Ah, spring, you sly fox. You keep teasing us with a weird, random warm day where we all get excited and stuff wool sweaters into the top shelves of our closets, but then you come back with a snow-filled vengeance. Not to make you feel bad, but we’re tired of the games, so we’re thinking about ways to enjoy the wonderful warm weather you might someday bring, and dessert is one of our favorites. We’re moving out of heavy, fireplace-adjacent sweets to lighter, fruitier, fluffier, pastry-er stuff. Try some spicy pineapple cookies if you want to break your winter dessert funk, or a big, beautiful butterscotch budino. Or get your chocolate fix with a perfect tart. And just because it’s spring doesn’t mean you need to steer clear of cake. We’re eating this perfect white layer cake, because why not? Kiss winter goodbye and celebrate spring with these 11 springy desserts.
Pineapple Tea Cookies
These sandwich cookies, adapted from chef Frederico Ribeiro of New York’s Te Company, are an homage to the classic Taiwanese pineapple cake. Here a super-buttery vanilla bean shortbread gets a nutty dose of hazelnut flour, and sweet pineapple-rosemary jam gets balanced by the spicy, fermented, and grassy flavor of Japanese yuzu kosho paste. Get the recipe for Pineapple Tea Cookies »
Celery and Rhubarb Vacherin
This pastel-hued dessert, from Kristen Murray of Portland, Oregon’s Måurice, consists of a simple sponge cake layered with stewed rhubarb, celery semifreddo and sorbet, and crisp meringues, all surrounded by sugary rhubarb soup. Get the recipe for Celery and Rhubarb Vacherin »
Forget everything you know about “white cake,” this recipe’s a game changer: rich and velvety to the point of creaminess, heady with vanilla, and almost as fluffy as angel’s food cake. The secret is virgin coconut oil, which amplifies the aroma of butter and vanilla while creaming up lighter (and whiter) than butter alone. I top it all off with silky Marshmallow Buttercream, for a cake that’s beguilingly complex despite its apparent simplicity. Get the recipe for BraveTart’s Classic White Layer Cake with Marshmallow Buttercream »
Butterscotch Budino
Pizzeria Mozza’s butterscotch budino has become one of Los Angeles’ most iconic desserts. And in a city obsessed with budino (which is just the Italian word for “pudding”), many people think Nancy Silverton, Mozza’s co-owner and chef, is responsible. But Silverton takes very little credit for its creation. While she was preparing to open the pizzeria in 2006, their pastry chef Dahlia Narvaez was biding her time and honing her skills at Jar, a restaurant owned by Silverton’s friend Suzanne Tracht. Jar had a butterscotch pudding on the menu, to which Narvaez added a layer of caramel and a sprinkling of sea salt. Silverton contributed a pine nut rosemary cookie, which is served on the side at both Mozza and chi Spacca. Get the recipe for Butterscotch Budino »
The croissant’s perfection is twofold: an interior of infinitely spiraling paper-thin layers and a shatteringly flaky crust. Get the recipe for The Best Croissants »
Florentine Chocolate Tart
The use of English digestives—mildly sweet whole-wheat cookies–gives the crust an appealing crumbly texture. Get the recipe for Florentine Chocolate Tart »
Lemon Custard Tart
Use leftover dough from the butter crust of this creamy lemon custard pastry to make decorative cookies to adorn the outside. Get the recipe for Lemon Custard Tart »
Serve this moist, dense, candied orange-studded cake with vanilla gelato, sea salt, and a drizzle of fruity olive oil. Get the recipe Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake »
Semolina-Coconut Cake with Orange and Rose Waters
This elegant cake is soaked in a fragrant lemon syrup, perfumed by flower waters. The garnish is candied rose petals sprinkled with toasted coconut. Get the recipe for Semolina-Coconut Cake with Orange and Rose Waters »
Pineapple and Pine Nut Torte
At Portland, Oregon’s Måurice restaurant, pastry chef Kristen Murray layers sponge cake with buttercream and white chocolate ganache, and garnishes the torte with honeyed pineapple slices and candied pine nuts. Get the recipe for Pineapple and Pine Nut Torte »
Layers of buttery, flaky laminated pastry are swirled around a lightly spiced, pleasantly gooey cherry compote, then brushed with orange liqueur and sprinkled with pulverized pistachios after baking. For an alcohol-free alternative, swap out the liqueur for a mixture of honey and fresh orange juice. Get the recipe for Sour Cherry and Pistachio Danish »