52 Pretty Mother's Day Desserts That Anyone Can Make

There’s no denying Mom deserves a sweet treat on her special day — as well as a special cocktail or two (hint, hint) — but how do you pick when there are so many delicious recipes to choose from? We’ve narrowed it down to some of our favorites, including this pretty and impressive alternative to cake: pavlova. It's deceptively simple to make. Basic meringue is flavored with tangy buttermilk, sweet honey and fragrant vanilla before it’s baked. Once the meringue cools it’s dressed up with a little whipped cream and fresh fruit for a dessert that Mom is sure to love.

If you don’t have a trifle dish, layer your ingredients in a large glass bowl or individual glasses instead. As long as you can see through to the deliciously colorful layers, you’ll end up with an impressive dessert.

Treat Mom like royalty with this classic Swedish cake. It's elegant and delicious with a pillowy, creamy interior. Recipes for the cake vary, but most bakers agree on layers of tender sponge cake, raspberry jam, pastry cream and a generous dome of whipped cream. Everything is covered in sweet marzipan, usually tinted green, with a pink rose on top for a charming finish.

These pancake mix dessert crepes turn a simple shortcut into something irresistibly special, with thin, tender layers ready to be filled with sweet toppings in minutes. Easy to whip up and endlessly customizable, they’re a quick dessert that feels a little extra without the extra effort.

This mocha chocolate icebox cake comes together with minimal effort, layering store-bought cookies and a quick mocha whipped cream for an instant dessert that chills into something rich and sliceable. It’s a fuss-free, make-ahead treat that delivers big flavor with hardly any work.

Because cupcakes are way more creative than a flower bouquet! Show Mom how much you care by baking a dozen daisy-topped treats. Use kitchen shears to slice marshmallows into petal shapes and place yellow nonpareils as each flower’s center.

You could have fooled us! This impressive dessert is deceptively simple! What exactly is a strawberry fool? Whipped cream dressed up with macerated strawberries — Sunny likes to serve her version with cinnamon graham crackers to use as a scoop.

If you're looking for something that will wow Mom (that's also easy to pull off) this is the recipe for you. A simple, citrusy sheet cake is topped with fresh fruit and herbs for a floral finish that is guaranteed to add a ray of sunshine to her day.

Put this beautiful, no-bake cheesecake out at your next soiree and people might just think you're a professional baker! We used sliced strawberries and mandarin oranges to create the flower on top, but you can use other fruit to create your own design. Just make sure to avoid pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango and guava, which all contain an enzyme that will prevent the gelatin from setting properly.

We managed to fit a whole bottle of wine in this decadent dark chocolate pie. Perfect for a grown-up dinner party, it offers the best of both worlds.

Trisha’s tender Bundt cake is perfect when you need a make-ahead dessert. She says, “This is absolutely something you can make a day ahead and it will be great the next day.”

These white chocolate shells are filled with luscious pudding and a tart raspberry center perched atop fresh lemon cake.

Ree uses crushed up chocolate cookie sandwiches for this double-chocolate tart that any chocoholic will love.

Molly's carrot cake is the perfect spring dessert. She uses hawaij, a cardamom-forward Yemeni spice blend, to add warm, spicy flavors to both the cake and the frosting in this recipe (you can even sprinkled it in coffee!). If you can't find any at your grocery store, make a substitute: Mix together 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 tablespoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Valerie makes her trifle completely from scratch (pound cake and all) but if you need a shortcut you can easily substitute store-bought instead. Either way, this dessert is sure to make Mom’s day extra sweet!

Have little ones who want to help make Mother's Day special? These adorable teacup cakes are the perfect single-serve treat that they can make — no oven required — just mix the ingredients together and microwave. Just make sure the teacups you use are microwave safe.

The finishing touch for Mom’s special day, these delightful shortcake sandwiches are stuffed with a Greek yogurt cream and juicy berries. The shortcakes are prettier with jagged edges, so use a fork to split them open.

This is not your average mall-bought giant cookie cake. Molly uses a mix of almond and hazelnut flours as the base — a touch of almond extract really makes the nutty flavors shine. Top it all of with gorgeous buttercream frosting for a dessert that mom will love.

Ina’s chocolatey cake is both elegant and rich. To spend more time with Mom on the holiday, bake the cake in advance, then wrap and refrigerate it until Mother’s Day. Once the cake is frosted, it can be left at room temperature for up to eight hours.

A bright treat that's easy to prepare, Food Network Magazine’s recipe for raspberry-swirl pound cake yields eight to 10 slices of cake, enough to feed a crowd at your Mother’s Day festivities. If possible, we suggest using premium butter and organic cane sugar — it’ll give the cake a nice, crunchy top.

Damaris uses fragrant rose water to give classic strawberry-topped cheesecake a touch of elegance — elevating it to a dessert worthy of any Mother’s Day celebration.

Make Mom’s day extra special with a batch of Molly’s baked donuts. Use freshly squeezed blood orange juice, rhubarb stalks and frozen blueberries to whip up three colorful glazes.

Giada's makes serving a crowd on Mother's Day super easy: Use a silicone muffin pan to create the chocolate cups, fill with in-season strawberries and top it all off with a little bit of whipped cream.

Use store-bought corn muffin mix, but add lemon zest and vanilla for a sweet twist. The perfect finishing touch? Top with strawberries and cream.

To achieve the perfect level of pucker, Ina uses the zest of four to five lemons, plus lemon juice in her top-rated lemon poppy seed cake. Once it's cooled, just glaze and serve.

Pretty, strawberry-filled macarons take some TLC, but these photo-worthy treats are worth it.

Make a bright, cheerful dessert with Molly’s easy recipe. All you need are a few baking staples and some colorful sprinkles. Best of all, this recipe can be used to make a 3-layer cake or cupcakes — whichever mom likes more!

Red wine does double duty in Giada’s decadent dessert — the wine gets mixed into the cake batter and whisked with powdered sugar to make a pretty-in-pink glaze.

This Mother's Day, treat Mom to flowers and dessert — all in one.

A luscious chocolate ganache coats this chocolate-and-passion-fruit sorbet cake with a chocolate cookie crust. What could be more delicious than that?

"Warm vanilla bread pudding with cold creme anglaise. Now who wouldn't want to eat that for dessert??!" says Ina.

Ree’s easy, no-churn ice cream has the perfect balance of flavors. It gets a citrusy sweetness from orange zest, a light floral note from fresh vanilla bean and rich, milky flavor from the addition of ricotta cheese. It’s so tasty you won’t believe it’s not from a 5-star restaurant!

This classic Southern cake is really simple to make. Damaris reserves a little bit of the pineapple juice to use in the cake itself, which really brings out the flavor.

Molly’s adorable biscotti are the perfect treat to serve with post-brunch coffee.

Ree incorporates the best flavors of summer into her fruity dessert. Don’t forget whipped cream for serving!

Surprise Mom with a flavorful twist to a classic dessert. All you need is the zest and juice of one lime plus coconut extract, coconut cream and shredded coconut to make it happen.

Classic creme brulee gets a springy makeover just in time for Mother's Day. Everyone will love cracking through that sugary shell on top.

This melt-in-your-mouth cake is soaked with the flavors of wildflower honey, citrus and cardamom before getting a finishing touch of glossy honey glaze — just like a real honeycomb!

Valerie’s yummy cakes taste just like your favorite childhood snack. If the nostalgia factor doesn’t hook your guests, the peanut butter and chocolate combo will!