18 Spring Baking Recipes (Perfect for Easter & Brunch)
While the fall and winter seasons might lean towards comforting, cozy bakes, there’s something about fresh blooms and chirping birds that has me craving something bright. These spring baking recipes are a perfect way to bring in the season, whether you’re hosting a brunch with friends or celebrating Easter with family.
You’ll find everything from seasonal flavors to sweet breads here. Plus, let us not forget the savory bakes. There’s nothing like a homemade quiche that screams delicious, nutritious, and, low-key, a knock out.
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Why You’ll Love These Spring Baking Recipes
We’re tapping into all the soon-to-be-warm-weather cravings, from coconut and carrot to fresh fruits and herbs. With these spring baking recipes, you’ll have the perfect recipes for picnics, an afternoon tea with your pals, or that Easter brunch spread.
The Best Spring Baking Recipes for Every Occasion
Light & Fresh Spring Cakes & Cheesecakes
Spring Bunny Cake
Every spring, we have a family tradition of making a bunny cake. Peter Rabbit’s cuteness got nothing on us.
All you need are two cake rounds, frosting, and some edible decorations. It’s the perfect Easter bake with kids or for a fun activity with your girlfriends.
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
One of my absolute favorite cheesecake recipes, it’s both creamy and tart, with a chocolate Oreo crust to balance it all out. Plus, can you ever beat a fresh raspberry sauce topping?
Carrot Cake
A classic Easter recipe, this carrot cake is topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting. Bonus: no nuts or dried fruit (cause gross).
Minty Peach Pavlova
If you’re looking for a tiered dessert that’s not a cake, give this minty peach pavlova a go. Whip up a batch of French meringue, bake, and layer with freshly sliced peaches, whipped cream, and mint leaves.
It’s crunchy. It’s chewy. It’s creamy. It’s fresh. You get it.
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Seasonal Fruit Tarts
Orange & Lime Fruit Tarts
While a lot of citrus sits in the winter category, we’re bringing it into spring with these fresh orange and lime fruit tarts. A sweetened pastry crust, baked in individual tart shells, filled with homemade pastry cream and topped with citrus segments.
Peach-Basil Puff Pastry Tarts
I just love a fruity-herby combo. These combine fresh peach and basil flavor in both the filling and the slices of peaches and fresh basil leaves on top.
Kept simple with store-bought puff pastry, layered with homemade peach-basil curd, whipped cream, and more peaches and basil leaves to finish.
Strawberry Basil Tart
Looking for a dessert that’s an absolute showstopper? Look no further than this strawberry basil tart. Baked in a buttery crust, the strawberry filling can be made with fresh or frozen berries, with fresh basil leaves folded in to pack in the flavor.
Mini Fruit Tarts with Pastry Cream
Anything mini is automatically cute in my baking book. All you need is a round cutter and a muffin tin to make these mini fruit tarts.
Fill them with a simple pastry cream and top with your fruit of choice. You can keep them all the same, or switch up your berries, citrus, kiwi, etc., on each one!
Spring Muffins & Pastries
1 Muffin Batter, 4 Flavors
If you want spring baking recipes perfect for a crowd, this single batch of muffin batter makes four different flavors. Whether your guests are craving double chocolate, lemon poppy seed, cinnamon coffee cake, or a classic blueberry, this recipe covers all the muffin bases.
Simple Lemon Madeleines
Bring a French vibe to your spring baking recipes, but with a citrus twist. These lemon madeleines bake up into a classic shell and are finished with a 2-ingredient lemon glaze.
Lemon Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
This lemon poppy seed coffee cake is the perfect small-batch baking recipe, whether you’re craving something bright for Sunday brunch or hosting a few friends. Plus, it’s topped with a melt-in-your-mouth streusel and drizzled with lemon glaze.
Sweet Breads & Brunch-Worthy Bakes
Cinnamon Roll Brioche Danishes
Something about an Easter spread screams sweet bread. These cinnamon roll brioche danishes are soft, baked with a sweetened cream cheese filling and cinnamon crunch rim, finished with a cinnamon glaze.
Sweet Potato Bread
An easy loaf pan recipe that bakes up moist (yes, I said it) and cozy. This sweet potato bread is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, making for the perfect, easy spring morning breakfast.
Pimento Cheese Biscuits
Now, if it’s a savory Easter brunch you’re craving, you have to try these pimento cheese biscuits. They bake up flaky, soft, and oh-so-cheesy, with just a hint of spice.
Deep Dish Mediterranean Quiche
Nothing says spring quite like a quiche packed with spinach, feta, and a hint of lemon zest to really make it pop. Transform it into a deep dish mediterranean quiche by baking your oregano-flavored crust in a springform pan.
Spring Cookies for Easter & Brunch
Soft Lemon Cookies with White Chocolate & Coconut
Lemon, coconut, and white chocolate are flavor BFFs. These soft lemon cookies have a gooey white chocolate center and are rolled in shredded coconut before baking.
Lavender Thumbprint Cookies
Don’t sleep on lavender in your baked goods, friends. We’re taking a buttery shortbread dough and flavoring it with fresh (or dried, baker’s choice) lavender.
A white chocolate raspberry filling is poured into each lavender thumbprint cookie, for a delicious fruity-herby sweet treat.
Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam
Pie crust in cookie form, these Linzer cookies are as pretty as they are tendahh (excuse me, tender if you didn’t catch that). Sandwiched around the best homemade raspberry jam, these are the perfect Easter cookies.
What Flavors are Best for Spring Baking?
With so many plants in bloom, there are a variety of flavors to choose from to make your spring baking recipes pop. Citrus season is still in session in early spring, so consider oranges, grapefruits, and lemons. Start weaving in your favorite berries, both inside your bakes and decorated on top.
Flavors like carrot, coconut, and fresh herbs are fan favorites for spring desserts as well. Bonus, they can be used for both sweet and savory baking recipes!
Tips for Baking the Perfect Easter or Spring Dessert
Prepare in advance: Use the season to your advantage by prepping sauces and curds and storing them in the freezer until you’re ready to use. Also, many pie and cookie doughs can be made ahead of time and baked off closer to when you’re ready to serve!
Lighten your selection: Where cold-weather bakes lean a little heavier, we’re brightening it up in the spring. Swap in more fresh produce, edible flowers, and bright colors to celebrate the season.
Leverage seasonal decorations (and keep it simple): You don’t need fancy piping skills to make your spring baking recipes pop. Using a variety of whole and sliced fruit or fresh (edible!) herbs and flowers makes for a stunning finish to your recipe.
Lean into spring colors: Make your cakes, cookies, and tarts pop with pastels and fresh blooms.
FAQs About Spring Baking Recipes
Popular Easter desserts lean both seasonal and traditional. For seasonal recipes, think carrot cake, lemon bars, and rhubarb pies. Traditional recipes lean into hot cross buns and sweet breads, plus bunny and egg-shaped creations.
Flavors with strong spring ties are carrot, coconut, lemon, berries, and, of course, chocolate.
One-pan desserts like shortbread bars and loaf cakes, as well as many cookie recipes, are beginner-friendly spring desserts.
Absolutely! Many cakes and cheesecakes freeze well once baked and cooled, perfect for taking out when you’re ready to serve.
You can also prep a lot of dough and store it in the freezer until you’re ready to bake. Think crust for quiches, tarts, and galettes as well as cookies.
