Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      Hot off the minds of Midwest travel writers: a fresh look at where to eat, drink, play and stay around the region. Read More
    • Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      One has conquered the world of plant-based baking. Another runs a microbakery from her home. Two own businesses with their spouses. And the fifth is a James Beard finalist chef. The common thread? Absolutely delicious cakes. Read More
    • The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      For many Midwesterners, holiday feasting kicks off with a relish tray. We dare not mess with an icon—at least, not too much. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    At Wisconsin supper clubs, the steak is served rare and the traditions are well done. Like the brandy in an Old-Fashioned, these timeless institutions only get better with age.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    This sleeper hit of a weeknight dinner comes from Food Network star Molly Yeh's cookbook Home is Where the Eggs Are—and is basically a vehicle for Parmesan and garlic toast. No complaints! (The alternate version, with ham and cream, is excellent too.)
    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    With visions of dinner parties and game nights dancing in their heads, a Chicago couple renovated their historic (and first) home, one DIY project at a time.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    Author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf shares how to make blooms last longer—and repeat.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Buses, trains and very few automobiles—check out these out-of-the-ordinary holiday lights displays.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Tamales are a project, but many hands—even tiny ones—make lighter work.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • DIY Pistachio Wheat Stalks for Fall Decorating
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
    • Fall 2022 Issue
    • Winter 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Holidays & Entertaining
  3. Easter
  4. Our Best Easter Dessert Recipes

Our Best Easter Dessert Recipes

By Midwest Living editors Updated January 16, 2023
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Doughnut Bundt
Credit: Carson Downing

Family and guests will love these Easter dessert recipes including Easter cakes, cupcakes, cookies and pies.

Start Slideshow

1 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Doughnut Bundt

Doughnut Bundt
Credit: Carson Downing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Nutmeg is the secret ingredient that makes this playful Bundt taste just like a cake doughnut. (Be sure to use freshly grated nutmeg—you'll really notice the difference in flavor.) It's the perfect ending for an Easter brunch or dinner.

1 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Vanilla Crepe Cake

Vanilla Crepe Cake
Credit: Kelsey Hansen
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This cake by chef Gavin Kaysen of Bellecour Bakery in the Twin Cities will wow guests with its many layers, luscious creaminess and subtle vanilla flavor.

Related: Ultimate Cake Recipes

2 of 25

3 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Carrot-Spice Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling

Carrot-Spice Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling on cake stand piece on plate
Credit: Greg Luna
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This recipe kicks carrot cake to elegant new heights. Tender layers of carrot-tinted spice cake are sandwiched with a luscious coconut-pecan filling—and it's all covered in swirls of classic cream cheese frosting. It's an event to make (plan for some dish-washing), but well worth the effort. To spread the work over two days, make the carrot puree and start the Coconut-Pecan Fluff Filling on Day 1 and let them chill overnight. Then finish it all off on Day 2.

3 of 25

Advertisement

4 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pound cake

Pound cakes

St. Louis pastry chef Nathaniel Reid gives pound cake a chic, patisserie-style makeover. Your trusty loaf pan never had it so good. Here are a few crowd-pleasing pound cake flavors to try:

  • Double Chocolate Pound Cake
  • Candied Lemon Pound Cake
  • Earl Grey and Raspberry Pound Cake
  • Yogurt Pound Cake with Apricots and Coconut
  • Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate Pound Cake

4 of 25

5 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Lemon Sugar Cookies
Credit: Carson Downing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

The light lemon flavor gives these sparkling sugar cookies a little special twist. Judy Kiburz Harrison's recipe won best-in-class at the Iowa State Fair—and they'll sparkle on your Easter table, too.

Related: The Midwest's Best Cookie Recipes

5 of 25

6 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Double-Malted Easter Snack Mix

Double-Malted Easter Snack Mix
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Malted milk powder and chopped malted Easter egg candies give this festive sweet-and-salty springtime snack mix a double hit of malt-shop flavor.

6 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Seven-or-So Layer Cake

Seven-Or-So-Layer Cake
Credit: Carson Downing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Impress Easter guests with this layer cake made from almond cake and rich mocha glaze. Our sheet pan technique makes prep extra simple. 

7 of 25

8 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Strawberry Charlotte

Strawberry Charlotte on a white plate
Credit: Blaine Moats
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This old-fashioned cake holds up to slicing after 6 hours, but the cookies soften more with a longer rest, making it a make-ahead dream.

Related: Strawberry Dessert Recipes

8 of 25

9 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Sunny-Side Up Pavlovas

Sunny-Side Up Pavlovas
Credit: Cameron Sadeghpour
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Perfect farm-fresh eggs are the inspiration for these crisp, mini meringues topped with cream and lemon curd. Serve au naturel or scatter them with fresh mint leaves, if you like.

Related: Sparkling Spring Dessert Recipes

9 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Carrot and Honey Upside-Down Minis

Carrot and Honey Upside-Down Minis
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Sweetly vying for a spot on your Easter brunch table, these cinnamony whole-wheat cakes bake over nests of glazed carrots. Serve warm with extra honey for drizzling.

10 of 25

11 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pear Tarte Tatin

Pear Tarte Tatin
Credit: Carson Downing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Just seven ingredients go into this beautiful upside-down French tart. And one of them is très-easy purchased puff pastry. (Choose an all-butter pastry, such as Dufour or the Trader Joe's house brand, for the best flavor.)

11 of 25

12 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Lemon Curd Tart

Lemon Curd Tart
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

"The lemon curd is one of our favorite workhorses," says Patrick Groth of Incredibly Delicious in Springfield, Illinois. 

Related: Luscious Lemon Dessert Recipes

12 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Cutie-Pie Carrot Cake

Cutie-Pie Carrot Cake
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Cream cheese frosting is always the answer, especially when it's on a 6-inch cake that's perfectly sized for life's celebrations.

Related: 6 Mini Cake Recipes

13 of 25

14 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Choose-a-Fruit Fool

Choose-a-Fruit Fools
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Craving a light and airy dessert? Our goof-proof fools call for just four simple ingredients: your favorite fruit, granulated sugar, whipping cream and vanilla. 

14 of 25

15 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Raspberry Cream Tart

Raspberry Cream Tart
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Fresh berries work best in this elegant dessert (frozen berries get too watery). Keep fruit refrigerated and dry and use within a couple of days of purchase.

Related: Mouthwatering Raspberry Dessert Recipes

15 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars

Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

A rich, fruity filling bakes in a rosemary-infused crust, then gets drizzled with a powdered sugar icing.

Related: Our Best Bar Cookies

16 of 25

17 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Peach Cordial Mini Bundt Cakes

Peach Cordial Mini Bundt Cakes
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

The memory of a childhood orchard trip inspired Melinsa Murphey of Olathe, Kansas, to create this peach dessert recipe. The cakes are moist and sweet and quite generously proportioned, so you may want to serve a half-cake to each person (or bake them in muffin cups instead).

17 of 25

18 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pistachio Pavlova with Fresh Berries

Pistachio Pavlova with Fresh Berries
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Mildly nutty meringue cradles fresh berries in this classic dessert named for a ballerina. Use your favorite nut to flavor the meringue. Our Test Kitchen recommends pistachios, almonds or pecans. Any fruit works: blueberries, kiwi, bananas.

18 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Baby Citrus Cheesecakes

Baby Citrus Cheesecakes
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

These cupcake-size treats are a fantastically simple alternative to a full-size cheesecake. You could also garnish them with fresh raspberries or blueberries.

19 of 25

20 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

A Mexican standard and guaranteed backyard crowd-pleaser, our brown-sugar sheet cake is soaked in milky syrup, chilled, then topped with whipped cream and berries.

20 of 25

21 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Peach Cake Roll

Peach Cake Roll
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Based on a recipe from Michigan Peach Sponsors, this cake roll is a flavor chameleon. Swirl in any ice cream you like, and top the cake with any complementary fruit.

21 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Key Lime Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

Key Lime Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Frosting
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Billowy Meringue Frosting tops a moist and buttery lime-flecked cake whose subtle coconut flavor comes from canned cream of coconut.

22 of 25

23 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Layers of cheesecake, raspberry filling, almonds and coconut form dessert bars perfect for an Easter buffet.

23 of 25

24 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Coconut Cake

Coconut Cake
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This three-layer wonder stays extra moist thanks to butter and buttermilk. The blue-ribbon recipe is from Teresa Reese of Osceola, Nebraska.

24 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie

Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

This longtime reader-favorite recipe makes two pies; if you like, freeze one. To thaw, let the frozen pie stand in the fridge overnight.

Related: Make Your Best Pie Ever

25 of 25

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Midwest Living editors

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 25 Doughnut Bundt
    2 of 25 Vanilla Crepe Cake
    3 of 25 Carrot-Spice Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling
    4 of 25 Pound cake
    5 of 25 Lemon Sugar Cookies
    6 of 25 Double-Malted Easter Snack Mix
    7 of 25 Seven-or-So Layer Cake
    8 of 25 Strawberry Charlotte
    9 of 25 Sunny-Side Up Pavlovas
    10 of 25 Carrot and Honey Upside-Down Minis
    11 of 25 Pear Tarte Tatin
    12 of 25 Lemon Curd Tart
    13 of 25 Cutie-Pie Carrot Cake
    14 of 25 Choose-a-Fruit Fool
    15 of 25 Raspberry Cream Tart
    16 of 25 Apricot-Rosemary Streusel Bars
    17 of 25 Peach Cordial Mini Bundt Cakes
    18 of 25 Pistachio Pavlova with Fresh Berries
    19 of 25 Baby Citrus Cheesecakes
    20 of 25 Tres Leches Cake
    21 of 25 Peach Cake Roll
    22 of 25 Key Lime Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Frosting
    23 of 25 Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
    24 of 25 Coconut Cake
    25 of 25 Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Our Best Easter Dessert Recipes
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.