11 super-fast, super-easy spring desserts
These impressive bakes come together in a snap.
Spring baking can be hard — we’re craving bright, fresh flavors, but not much is in season just yet. That’s where stalwarts like citrus and pantry heroes like dried coconut and canned pineapple come in, adding warm weather flair without resorting to out-of-season produce. And because spring is also a time to spend outside, not in the kitchen, we’ve compiled some of our quickest, easiest desserts so you can bake all season without missing out on picnics and parties.
1) Lemon Ricotta Cake
This cake will impress with its plush, melt-in-your-mouth texture (all thanks to '00' Pizza Flour), as well as its short prep time — just 15 minutes. That minimal amount of work belies just how impressive the cake is: The crunchy lemon glaze made with sparkling sugar adds another dimension of texture and flavor, while the secret ingredient is Fiori di Sicilia, which imparts a delicate floral note.
Get the recipe: Lemon Ricotta Cake
Shop the recipe: ‘00’ Pizza Flour and Fiori di Sicilia
2) Lime Cheesecake
This recipe is a tangy take on a classic dessert, like a mashup of Key lime pie and cheesecake. It features a simple graham cracker crust and a super-easy, ultra-creamy filling made with white chocolate, heavy cream, cream cheese, and plenty of lime zest. The cheesecake does need about an hour to cool in the oven after baking, but the prep work flies by.
Get the recipe: Lime Cheesecake
Shop the recipe: Springform Pan
3) Jam Blossoms
While you wait for fresh berries to arrive, lean on jams and preserves for bright color in your bakes. These simple cookies — which take only 30 minutes from start to finish — feature a colorful pool of jam atop a buttery, sandy cookie.
Get the recipe: Jam Blossoms
Shop the recipe: Pure Almond Extract
4) Easy Coconut Cream Pie
The secret to this quick, creamy pie? It uses our Quick-and-Easy Pastry Cream Mix. Combined with milk, cream, and toasted coconut, it makes a smooth, velvety filling. A towering topping of coconut whipped cream completes the pie.
Get the recipe: Easy Coconut Cream Pie
Shop the recipe: Quick-and-Easy Pastry Cream Mix
5) Tequila-Lime Snack Cake
Like a margarita in cake form, this single-layer snacking cake is tart and boozy. It’s also made with masa harina, which yields a toothsome yet tender crumb and imparts a subtle corn flavor that complements the lime and tequila glaze.
Get the recipe: Tequila-Lime Snack Cake
Shop the recipe: King Arthur Organic Masa Harina
6) Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler
It’s not a spring recipe roundup without rhubarb. Here, the tart fruit is combined with its favorite friend, strawberries, to make a straightforward yet still impressive cake-style cobbler. If you want to streamline your baking, you can prep the filling ahead of time and hold it in the refrigerator for up to three days before topping and baking.
Get the recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler
Shop the recipe: Sparkling Sugar
7) Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
This easy vegan lemon cake is bright-tasting, super tender, quick to mix, and made with pantry ingredients. Frosted with a simple sweet-tart lemon frosting and topped with candied lemon slices or fresh berries, it’s perfect for vegans and non-vegans alike — no eggs or butter needed.
Get the recipe: Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
Shop the recipe: Organic Lemon Emulsion and Lemon Juice Powder
8) Toasted Coconut and Lime Scones
Toasted coconut and coconut milk add nuttiness while zesty lime adds a punch of flavor to these buttery scones. You can freeze the shaped, unbaked scones and pop them into the oven whenever you need, so one of these tropical treats is always just 20 minutes away.
Get the recipe: Toasted Coconut Lime Scones
Shop the recipe: Bench Knife
9) Everyday Olive Oil Cake
Mixed by hand and ready in under an hour, this pantry-friendly cake is a recipe to keep in your pocket for last-minute baking occasions. In addition to being reliably moist from all that olive oil, it’s also endlessly riff-able: Replace the orange zest with lemon or grapefruit, swap in different flours, such as almond or rye flour, or incorporate flavors and extracts such as almond extract or Fiori di Sicilia.
Get the recipe: Everyday Olive Oil Cake
Shop the recipe: Round Cake Pan
10) Lemon-Coconut Cookies
Ditch the chocolate chips and fill your cookies with shredded coconut instead. Lemon oil and lemon juice powder infuse these cookies like a ray of sun; roll the dough in sparkling sugar before baking for added shimmer. With no chilling required, the dough can be baked immediately for warm cookies in under an hour.
Get the recipe: Lemon-Coconut Cookies
Shop the recipe: Lemon Juice Powder and Lemon Oil
11) Self-Rising Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
With baking powder and salt already included, self-rising flour streamlines this nostalgic recipe. And because colorful pineapple and cherries garnish the cake, you don’t need to worry about any added decoration, either.
Get the recipe: Self-Rising Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Shop the recipe: Unbleached Self-Rising Flour
Gearing up for some outdoor gatherings? Find our Best Cookout Recipes.
Cover photo and food styling by Liz Neily.
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