31 Lemon Desserts to Make You Pucker Up, Buttercup
If the simple mention of lemon desserts twists your cheeks into a smile and makes your mouth water, then you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve gathered our best lemon dessert recipes for those of you (and us) who can’t get enough of that tangy, bright, enlivening lemon flavor at the end of a meal (or any time, really).
But first, some bonus ideas, because we’re generous like that. There’s a lemon tart on the list below, but here’s another one (it’s sweetened with honey). And while you can think of lemon sorbet as a start-of-the-meal Italian-ish aperitivo or a palate-cleanser course, do think of it: lemon sorbet, orange juice, and Campari served in small bowls or coffee cups? Chic.
Speaking of spoonable lemon desserts: lemon ice cream. This limoncello gelato is made creamy with mascarpone (Italian cream cheese, for those who don’t know). And we’ll throw in these luscious lemon ricotta pancakes for good measure. It’s not a lemon dessert, per se, but pancakes need only exist as their perfect selves to warrant a shout-out. What can we say? We just love lemon.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin1/31Cherry Lemonade Beach Pie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro2/31Foolproof Lemon Bars
The true test for any lemon lover: This bar has a tender shortbread crust and a bright, creamy filling—made with both fresh lemon juice and zest—that cooks through entirely in the oven, no stovetop necessary. Watch Kendra make them here.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca3/31Any-Berry Lemon Ricotta Cake
This is a dessert for those summer days when you’re bequeathed a bounty of berries but don’t know what to do with them. Pro tip: Use full-fat ricotta here; the low-fat stuff will make the cake dry and gummy.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne4/31Lemon Curd
This lemon curd filling doesn’t need to remain just a filling. Spread it on scones or biscuits, dollop it on pavlova or cheesecake, or eat it all on its own with a little whipped cream.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski5/31Lemon Meringue Pie
The pie filling gets the zest of four whole lemons. If you don’t have a rasp-style grater (or yours is dull), this lemon dessert is a good reason to buy a new one.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks6/31Super Lemony Olive Oil Cake
Photograph by Doaa Elkady, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker7/31Lemon-Poppy Seed Tart
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh9/31Preserved-Lemon Tea Cake
Preserved lemon tempers the sweetness in this olive-oil-based loaf. For another lemony-but-not quite-lemon loaf that comes with doses of cardamom, ginger, and turmeric, try this spiced zucchini bread.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones10/31Lemony Glazed Cake Doughnuts
Making lemon glaze is one of the easiest ways to finish a dessert: Just whisk powdered sugar, lemon zest, and a little salt and water until smooth. That’s all, folks.
Photo by Alex Lau11/31Sour Candied Citrus Peels
These are like homemade Sour Patch Kids, and we can’t stop eating them. Here’s an idea for leftover citrus flesh you’ll have: Use the juice to make lemon curd, then gift it in jars.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk12/31Lemon-Elderflower Pound Cake
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua13/31Triple Citrus Creamsicle Pie
This is a lemon pie. And a lime pie. And an orange pie. It’s a no-bake dessert that almost has the texture of a lemon cheesecake. It’s good.
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott14/31Lemon-Pistachio Loaf
Lemon loaf meets olive oil cake in this vegan dessert. Speaking of that: Because it contains no eggs for structure, the cake’s delicate crumb needs time to rest and firm up, so don’t even think about lifting it out of your loaf pan before it’s completely cool.
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian15/31Lavender-Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Just one teaspoon of dried lavender buds turns these chewy lemon cookies into something else: the joy of frolicking in a field of purple flowers with a cup of fresh lemonade in your hands, captured in a handheld dessert.
16/31Lemon Pound Cake
Could you doctor up boxed cake mix with lemon zest? Sure. But this easy lemon pound cake, with its classic light glaze, is an essential; every cook should have a version up their sleeve. If yours happens to skip the glaze in favor of a lemon cream cheese frosting, nobody will complain. Nobody.
Christina Holmes17/31Meyer Lemon Cream With Graham Crackers and Sea Salt
Adding cream to lemon curd thins the tart spread, making it extra spoonable—delicious in more than just this dish.
Eva Kolenko20/31Blueberry-Lemon Icebox Cake
The more particular—we like that word better than obsessive—you are when building the layers of cream, jam, lemon curd, and graham crackers in your loaf pan, the more neat and tidy this will look when sliced.
Alex Lau21/31Beet Panna Cotta and Meyer Lemon Mousse
Beets for dessert? We were skeptical, too, but the vegetable’s natural sugar content and gorgeous ruby color make for a stunning magenta panna cotta—topped here with a creamy cloud made from Meyer lemons.
Christopher Testani22/31Strawberry-Lemon Lattice Pie
You know, the more we read this recipe, the more we realize that a drizzle of melted white chocolate would be great on top of it. And yes, that is a challenge.
23/31Lemon-Buttermilk Bundt Cake
With a moist buttermilk interior beneath a crunchy crust and a generous amount of lemon zest, a classic Bundt cake is reborn—to be wild. Wildly delicious, that is.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen27/31Lemon and Raspberry Wedding Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
You see “lemon raspberry” labeled onto the cans of sooooo many soft drinks in the grocery store because, well, it’s a perfect combo. So why not make a layer cake inspired by it?
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski28/31CBD Lemon and Black Sesame Semifreddo
30/31Lemony Slice-and-Bakes
We love slice-and-bakes. Instead of forming each scoop of sugar cookie dough, one by one, you form it into a log and then cut it crosswise into rounds.
Alex Lau31/31Creamsicle-Inspired Orange Pops
We had to throw a frozen lemon dessert into the mix. While we admit that orange is the star citrus in this recipe, lemon excellently plays the supporting role, without which none of the other ingredients would shine like they do.
