17 of our best lemon desserts to brighten your baking
Tangy thumbprint cookies, citrusy layer cakes, tart lemon bars, and more.
Lemons are a superstar ingredient in baking — they’re plentiful year-round, reliably affordable, and pack a puckery punch. So, if you’re looking for an early spring pick-me-up, look to these lemon dessert recipes. From curd-filled cakes to lemonade-inspired bars, there’s something for everyone.
1) Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Everything you love about refreshing strawberry lemonade, but in cookie bar form. The lemony batter easily comes together by hand and is complemented by a swoosh of sweet strawberry frosting. Since the frosting calls for freeze-dried strawberries (which hava more concentrated fruity flavor than fresh berries), you won’t need to wait until strawberry season to bake these.
Get the recipe: Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Shop the recipe: 8" Square Pan
2) Lemon Bliss Cake
For a grand cake without much fuss, make this Bundt. It’s packed with two lemons’ worth of zest and soaked in sweetened lemon juice while the cake is fresh out of the oven. To top it all off, use a bit more lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar to make a thick, elegant icing that gracefully drips down each edge of the Bundt cake.
Get the recipe: Lemon Bliss Cake
Shop the recipe: Original Classic Bundt® Pan
3) Braided Lemon Bread
There’s plenty of tang in this sweet, tender bread, from vanilla yogurt in the dough to a cream cheese and lemon curd filling nestled in a mock braid. This recipe makes two braided loaves, so it’s perfect for hosting big brunches or to generously gift to a friend.
Get the recipe: Braided Lemon Bread
Shop the recipe: Swedish Pearl Sugar
4) Lemon Squares
This classic bar recipe delivers on all fronts: It has a buttery, shortbread crust and smooth, assertively tart lemon filling.
Get the recipe: Lemon Squares
Shop the recipe: King Arthur Snow White Non-Melting Sugar
5) Lemon Cloud Cake
This light-as-air layer cake is the ideal celebration cake for the lemon lover in your life. It’s filled with lemon curd pastry cream and swathed in lemon-kissed whipped cream frosting.
Get the recipe: Lemon Cloud Cake
Shop the recipe: Cake Flour
6) Double Lemon Thumbprints
When lemon cookies need even more of a citrusy boost, give them the thumbprint treatment and fill them with tart curd. And to really bring the lemon theme home, decorate them with icing to look like sliced lemons.
Get the recipe: Double Lemon Thumbprints
Shop the recipe: Lemon Oil
7) Mile-High Meringue Pie
When it comes to meringue, the bigger the better. Plus, this billowing meringue has a secret — it has a cup of Marshmallow Fluff mixed in for sweetness and stability. Beneath the towering meringue lies a puckery lemon-lime filling. Don’t forget to toast the meringue!
Get the recipe: Mile-High Meringue Pie
Shop the recipe: Baker’s Torch
8) Lemon Chess Pie
For an alternative to lemon meringue pie, this chess pie is a simpler take with just as much sweet-tart flavor. The custard is made with the juice from three lemons, ensuring plenty of bright, citrus flavor that’s balanced out with sugar, eggs, and butter.
Get the recipe: Lemon Chess Pie
Shop the recipe: Pie Pan
9) Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
This effortlessly elegant cake comes together in just minutes while delivering vibrant citrus flavor. It features lemon in nearly every form — zest, juice, and candied slices — enhanced by a few bold additions like lemon juice emulsion and lemon juice powder for extra zing. And you know what it doesn’t call for? Dairy or eggs!
Get the recipe: Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
Shop the recipe: Lemon Juice Emulsion and Lemon Juice Powder
10) Lemon Ricotta Cake
The secret to this plush cake comes from the unexpected addition of ultra-fine ‘00’ Pizza Flour. Here, lemon zest, ricotta cheese, and vanilla are an unbeatable flavor trio, but the secret star is Fiori di Sicilia, which really elevates the cake with its haunting floral flavor.
Get the recipe: Lemon Ricotta Cake
Shop the recipe: ‘00’ Pizza Flour and Fiori di Sicilia
11) Lemon Blueberry Cake
This recipe perfectly balances sweet and tangy flavors, featuring homemade blueberry jam nestled between layers of soft, lemon-infused cake. A lemon cake soak and blueberry-swirled lemon frosting amplify the citrusy brightness.
Get the recipe: Lemon Blueberry Cake
Shop the recipe: Microplane Zester
12) Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ultra-soft and extra chewy, these cookies deliver a bold, zesty lemon kick. Plus, these easy cookies can be mixed entirely by hand.
Get the recipe: Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Shop the recipe: Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
13) Whipped Lemon Shortbread
These delicate, melt-in-your-mouth lemon cookies are light yet zesty. Creaming the butter with the sugar until super light and fluffy gives these cookies their soft texture, while masa harina adds an unexpected but delightful corn flavor.
Get the recipe: Whipped Lemon Shortbread
Shop the recipe: Lemon Paste
14) Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Buttermilk cake, bright lemon curd filling, and a torched swirl of meringue make these cupcakes as good as the pie that inspired them.
Get the recipe: Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Shop the recipe: Standard Muffin Pan
15) Gingery Lemon Curd Coffee Cake
This unique coffee cake has a pleasing variety of textures and flavors. At the top, you’ll find buttery, crunchy streusel and a generous layer of smooth lemon curd nestled between the crumbs and tender cake. Ginger and cardamom in the cake add spiced notes but still complement this breakfast cake’s brightness.
Get the recipe: Gingery Lemon Curd Coffee Cake
Shop the recipe: Mini Diced Ginger and Cloud Forest Cardamom
16) Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries
This bakery-quality dessert is easier to pull off than you think. The press-in tart crust makes a base that’s tender, buttery, and just sweet enough. The lemon filling is thickened with eggs and sour cream for a sweet-tart flavor. A final finish of jewel-toned fresh berries give this tart its wow factor, and it couldn’t be easier to decorate.
Get the recipe: Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries
Shop the recipe: Fluted Tart Pan
17) Easy Microwave Lemon Curd
Rather than stand over your stove to monitor a pot of thickening curd, this recipe takes a shortcut with the microwave. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll have a thick, luscious curd ready to eat by the spoonful, or use in a number of the recipes we shared here.
Get the recipe: Easy Microwave Lemon Curd
Shop the recipe: Spectacular Spatula
Cover photo (Easy Vegan Lemon Cake ) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
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