These Are the Best Desserts to Make This Spring

A great way to use all those ripe berries. This dessert is pretty easy to make, too.

A smooth, delicate cheesecake. Lemon zest in the crust brings out the tang of the cheese.

Refreshing and bright, with the tropical flair of pineapple and coconut, these little tarts are a fun departure from typical desserts. Even better, most of the elements can be prepared a day ahead, then assembled just before serving.

This dessert gets its exotic touch from star anise, a licorice-y seasoning that’s used in Vietnamese cooking.

“Baking and icing a cake from scratch can be daunting. But you don’t have to do it all in one day,” says Rosie Daykin, the cheerful and talented owner of Butter Baked Goods, in Vancouver. Bake the cakes first and let them cool; the next day, make the frosting and assemble the cake. To frost more evenly and efficiently, use a sturdy rotating cake stand. Also very helpful: a round cardboard cake board to build the cake on—“it makes frosting, moving, and slicing the cake so much easier”—and a large offset spatula. You can find all these in kitchenware shops and online.

This simple dessert cooks in the oven, but you could make it on the grill—cook the pineapple until grill marks appear and lightly toast the angel food cake. Whichever way you go with this dessert, the cinnamon whipped cream is delicious, and a scoop of ice cream wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

The filling in these pies is on the tart side, so they’re especially good with vanilla ice cream. Semolina flour in the dough is optional but adds complexity and crunch.

Although you can use all-purpose wheat flour, gluten-free flour (in combination with coconut oil) makes these brownies more tender and luscious. Let chill overnight for a firmer, easier-to-cut brownie.

Sweet and tangy, crunchy and creamy–this recipe delivers a perfect combination of flavors and textures in each bite. A touch of gelatin in the lime curd helps it set enough to slice cleanly.

Cream cheese and vanilla beans give these treats an extraordinary depth of flavor. Just as amazing: the time saved by making the sandwiches in a big pan rather than assembling them individually.

To create this rustic dessert, pastry chef Mandy Groom added orange, cardamom, and a crunchy topping to her nana’s rhubarb pie filling recipe. “It says love and comfort to me,” says Groom.

Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, chef-owners of Joule and Revel restaurants in Seattle, have taken a favorite Korean dessert—shaved ice with sweet syrup–and turned it into a ginger-flavored granita.

This four-layered chocolate raspberry cake features a tangy raspberry filling and a rich foolproof buttercream icing. Top the cake with fresh raspberries for a simple and elegant presentation.

It’s not a direct translation, but think of pionono as Spanish for jelly-roll cake. This spongy berry version, which our reader inherited from a close family friend, creates a big ta-da at the table for very little effort.

A simple, quick, unfussy dessert is a perfect option for busy hosts.

Easier and icier than sorbet, a granita is especially refreshing made with tangy rhubarb.

We created this elegant, elongated version of strawberry shortcake by stacking cake layers with berries and whipped cream.

We decided to combine the flakiness and nutty flavors of baklava with the fruit of a strudel. If your apricots are very ripe, don’t let them sit in the honey syrup too long before you assemble the strudel—they’ll turn to jam. But if they’re a little firm or very tart, let them macerate a bit longer to soften and absorb the sweetness.

We were intrigued, if skeptical, about trying this dessert of rhubarb, caramel, and rosemary, but the unusual combo bowled us over. Though the recipe is time intensive, nothing is difficult.

If you’ve never made one of these classic confections, you’ll be tempted now. The bottom layer is genoise, a light, rich cake for which eggs and sugar are warmed over simmering water and then beaten with other ingredients. Ice cream goes on the cake, then the whole thing is cloaked in meringue and put in the oven. The meringue turns golden but insulates the ice cream, so it stays frozen.

Although basil is more commonly used in savory dishes, its sweet, aromatic flavors work beautifully with caramelized pineapple as a topping for frozen yogurt.

As easy to make as a pancake, this classic French dessert from the Limousin region involves pouring a simple batter over fresh fruit (typically cherries) and baking until puffed and golden brown. The fruit rises to the top, leaving a soft layer whose texture falls somewhere between custard and cake.

This vanilla mousse, with ribbons of tart-sweet boysenberry sauce, has a delicate, cloudlike texture. If you’re substituting raspberries and blackberries, start with more berries for the sauce, as they’re not as juicy as boysenberries.

Showcase juicy, ripe berries with rich zabaglione, laced with sweet wine.

This dessert is far from the ordinary, but completely worth the effort for the phenomenal flavor. A French-inspired pastry with a mild tart flavor and hint of pungent spice give you a simply unique Western-instilled treat.