Springtime Dessert Recipes

March 19, 2024

Aimee

Happy Spring!

We’ve made it through the darkest months of the year; we deserve to celebrate with something sweet.

From decadent chocolate bakes to light and fruit-forward cakes, here’s all the inspiration for springtime dessert recipes you need for the next few months.

Stock up on lemons and eggs (mini eggs, too), source a few bundles of local rhubarb, and you’re all set to play in the kitchen!

Fruit Dessert Recipes

This is my favourite category of springtime dessert recipes. I adore how rhubarb bursts on the scene with its bold, tangy flavour. It really wakes up the palate after a long winter.

Rhubarb Carrot Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting – A tender and flavourful rhubarb carrot cake recipe with a creamy, tangy frosting. It’s perfect for any spring celebration!

Sour Cream Panna Cotta with Strawberry Compote – Creamy, light-as-air panna cotta that’s both sweet and tangy, generously covered with a bold strawberry compote.

Victoria Sponge Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam – This beloved British dessert is a perfect teatime accompaniment. My version is light-as-a-feather vanilla-orange cake, layered with whipped cream and a tangy homemade jam.

Berries & Cream Mini Trifles – Pretty layers of cake and custard, jam and springtime berries– topped off with whipped cream: these adorable individual trifles are perfect for a picnic or backyard gathering.

Rhubarb & Orange Frangipane Galette – A perfect springtime dessert that’s super simple to make! It features crisp puff pastry crust, orange-scented frangipane filling and maple-glazed roasted rhubarb on the top.

Citrus Dessert Recipes

These recipes well suited to Easter brunch with friends or Mother’s Day tea parties. There’s a dessert here for bakers of all skill levels.

Glazed Mini Lemon Poppyseed Tea Cakes – These simple and elegant inverted cupcakes are bursting with citrus flavour. With a tender crumb and a tangy lemon glaze, they are perfect for your next tea party.

Lemon Bundt Cake – My kids adore a simple lemon cake and they don’t care much for frosting. This cake fits the bill, with its tender crumb, bold lemon flavour and citrus glazed top.

Mini Citrus Pavlovas – Close out citrus season with these vibrant mini pavlovas. They are perfect for a dinner party and you can make the meringues ahead of time. Bonus! This dessert is gluten free.

Scale Up: Hosting a large gathering? Make my Slab Pavlova for a Crowd instead.

Lemon Berry Stripe Cake – This one is for experienced bakers. It’s a light-as-a-feather lemon sponge cake, layered (vertically!) with a decadent berry buttercream and adorned with the first spring wildflowers.

One-Bowl Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake – A classic dessert that every baker can make. Pair it with fruit for brunch, wrap it up as snack cake for a picnic, or dress it up with whipped cream as dessert. I serve mine with roasted rhubarb, but any spring fruit will do.

Chocolate Dessert Recipes

As we head into Easter, this chocolate section is all the inspiration you need for deep, dark and delicious. These recipes scale up well, so bookmark a chocolate cake to bake for your next family gathering.

Chocolate Truffle Layer Cake – The most recent cake addition to the blog is proving to be a real hit! It’s a decadent and foolproof one-bowl cake that’s perfect for celebrations.

Mocha Pie with Espresso Whipped Cream – This classic from the Simple Bites archives gets a makeover for Easter with mini eggs sprinkled on the topping. I’ll leave out the espresso powder if I’m making it for kids; it’s loved by young and old alike.

Feed-a-Crowd Perfect Chocolate Cake – Ultimately there is one springtime celebration that requires a absolute giant cake. Perhaps it’s a Father’s Day barbecue or Victoria weekened block party. This is THE cake. Even our friends at Kitchn agree that it’s the perfect cake.

Cookies and more

We’ve arrived at the section of springtime dessert recipes that my kids love the most. If they hit the kitchen for a baking sesh, it’s going to be one of these favourites. They are easy enough for young bakers to attempt, and loved by all!

Chocolate Pretzel Monster Cookies – These are a variation on ‘dishpan’ cookies, where you empty the pantry into an oatmeal cookie dough. Of course, our favourite add-ins are mini eggs, but you can include most any Easter chocolates. (great way to use up leftover Easter chocolate!)

Funfetti Shortbread Cut-Out Cookies – A playful, sprinkle-filled, rolled shortbread cookie that melts in your mouth. Great fun for kids’ parties or teacher’s gifts! These cookies stack, pack, freeze and transport well.

Chocolate Swirled Meringue Cookies – with 3/4 cup chopped chocolate mini eggs replacing the chopped chocolate! These always are a huge hit with friends. You can add any chopped Easter chocolates to the mix but mini eggs are our preference.