15 Fresh Spring Dessert Recipes

Our best spring desserts! These seasonal sweets include zesty lemon treats, fruity baking recipes, homemade ice cream, and all things carrot cake.

If you’re looking for fresh spring desserts, you’re in the right place! These spring dessert recipes showcase the best flavors of the season—bright lemon, tart rhubarb, sweet strawberries, earthy carrot cake, and more. Whether you’re hosting a special celebration or craving an easy everyday treat, we have ideas you’ll love! Out of the hundreds of dessert recipes on Love & Lemons, these are the ones I come back to every spring. I’ve made them for family birthdays, Easter, Mother’s Day, and on rainy spring afternoons when I need something sweet. I hope a few become favorites in your kitchen too! Our…

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Lemon Olive Oil Cake

This lemon olive oil cake recipe is incredibly moist and filled with bright, fruity flavor. Made with simple ingredients, it's an easy, delicious treat!

This lemon olive oil cake recipe is my new favorite spring dessert…and possibly my new favorite dessert, period. It has a moist and tender texture and fruity, citrusy flavor from lemon juice, lemon zest, and plenty of olive oil. I’ve already made this cake three times this spring—it’s that delicious! This olive oil cake recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients and equipment. I love to whip it up for an everyday treat to enjoy with coffee or tea. It’s also lovely for holidays and gatherings. I dust it with powdered sugar or pile it with whipped cream and strawberries…

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Lemon Posset

This lemon posset recipe is easy to make with 4 ingredients! Similar to a pudding, it's creamy, bright, and refreshing. A delicious make-ahead dessert!

Have you tried lemon posset? It’s a bright, creamy 4-ingredient treat I’ll be making all spring. A classic British dessert, lemon posset is similar to a custard or a pudding, but it doesn’t require eggs or cornstarch to set up. It’s easy to make with heavy cream, fresh lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla. Sweet and citrusy, it’s such a refreshing way to end a meal! This easy lemon posset recipe would be a perfect dessert for spring occasions like Easter and Mother’s Day. It’s great for entertaining because you can make it ahead, and it looks so elegant in little glasses…

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Carrot Cake Bars

These no-bake carrot cake bars are a delicious spring dessert! A creamy, tangy frosting layer tops the warmly spiced carrot and date base.

I’ll be making these carrot cake bars all spring long! I don’t know about you, but I always crave carrot cake in the spring. The combination of warm spices, sweet carrots, and tangy cream cheese frosting just feels like the perfect dessert as the days get warmer and longer. I’m not about to make a full-blown layer cake with any regularity…but these carrot cake bars? I try to keep a stash on hand at all times. 🙂 I first published this recipe in my third cookbook, Simple Feel Good Food.  I shared a video of the recipe on social media before…

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Almond Flour Cookies

These almond flour cookies are easy to make in one bowl! Chewy, nutty, and filled with melty chocolate chips, they're a delicious gluten-free treat.

These almond flour cookies are chewy, nutty, and filled with melty chocolate chips. They’re totally gluten-free, but you don’t have to be to love them. In fact, these almond flour chocolate chip cookies are one of the treats I make most often. The recipe first appeared in my second cookbook, Love & Lemons Every Day, and I’ve made it countless times since the book was published. I thought it was about time I shared it here too. These cookies couldn’t be easier to make. The recipe calls for 10 ingredients and comes together in one bowl. If you have almond…

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown butter fills these chocolate chip cookies with rich, caramelized flavor. With crisp edges and chewy centers, they're a bakery-worthy treat!

These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are insanely delicious. They have lightly crisp edges, perfect chewy middles, and melty chocolate in every bite. Best of all, brown butter (plus an extra dose of brown sugar) fills them with toffee-like flavor. I went through a bit of a browned butter phase last year, after I started making these blondies and couldn’t get enough them. Around that time, I tried using brown butter in my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. We devoured every last one of those cookies, but they didn’t have the toasty, nutty brown butter flavor I was after… Many…

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Tiramisu

This easy tiramisu recipe has delicious layers of espresso-dipped ladyfingers and creamy mascarpone. It's a show-stopping no-bake dessert!

Is there anything more delicious than tiramisu? This Italian dessert consists of decadent layers of espresso-dipped ladyfingers and plush mascarpone cream. It’s perfectly creamy and only lightly sweet, with a rich dusting of cocoa powder on top. On our first trip to Italy, I ordered it at every restaurant Jack and I went to. It’s just that good. After I shared this strawberry tiramisu last summer and this pumpkin tiramisu in the fall, I couldn’t resist developing a classic tiramisu recipe too. I’m so happy with how this one came out. It’s impressive and indulgent, but deceptively easy. This tiramisu…

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Learn how to make chocolate covered strawberries! Made with just 3 ingredients, this recipe is easy, yet impressive. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Chocolate covered strawberries are my favorite Valentine’s Day treat. They’re the perfect balance of indulgent yet fresh, fancy yet so utterly simple at the same time. I love how the rich chocolate coating gives way to the sweet, juicy berries inside. You’ll see them in grocery stores and chocolate shops around the holiday, but for a fun project (and the best deal), learn how to make chocolate covered strawberries at home! I’m sharing my go-to chocolate covered strawberries recipe below, along with my best tips for success. This recipe is easy to make with just 3 ingredients. Make it for…

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Healthy Banana Bread

This healthy banana bread recipe is super moist, delicious, and easy to make! It calls for simple ingredients like whole wheat flour and maple syrup.

This healthy banana bread recipe is moist, tender, and packed with sweet banana flavor. It’s every bit as delicious as my traditional banana bread, but it’s made with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. My favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s bursting with banana. I use 2 cups mashed (about 4 large bananas!), which gives it an incredible moist texture and fruity flavor. Try a slice for breakfast, as a snack, or even dessert. I guarantee you’ll reach for a second. This healthy banana bread is easy to make with basic equipment,…

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No-Bake Energy Balls

My family loves this energy balls recipe! Chewy, nutty, and easy to make with 8 ingredients, these energy bites are a delicious healthy snack.

This energy balls recipe is my family’s favorite healthy snack. Adapted from my protein balls, it’s easy, delicious, and entirely no-bake. These energy bites are chewy, nutty, and lightly sweet—and they also happen to be good for you. They’re made with simple ingredients like peanut butter, flaxseed, and whole rolled oats…with a handful of chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. These no-bake bites keep well in the fridge for several days and freeze well for months, so they’re a great grab-and-go snack to keep on hand. My son Ollie loves eating one after school, and Jack and I reach…

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Cinnamon Rolls

These easy homemade cinnamon rolls are soft, gooey, and delicious! They're my family's favorite holiday breakfast. Make-ahead instructions included!

This cinnamon roll recipe is my family’s favorite holiday breakfast! Easy and delicious, it makes the best cinnamon rolls I’ve tried. They have a soft dough filled with a rich brown sugar and cinnamon swirl. A gooey vanilla glaze (or cream cheese frosting!) takes them over the top. I first shared this recipe in 2019, inspired by the cinnamon rolls my mom made on Christmas morning when I was growing up. Now with over 350 5-star reviews, it’s since become a reader favorite! I recently updated it with new photos, make-ahead and freezing instructions, and tips for cinnamon roll success.…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Welcome to Love & Lemons!

I'm Jeanine Donofrio, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author and recipe developer. I share fresh, delicious vegetarian recipes that celebrate seasonal ingredients and flavors.

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