it’s very helpful for readers!)
Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
These frosted sugar cookie bars are soft, chewy, and topped with creamy vanilla buttercream. You can tint the frosting any color you’d like, and top with festive sprinkles to dress them up for any celebration. For something even easier but just as sensational, you’ll love this shortbread cookies recipe.
Dark Chocolate Key Lime Pie Truffles
These dark chocolate key lime pie truffles are creamy, luscious, and extravagant, featuring smooth-as-silk key lime ganache filling enrobed in dark chocolate. Citrus and chocolate is seriously underrated. 😉
Pistachio Drop Cookies
I call these pistachio drop cookies because they’re little drops of heaven! This is an easy cookie recipe prepared in 1 bowl with just 6 ingredients. The brown butter icing is undoubtedly delicious and worth the extra few minutes!
Beginner’s Guide to French Macarons
Spring is the perfect time to try your hand at homemade French macarons. There usually isn’t too much humidity in the air, and you can have a lot of fun with fresh springy flavors like almond, pistachio, or even coconut extract.
Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
My lemon meringue pie recipe has a billowy and toasty meringue topping, a balanced sweet and tart lemon filling, and an extra thick and flaky pie crust. I worked on this recipe for a long time and it really paid off because it’s now one of my favorites and bakers of all skill levels have also tried and loved it.
Homemade Coconut Cream Pie
This coconut cream pie recipe features a thick and creamy coconut filling, flaky homemade pie crust, mounds of sweet whipped cream, and toasted coconut.
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
These lemon blueberry cupcakes are supremely soft and moist with fresh lemon flavor. Sweet blueberries dot every single bite and you can finish them off with my tangy, ultra creamy cream cheese frosting.
Blackberry Lavender Cake
Lavender is a prime flavor choice in spring dessert recipes and we combine it with blackberry in this superbly moist blackberry lavender cake. The reverse creaming method guarantees a soft crumb and the lavender milk and soaking syrup promise an aromatic, but not overpowering flavor. This cake is the perfect masterpiece for any special occasion!
Angel Food Cake
Using only 6 ingredients, this perfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and airy. Follow the recipe closely because the delicate texture can only be achieved with particular ingredients and careful mixing methods. If you’re looking for individual portions, you’ll love these fluffy angel food cupcakes instead.
Glazed Coconut Lime Cookies
In most cookie recipes, it’s difficult to find the balance of enough liquid flavor without ruining the cookie’s texture and spreadability. However, these soft coconut lime cookies nail it! Using 1/4 cup of lime juice, a little coconut extract, and plenty of sweetened shredded coconut, the cookies are flavorful with just enough spread.
Easter Egg Peanut Butter Candies
Everyone’s favorite dessert flavor combination comes together in these easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter Easter egg candies! They’re like a homemade version of the popular Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, only a bit softer and sweeter, which makes the crisp, coarse salt on top a wonderful addition.
Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
You only need 7 ingredients to make these thick and creamy lemon bars, a treat perfect for bake sales, spring brunches, baby showers, and spring wedding events. My baking tip: always bake lemon bars at a lower temperature to avoid over-baking.
Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)
Master this easy and versatile choux pastry recipe and you can make many pastries most bakers are scared to try. Pipe logs and fill with pastry cream for eclairs, pipe dollops and sandwich with whipped cream or ice cream for cream puffs and profiteroles, deep fry it for churros, French cruller donuts, choux beignets, etc.
By the way, if you want more inspiration for the choux pastry (above), here are even more ways it’s used.
Q: What’s your favorite spring dessert recipe? It’s always hard for me to choose, but I love these carrot cake cupcakes. The light, yet velvet-rich cream cheese frosting is a must this time of year!
