Luscious Spring Dessert Recipes
Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes [1]
Michigan's fruit belt inspired our Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes. We played up the sweet cherries grown in the Great Lakes State, along with blueberries and raspberries. A shortcake biscuit base and sweetened whipped cream complete the dessert.
Meyer Lemon Pots de Crème with Honeyed Kumquats [5]
The creamy lemon puddings look and taste sophisticated but are actually quite simple to make, and they can even be prepared in advance.
Kansas Sunflower Cupcakes [9]
The Sunflower State's wheat crops and native state flower inspired our cupcakes. Frosting piped like petals turns the individual Kansas Sunflower Cupcakes into pretty treats. Wheat germ adds a hearty touch to the buttermilk-vanilla cakes.
Gingered Cantaloupe and Blackberry Shortcakes [13]
Shortcake is a scrumptious showcase for fruit. This recipe calls for melon and berries coated with honey-ginger syrup on top of ginger-flavored cakes.
Peach Upside-Down Cake [17]
The family behind Illinois' Rendleman Orchards has amassed some great peach recipes in 135 years of growing peaches. This cake is no exception. Peach slices and brown sugar form a moist base for the tender, square cake--and when flipped over, that base becomes the topping.
Key Lime Coconut Cake with Meringue Frosting [21]
Billowy Meringue Frosting tops a moisty and buttery lime-flecked cake whose subtle coconut flavor comes from canned cream of coconut.
Lemon-Cream Dessert Cake [25]
Start with a cake mix to make this light and citrusy creation layered with lemony cream cheese frosting. The recipe comes from an Ashtabula, Ohio, reader.
Best-Ever Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie [29]
Strawberry-rhubarb pie filling gets a touch of zesty ginger flavor, then goes into a slice-and-bake crust.
Candied Citrus Peel [33]
If you can resist munching on all these chewy, sweet citrus bits, you'll find plenty of ways to use them in your kitchen. We like stirring chopped peel into granola or cookie batter, sprinkling it over vanilla ice cream, or dipping the pieces in chocolate. Keep in mind that lime peel does not taste particularly good when candied.
Candied Citrus Peel [34]
Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie [37]
This creamy lemon pie, a longtime reader-favorite recipe, is a signature dessert at Al's Oasis, a family restaurant along the east bank of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota (135 miles east of Rapid City).
Berry Easy Cobbler [41]
This crunch-topped cobbler calls for 3 cups of blueberries, but if you'd like a double-fruit version, reduce the blueberries to 2 cups and add 2 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries.
Berry Easy Cobbler [42]
Mistress Suzanne's Bananas Foster [45]
This cinnamon-spiced New Orleans classic is a popular dessert at Rider's Inn in Painesville, Ohio. Mistress Suzanne's Dining Room at the inn is named for the third wife of the original owner, Joseph Rider.
Orange Batons and Macadamia Tea Cookies [49]
You'll love the refreshing citrus flavor of Orange Batons, delicate butter cookies dipped in chocolate. Shredded coconut and white chocolate chunks make Macadamia Tea Cookies a sweet and chewy treat. Both recipes come from a Hillsboro, Ohio, reader.
Orange Batons [50]
Chocolate Pavlova [54]
Pavlova, an egg meringue dessert named for Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, gets a chocolate makeover in this recipe from Chicago Pastry Chef Gale Gand. Top the pavlova with whipped cream and sliced fresh fruit.
Chocolate Pavlova [55]
Raspberry Cream Tart [58]
Fresh berries work best in this elegant dessert (frozen berries get too watery). Keep fruit refrigerated and dry, and plan to use it within a couple of days of purchase.
Raspberry Cream Tart [59]
Kansas-Style Lime Pie [62]
Finely shredded lime peel and lime juice combine in this light, airy and easy-to-make dessert from Petersen's Pantry in Emporia, Kansas. The recipe gives instructions for an orange variation, too.
Cheesecake-Sauced Fruit Parfaits [66]
Blend just four ingredients to create this easy sauce from a Wausau, Wisconsin, reader. Serve over fresh fruit such as raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.
Amazing Creme Caramel [70]
Here's our version of a sweet, soothing Latin dessert specialty known as flan. We steeped citrus peel and cinnamon with the milk to add flavor. Caramelized sugar on the bottom becomes into a caramelly sauce. Serve the creme caramel with raspberry or chocolate sauce, or all by itself.
Rise and Shine Cranberry-Apple Crisp [74]
Spiced coconut streusel adds crunch to healthy aples and berries.
To Each His Own Baked Alaska [78]
This classic dessert goes together easily, but looks so impressive. Find the meringue powder in your supermarket's baking section or at stores carrying cake-decorating supplies.
Raspberry Cheesecake Bars [82]
Hopkins, Minnesota, calls itself America's Raspberry Capital and hosts an annual Raspberry Festival -- including a cooking contest. One entry was this recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, which combines layers of cheesecake and raspberry filling in an almond crust.
Tinted Angel Cake [86]
The many colors of Kool-Aid, a Nebraska invention, give an array of choices for this angel food cake that starts with a mix. Pink lemonade Kool-Aid adds pastel prettiness and a delicate flavor to Tinted Angel Cake. The tropical punch version gives the cake flavor that's as intense as its color.
Tinted Angel Cake [87]
Lemon Bars [90]
Anyone who loves lemon chess pie will enjoy these sweet-and-tart bars. The recipe comes from Palmer's Deli and Market in Urbandale, Iowa. Top the moist bars with powdered sugar.
Lemon Bars [91]
One-More-Bite Bread Pudding [94]
Creamy pudding surrounds a layer of raspberry jam or preserves, all topped with Whiskey River Sauce. This rich dessert comes from Hubbell House in Mantorville, Minnesota.
Honey-Berry Yogurt Frozen Yogurt Sundaes [98]
Fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries star in our Honey-Berry Frozen Yogurt Sundaes, which take only 15 minutes to make from start to finish.
Rhubarb Crunch [102]
Similar to an apple brown betty or fruit crisp, this rustic dessert has a cinnamon topping that blends graham cracker crumbs and pecans with sugar, butter and bread crumbs.
Rhubarb Crunch [103]
Lime Meringues with Red Raspberries [106]
These light-as-air sweet meringues dolloped with lime filling come from a Rockford, Illinois, reader who likes to share this dessert with her neighbors.
Old-Fashioned Sour Cream/Raisin Pie [110]
A stately meringue tops this creamy pie from the Downing Cafe in Downing, Wisconsin.
Oatmeal Cherry Cookies [114]
Dried cherries make oatmeal cookies even more memorable in this recipe from American Spoon Foods, which has locations in the Traverse City, Michigan, area. We like the cookies' crisp edges and chewy centers.
Oatmeal Cherry Cookies [115]
Raspberry Upside-Down Cake [118]
Whipped cream and raspberries crown easy Raspberry Upside-Down Cake, from a Hopkins, Minnesota, reader.
Mother Knows Best Carrot Cookies [122]
These cookies are almost like a miniature carrot cake. Top them with orange frosting and finely shredded orange peel for a cookie that's as beautiful as it is delicious. The recipe comes from a Centertown, Missouri, reader who remembers her mother making these cookies.
Lemony Prairie Cake [126]
Mix just six ingredients, including lemon-lime carbonated beverage, to make this lovely, citrusy cake from an Alta Vista, Kansas, reader.
Lemony Prairie Cake [127]
Surprise Nut Torte [130]
Crushed, rich round crackers add a salty touch to the chewy, nutty meringue crust of this dessert from Schreiner's Restaurant in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. For a fudgy change, try the chocolate-cracker version.
Surprise Nut Torte [131]
Blueberry Custard Pie [134]
An Elkhart, Indiana, reader helped create this tempting layered pie. Known as a fruit-growing region, northern Indiana supplied a banner blueberry crop one year. That inspired the reader to create this colorful, meringue-crowned pie.
Blueberry Custard Pie [135]
Grilled Banana Split Sundae [138]
If you've never had dessert off the grill, this recipe from grilling expert Elizabeth Karmel of Chicago is a great place to start. Grilling softens the sweet bananas, which are absolutely irresistible when topped with hot fudge sauce. Cook the bananas on the grill over low coals left after making the main dish.