Easter is a celebration of renewal, and what better way to embrace the season than with desserts that capture the essence of spring? Whether you're hosting a brunch or attending a potluck, these 30 desserts—from citrus-infused cakes to indulgent treats—are sure to be the highlight of your gathering.
From a distance, it would seem as if brunch and Easter’s prolific relationship would complicate the holiday’s dessert situation. Of course, this is decidedly false. Dessert’s wonder is not bound to time constraints or specific holidays. Dessert is omnipotent, strong, always sweet, and certainly stealing the show on Easter Sunday. So, yeah, Easter dessert is something to get excited about.
1. Easter Egg Macarons With Malted Chocolate & Caramel Filling
Inspired by classic Easter basket candy, these macarons are bright in color and big on flavor. Filled with chocolate ganache and caramel, these cookies are like the eggs in your basket—but better.
2. Lemon Meringue
Layered with meringue, pistachios, and lemon curd, this cake is complex in flavor and texture.
3. Meyer Lemon Cheesecake With Biscoff Crust
Meyer lemon, cheesecake, Biscoff cookies—three of my favorite things, all in one cake. Also, this requires just ten minutes of prep.
4. Banana Cake with Penuche Frosting
Think banana bread, but lighter, fluffier, and frosted in brown sugar.
5. Aunt Mariah's Lemon Sponge Cups
Like how a diagonal cut improves any sandwich, desserts served in ramekins simply taste better. This lemon sponge cake is easy to shop for (seven ingredients), quick to prepare (15 minutes), and obviously delicious (served in a ramekin).
6. Monkey (Ginger)Bread
Much like Martha and Snoop, monkeybread and gingerbread is a partnership we never knew we needed. Of course, combining fragrant ginger with the richness of monkey bread isn’t exactly a tough sell.
7. Louisa's Cake
This cake is airy and light, but not without integrity. Ricotta, eggs, and plenty of butter give it richness, grated apple lends heft, and lemon zest prevents it from being bland.
8. Easier Chocolate Truffles
With no butter, shortening, vanilla, or tedious hand rolling required, these are chocolate truffles in their easiest form. Top with a salty, crunchy snack like pretzels or peanuts.
9. Torrone Siciliano (Sicilian Almond Brittle)
If you’ve got almonds, sugar, and olive oil, you’ve got everything you need to make this crowd-pleasing brittle. Fun fact: In Sicily, this almond treat is a holiday staple.
10. Tartine Bakery's Lemon Cream
Re: ramekin desserts being the best desserts. Also, this lemon cream comes together in under 30 minutes, meaning you could even whip it up after your main course.
11. Lemon Olive Oil Loaf Cake
One of our best lemon desserts for spring, this cake is easier, impressive, and even better with a dollop of freshly whipped mascarpone cream.
12. Perfect Coconut Cream Pie
If you’re not sold on coconut cream, watch this, and you will be.
13. Rhubarb Coffee Cake With Cardamom-Ginger Crumble
Similar to the cookie butter rolls, this lemony, gingery, rhubarb coffee cake is best served as a post-brunch sweet. Serve with a cup of Irish coffee, because why not?
14. Chocolate Carrot Snacking Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Can’t choose between chocolate cake and carrot cake? This moist, tender mashup gives you the best of both worlds. Packed with shredded carrots and cocoa powder, and finished with a swoop of tangy cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect easy Easter dessert—or a spring snacking cake that just happens to steal the show.
15. Maialino's Olive Oil Cake
Olive oil cake is the light beer of dessert. This is a compliment, of course, because—just like light beer—you’ll never get sick of spending a whole afternoon with this cake.
16. Classic Easter Bread
Flavorful and not-too-sweet, this traditional Easter bread is everything it needs to be. It's one of those easy Easter treats with candy. and eggs that looks as cute as it tastes.
17. Homemade Crackly Milk Chocolate Candy Bars
If you want to mix it up this year, consider making your own chocolate bars—especially since this recipe mixes caramel puffed rice with milk chocolate to create something that is sweet, crunchy, and creamy.
18. Lavender-Chocolate Chunk Pancakes with Crème Fraîche
We’ve covered brunch dessert, but we also need a dessert that doubles as brunch—and that’s what these elegant, well balanced, lavender-and-crème-fraîche-having flapjacks are for. Top with your favorite maple syrup and pair with your preferred morning cocktail.
19. Sunset's Whole Orange Cake
As the name suggests, whole chunks of orange (with the skin on) give this cake a flavor that is like marmalade, but brighter. It’s worth noting that you will need a food processor to make this recipe.
20. Brown Butter Banana Bread With Peanut Streusel
Peanut and banana are a prolific team but rarely do you seem together on a single loaf—let’s change that. Sweet, salty, crunchy, and always moist, this brown butter banana bread is your morning dessert.
21. Chocolate Caramels
Perfect for grazing, these salty, sweet chocolate caramels are great if you don’t want to make an entire meal out of dessert. Bonus: this recipe makes about 60 caramels.
22. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil
Maple, olive oil, chocolate, and sea salt combine to give these vegan cookies a balanced, heavy-hitting flavor.
23. No-Bake Pistachio Mini Cheesecakes
These mini cheesecakes nail every aspect of the Easter dessert criteria: they’re bright in color, rich in flavor, and perfect for hosting. Top with chopped pistachios for an added crunch.
24. Orange Sherbet With Salted Whipped Cream
Homemade orange sherbet sells itself.
25. Oreo Ice Cream Dessert
A community favorite, this no-bake, frozen, oreo treat is a crowd pleaser that—if made once—will likely be made again many, many times.
26. Puffy Pillow Beignets
Fact: You can enjoy beignets outside of New Orleans. While it takes quite a bit of work to properly recreate this classic dessert, if you want dessert to be the highlight of your holiday, the effort needed for this recipe will certainly pay off. Plus, how many people do you know that can say they’ve made beignets at home?
27. Soft Yogurt Cookies with Raspberry Glaze
Striking a delightful balance between yogurt’s tang, vanilla’s warmth, raspberry’s bite, and almond’s crunch, these cookies are both delicious and vibrant. Think of them as black and white cookies, dressed up for Easter.
28. Bananas Foster Coffee Cake
This coffee cake features layers of rich banana flavor, caramelized brown sugar, and a hint of rum. Topped with a crumbly streusel and a touch of cinnamon, Whether for Easter brunch or a weekend treat, this coffee cake is sure to be a crowd favorite.
29. Flourless Almond Coconut Cake
With a light, airy texture and a subtle sweetness, it's an ideal Easter dessert or a treat for anyone following a gluten-free diet. Serve it on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream for an extra indulgence.
30. Carrot Halwa Blondie Bars
Packed with sweet, spiced carrots and a touch of ghee, they're a unique and indulgent treat that blends the flavors of classic carrot halwa with the comfort of a blondie. Perfect for an Easter dessert or an afternoon snack, these bars are as flavorful as they are memorable.
These Easter desserts offer a perfect blend of classic flavors and creative twists, whether you’re craving a rich lemon cake or a unique carrot halwa blondie bar. They’re all easy to make, visually stunning, and sure to be crowd-pleasers at your next spring gathering. Ready to bake? Explore even more Easter dessert ideas here and get inspired by the season’s best flavors. Happy baking!
Let us know which Easter dessert you'll be making in the comments below!
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