10 Spring Desserts I’m Excited About This Year
The SECOND there is a hint of sun, I can sit in my garden and hear birds instead of horizontal rain, I change as a person.
Winter me wants sticky toffee pudding, hot chocolate fudge cake and emotional support chocolates.
Spring me?
Spring me wants lemon. Strawberries. Iced coffee with pastries. Desserts that feel light, fluffy and like I could eat two slices and still move.
Also I don’t know what it is but baking just hits differently when you can open a window slightly and pretend you’re in a cute cottage instead of your actual kitchen.
Anyway. These are the bakes I cannot stop thinking about.
MINI EGGS IN EVERYTHING
If you know me, you know what mini eggs mean to me… well that’s slightly dramatic, let’s start again..
I buy Mini Eggs “for baking” and somehow half the bag disappears. Every year. No growth.
But mini egg cookies? SMASH.
Soft in the middle, slightly crisp on the edges, and then that little crunch from the shell. And they’re pastel, which automatically makes them seasonal. That’s just science.
They feel Easter-y without having to actually host Easter.
These deserve a photo.
2. Strawberry Cookies (with Homemade Strawberry Coulis Because We’re chefs)
Strawberry in spring just makes sense. It’s not heavy, it’s not aggressive, it’s just soft and happy.
I love swirling proper homemade strawberry coulis into the dough so you get actual strawberry flavour and not just pink vibes. It makes them slightly jammy in the middle and honestly I could eat four without noticing.
They feel lighter than chocolate cookies, which is important when the weather starts pretending it’s warm but still requires a jumper.
3. Victoria Sponge (My favourite Cake)
A classic Victoria sponge with fresh strawberry jam and softly whipped cream just screams spring.
It’s light. It’s fluffy. It doesn’t weigh you down. It’s the kind of cake you cut “a thin slice” of and then go back for another thin slice and suddenly half of it is gone.
With homemade (or fresh from the farm shop) strawberry jam, this cake instantly puts you in a good mood.
But also… I LOVE a Vicky sponge. Proper love.
It takes me straight back to my birthdays growing up, when my wonderful Nan would make the simplest but somehow most delicious Victoria sponge cakes. And Sundays at her house, when me and my sister would beg her to bake something with whatever was in the cupboard, and it nearly always ended up being a Victoria sponge or fairy cakes.
We’d always take the spoon and bowl through to my grandad for him to “help”, and he’d start with a comedically large spoon just to make us laugh. Which obviously worked every time.
Victoria sponge holds such a special place in my heart. It was even the flavour of our wedding cake, which feels very full circle, and I just know my Nan would have approved.
Honestly, it’s more than just a cake to me. It’s spring, but it’s also memories.
4. Chocolate Nest Cakes
The pinnacle of spring for every British child. Melting chocolate with golden syrup, crushing up some shredded wheat, and of course, topping them with MINI EGGS . Iconic, simple, perfect.
These aren’t just cakes, they’re a shared experience. A warm fuzzy memory that spans generations. My Nan made them with me and my sister, and now we make them with my niece. It’s the kind of tradition that everyone loves and can add their own twist to.
Honestly, if you don’t make chocolate nest cakes, what are you even doing??
5. Hot Cross Buns
There’s something about a hot cross buns that feels like the official announcement of spring.
They’re still cosy and spiced, but the citrus peel and softer sweetness make them feel like winter is packing up politely.
Toasted and topped with honey or butter. Slightly messy. Perfect.
I only recently tried Hot Cross buns, about 2 years ago and I regret not trying them sooner!
6. Lemon Drizzle Cake
Lemons are at their BEST in winter and early spring and I will not waste that opportunity. A proper lemon drizzle cake with sharp syrup soaked all the way through? A big fat YES, every time.
It’s zingy, bright and wakes you up. Which is helpful because at the start of spring I think everyone struggles with the longer days.
It looks great on the table when you have guests round for tea on a Saturday. It disappears in 24 hours and no one takes responsibility.
7. St Clementine Cake
Orange and lemon together just taste like actual sunshine.
A St Clementine cake is slightly softer and sweeter than straight lemon but still fresh, springy and happy.
It feels like the baking equivalent of wearing a lighter coat and pretending it’s warm enough.
Funny story, I tried a slice of this beautiful cake once in 2023 and didn’t even read what I’d ordered. It was a classic point-behind-the-glass moment. “I’ll have a slice of that one.” No thoughts. Just vibes.
And that was it, a craving was discovered there and then. I then spent about two years trying to find this edible sunshine again because I had absolutely no idea what it was called. Just wandering around bakeries like “do you have… that orange-y lemon-y happy cake?” and forcing my husband to eat what I pick out so we had two opportunities to find it again.
When I finally figured out it was St Clementine cake I felt like I’d solved a personal mystery, I may have even shed a tear. It genuinely tastes like spring in cake form.
8. Cheesecake
Chocolate, ginger, baileys, pumpkin or millionaire’s cheesecakes a heavy and wintery.
Spring cheesecake is light. Maybe lemon. Maybe strawberry swirl. Maybe just vanilla but chilled and fresh, it’s a safe go to.
It feels like something you’d serve at a garden party even if it’s just you, in leggings, eating it straight from the tin.
Cheesecake is the type of dessert that makes your shoulders do a little happy dance as you take your first spoonful. Smooth, bright, and instantly making the world feel a tiny bit better.
9. Strawberry & Cream Scones
Tell me strawberry and cream scones aren’t the most spring-coded thing ever. You can’t. They look great in the centre of your table, and even better next to a cup of tea or coffee.
Freshly baked scones, still slightly warm. Split in half. A generous spoon of strawberries jam and proper whipped cream on top. It’s giving “Posh girly”. It’s also giving crumbs absolutely everywhere but moving on…
They feel lighter than a full cake, which I love when the weather’s warming up and you want something sweet without feeling like you need to lie down afterwards. They are also a nice replacement for breakfast on a Saturday, a scone and tea around 10:30? Beautiful.
Also let’s not start the cream-or-jam-first debate. because I have a worse one, I love a dry scone. There, I said it. Yes, I like all of the cream and jam and all that jazz, but just a scone, washed down with a cup of tea. Should I be embarrassed to admit this? Maybe.
10. Raspberry & White Chocolate Blondies
Okay, so you might be saying “spring isn’t all about strawberries and lemons”. That is true. These raspberry blondies are also giving spring in a bite. Soft, chewy, sweet, with those little pockets of raspberry and melty white chocolate that don’t feel as heavy as fudge chocolate brownies.
I love that you can eat one slice straight from the tin while standing in your kitchen (hiding them from your husband), and then immediately go back for another. And another. No judgment… not at first anyway.
Honestly, they’re the kind of bake that makes you want to open all the windows, blast some slightly-too-loud music, and reorganise your entire baking cupboard halfway through because *inspiration*. Spring bakes and spring cleans, with some fresh air and music to keep your company.
Perfect.
And that’s my spring dessert hit list. Light, bright, a little messy, and full of crumbs that somehow make life feel nicer. If you try even one of these, I promise your kitchen will smell like actual sunshine. Happy baking, and may your spoons always be comically large.
