67 Fun and Festive Easter Desserts

From adorable bunny cakes and cute chick cookies to classics like carrot cake and hot cross buns, these recipes are perfect for any sweet spread.

April 11, 2022

Related To:

Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher

Photo By: Renee Comet

Photo By: YUNHEE KIM

Photo By: Matt

Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher

Photo By: Tara Donne ©FOOD NETWORK : 2012, Television Food Network, G.P.

Photo By: Matt Armendariz

Photo By: Tara Donne

Photo By: Yunhee Kim

Photo By: Con Poulos Prop Stylist: Marina Malchin 917 751 2855

Photo By: Matt Armendariz

Photo By: Con Poulos

Photo By: Sam Kaplan

Photo By: Con Poulos Prop Stylist: Marina Malchin 917 751 2855

Photo By: Kat Teutsch

Photo By: Stephen Murello

Photo By: YUNHEE KIM

Photo By: Matt Armendariz

The Sweetest Day

If there’s one thing we love about Easter it’s the fact that there are so many sweet treats to be enjoyed all day long. You can start your day with cup of tea and an icing-topped hot cross bun, you can nibble on Easter cookies in the afternoon while you whip up a few fun treats with the kids and then you can indulge in a celebratory cake or cupcakes after dinner — and no one will even question it! Best of all, you don’t have to a pro baker or decorator to make something festive. Just take this too-cute bunny cake, for example. It’s made with round cakes (no fancy cake pan needed) and decorated with shredded coconut fur and candy features. It’s completely doable, especially with our recipe and how-to video.

Get the Recipe: Easter Bunny Cake

Chocolate Malt Nest Cake

This decadent cake is an edible display for your Easter candy too. Candy eggs fill the "nest" made of entirely of chocolate-flavored cake, frosting and cereal coating. Your guests will be dying to dig in.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Malt Nest Cake

Bunny Oreo Balls

This no-bake dessert is the perfect way to hop into spring! White melting wafers and mini marshmallows transform these cookies-and-cream bites into impressive bunnies that are sure to be a hit all season long.

Get the Recipe: Bunny Oreo Balls

Hot Cross Buns

Make these fresh sweet buns part of your Easter tradition. Plumped currants and lemon zest-spiked glaze dress these up.

Get the Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

We took our best sugar cookie recipe and made these festive versions for Easter. They look like they have been dip-dyed just like a classic Easter egg. By tinting a simple royal icing with your choice of colors, you can create an array of beautifully swirled cookies.

Get the Recipe: Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a tall, moist carrot cake, light in texture and lightly spiced with cinnamon and touch of nutmeg. Heavy cream whipped into the cream cheese frosting makes it extra fluffy.

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Bunnies and Carrots Cake

Transform strawberries into adorable bunnies and carrots for a festive and fun Easter dessert that everyone will be hopping to eat.

Get the Recipe: Strawberry Bunnies and Carrots Cake

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Eggs

Forget dying Easter eggs — try making homemade chocolate eggs instead. Pick up a plastic or silicone egg mold and some pretty ribbon to make these springtime treats totally giftable.

Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Eggs

Mini Egg Cupcakes

Package these mini cupcakes in egg cartons as a hostess gift for your Easter celebration.

Get the Recipe: Mini Egg Cupcakes

Giant Easter Egg Cookie

Save time by using store-bought cookie dough for this giant treat. Top with homemade icing and attach the candies in patterns to make a decorative Easter egg.

Get the Recipe: Giant Easter Egg Cookie

Leftover Easter Candy Crispy Treats

Leftover Easter candy transforms crispy rice treats into a colorful snack that's super fun to eat. With loads of different textures and flavors at play, every bite is a surprise.

Get the Recipe: Leftover Easter Candy Crispy Treats

Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies

Marshmallow is a springy, sticky treat worthy of being eaten all year. But when that marshmallow is molded in the cheery shapes of pink bunnies and yellow chicks, it screams springtime and Easter baskets. These are softer marshmallow creatures than classic Peeps, but that's their charm: They give and squish, and their colored-sugar coating is crunchy in all the best ways.

Get the Recipe: Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies

Coconut Bunny Butt Cake

Crushed pineapple in the batter gives this cake a dense pound cake-like texture, which is helpful when anchoring the cupcakes and decorating. The cakes and cupcakes can be made a day ahead and wrapped in plastic wrap. Don't worry if you're frosting job doesn't look perfect -- covering the cake with coconut hides every flaw.

Get the Recipe: Coconut Bunny Butt Cake

Bunny Butt Marshmallow Pops

These cute bunnies are so easy to put together. They make a fun party favor or Easter-basket treat when wrapped in clear cellophane bags and tied with a pastel ribbon.

Get the Recipe: Bunny Butt Marshmallow Pops

Italian Easter Cookies

These lemony Italian cookies are traditional treats in the southern part of the country but are also often found at Italian-American bakeries around Easter time. While they have several different Italian names you will most likely see them labeled "lemon drops” in the States. They are light, not too sweet and have a tender, buttery crumb. Dipped in a thin lemony glaze and decorated with holiday-inspired sprinkles, they are the perfect festive addition to any table.

Get the Recipe: Italian Easter Cookies

Bunny Butt Sundae Cone

These fun and easy treats will have everybody smiling. The cones can be assembled earlier in the day and frozen until party time.

Get the Recipe: Bunny Butt Sundae Cone

Key Lime Pie

No special occasion in spring is complete without a slice of bright and tangy key lime pie. This classic version sits in a graham cracker crust and is topped with lightly-sweetened whipped cream.

Get the Recipe: Key Lime Pie

Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

You'll never have to choose between carrot cake and cheesecake for springtime gatherings again. This mashup starts with a spiced shortbread crust, continues with a carrot juice curd filling that tastes just like carrot cake and finishes with a no-bake cheesecake on top. These colorful, layered bars are topped off with a quick walnut crumble made right in the microwave!

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

Bunny Butt Doughnut

Here's an easy and adorable way to dress up plain cake doughnuts for Easter that requires no special tools or techniques. It's best to start with non-sugared plain doughnuts so all of the bunny parts stick.

Get the Recipe: Bunny Butt Doughnut

Fried Cadbury Eggs

Just when you thought there was nothing else to fry, we found the best new thing. This fried candy treat has a warm, oozy center and a crisp, golden crust.

Get the Recipe: Fried Cadbury Eggs

Chocolate Pastel Easter Cake with a Chocolate Vermicelli Nest

Moist chocolate cake is frosted with an easy, fluffy buttercream and topped with a chocolate nest for this festive Easter dessert. The nest is made from fried rice vermicelli, lightly salted and coated in chocolate for a crispy treat.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Pastel Easter Cake with a Chocolate Vermicelli Nest

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Take the traditional banana and pineapple hummingbird cake and turn it into individual servings. Top each cupcake with cream cheese frosting and garnish with a caramelized banana.

Get the Recipe: Hummingbird Cupcakes

Southern Banana Pudding

Not-too-sweet vanilla custard gets a blanket of soft toasted meringue in this Southern-style banana pudding. Let the pudding base sit overnight so the cookies soften and the banana flavor infuses the custard. If you like your cookies crisp, top the pudding with meringue and bake without resting.

Get the Recipe: Southern Banana Pudding

Easter Pie

Easter pie is an Italian springtime tradition, but it's easy enough to make year-round. Giada de Laurentiis' sweet version has a ricotta-orange filling with a tender phyllo-dough shell.

Get the Recipe: Easter Pie

Mini Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze

Whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt keep these cakes flavorful and moist while adding fiber and protein. Each cake gets 1 teaspoon of sweet cream cheese glaze-far fewer calories than the multiple tablespoons of frosting piled onto your typical cupcake.

Get the Recipe: Mini Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze

Chick Slice-and-Bake Cookies

Kids will love customizing and decorating these adorable chick-in-egg cookies.

Get the Recipe: Chick Slice-and-Bake Cookies

Peep Sunflower Cake

There's a bounty of cupcakes hiding under this lovely sunflower, making it the perfect centerpiece for a springtime party. The adorable marshmallow chicks on top add a bit of whimsy too.

Get the Recipe: Peep Sunflower Cake

Lemon Macaroon Chicks

Easy-to-make macaroons are decorated for Easter with the help of jelly beans and chocolate chips.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Macaroon Chicks

Alton Brown's Carrot Cake

Top this dense carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting — a classic crowd-pleaser!

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

The Pioneer Woman goes with a retro favorite for Easter dessert.

Get the Recipe: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Sugar-Cookie Easter Bunny House

This sweet bunny hutch is made from a buttery cookie that's hard to resist nibbling as you build. Luckily, there's enough dough for extra cookies to fortify you while you decorate the house. This is a great project to do with kids: They can help mix the dough, hold the paper templates on the dough while bigger folks cut, and cut out the cookies with cookie cutters. And since the roof is detachable, the house doubles as an Easter basket, which they can fill with cookies and Easter candy.

Get the Recipe: Sugar-Cookie Easter Bunny House

Giada's Espresso Brownies

Giada dresses up boxed brownie mix with espresso powder and chocolate chips before topping it all with an espresso-infused glaze.

Get the Recipe: Espresso Brownies

Carrot Cake

This healthier take on traditional carrot cake still has a creamy frosting, thanks to reduced-fat cream cheese.

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake

Cheesecake

This classic cheesecake can be dressed up for your Easter celebration with fresh berries or a drizzle of raspberry sauce.

Get the Recipe: Cheesecake

Missy's Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

These blueberry-filled cupcakes are inspired by breakfast muffins. Add a dollop of cream cheese frosting to each and decorate with lemon peel, blueberries and a mint leaf.

Get the Recipe: Missy's Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

Michael Symon's Baklava

Michael has been watching his mom make baklava since he was 4. We can't imagine that you'll have leftovers of this delightfully sticky treat, but if you do, you can freeze them (once the syrup is absorbed) for up to a month, then just thaw at room temperature.

Get the Recipe: Baklava

Hot Cross Buns

Make these sweetly spiced little yeast buns for an Easter gathering and watch as they disappear.

Get the Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

Buttermilk Pie

You can't go wrong with this simple spring pie.

Get the Recipe: Buttermilk Pie

Carrot Cake

A classic carrot cake will complete your Easter spread. Since this recipe requires a fair amount of preparation, we suggest making it ahead of time and storing in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve for stress-free hosting.

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake Recipe

Easter Bunny Centerpiece

Here's an easy way to add whimsy to your Easter spread: Sandra Lee shapes cherry-flavored cookie dough into bunny shapes and places them in their own little habitat for guests to appreciate before enjoying them as dessert.

Get the Recipe: Easter Bunny Centerpiece

Flower Cookie Pops

Take two store-bought ingredients –– colorful lollipops and sugar cookie dough –– and turn them into these hand-held cookies in just a few easy steps.

Get the Recipe: Flower Cookie Pops

Raspberry-Lemon Easter Cake

This adorable cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Kids will love the festive bunny-shaped sugar-cookie decorations, and adults will appreciate the moist lemon cake and not-too-sweet raspberry filling.

Get the Recipe: Raspberry-Lemon Easter Cake

Mini Pineapple Cakes

This simplified version of classic pineapple upside-down cake starts with your favorite white cake mix. Giada uses fresh pineapple for the topping, then cooks the individually sized cakes in mini Bundt pans.

Get the Recipe: Mini Pineapple Cakes

Blueberry-Lemon Pie with a Butter Crust

Amy Thielen makes a homemade flaky pie crust to encase a delicious blueberry filling.

Get the Recipe: Blueberry-Lemon Pie with a Butter Crust

Lemon-Filled Coconut Cupcakes

Sandra spruces up yellow cake mix with coconut milk and lemon pudding mix for an easy-to-assemble, flavorful cupcake.

Get the Recipe: Lemon-Filled Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut Layer Cake

This heavenly cake is piled high with layers of dreamy coconut cream and shredded coconut.

Get the Recipe: The Best Coconut Layer Cake

Butterscotch Bird Nests

Part candy, part cookie, these candy nests are easy to make, and the crunchy, salty pretzels are delicious with the sweet butterscotch coating. Kids can help by breaking the pretzels, shaping the nests and arranging the eggs on them.

Get the Recipe: Butterscotch Bird Nests

Blushing Strawberry Cupcakes

These dainty cupcakes are easy to put together with white cake mix but get that extra-special spring blush from Sandra's pink strawberry frosting.

Get the Recipe: Blushing Strawberry Cupcakes

Little Lemon Meringue Pies

Make these adorable, individually sized pies in muffin tins for easy portioning. Fill each one with tart lemon custard and a dollop of meringue.

Get the Recipe: Little Lemon Meringue Pies

Charmed Marshmallow Treats

Sandra puts a cute spin on this childhood classic, using marshmallow charms cereal.

Get the Recipe: Charmed Marshmallow Treats

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Turn a favorite cake into delicious whoopie pies with carrot cake mix and Sandra's cream cheese filling.

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Truffle Tarts with Raspberries

For a chocolate lover's dessert, fill a buttery chocolate-wafer crust with a mixture of melted chocolate, cream and cocoa. Tyler Florence puts a fresh raspberry in the center of each tart to create a fruity foil to the rich, dark chocolate.

Get the Recipe: Truffle Tarts with Raspberries

Rhubarb Compote

Stew slightly sour rhubarb with sugar, honey and cinnamon until it's soft enough to spoon over vanilla ice cream.

Get the Recipe: Rhubarb Compote

Easter Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Melissa d'Arabian's cupcakes are kid-friendly and adult-friendly, thanks to the lemon and orange zest in the batter and her special white-chocolate frosting. For the kids, put out a toppings bar or try her three favorite decorations.

Get the Recipe: Easter Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Blueberry Lattice Cake

Just use white chocolate pudding mix and canned blueberries to flavor Sandra's easy cake. The real hard work will show once you've dressed it up.

Get the Recipe: Blueberry Lattice Cake

Three-Layer Carrot Cake

This towering cake is the perfect dessert for any spring get-together.

Get the Recipe: Three-Layer Carrot Cake

Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake with Coconut Lemon Glaze

Trisha Yearwood shares her grandmother's recipe for a moist coconut cake topped with a zesty lemon glaze.

Get the Recipe: Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake with Coconut Lemon Glaze

Chocolate Birds' Nests

Make salty-sweet birds' nests with Food Network Magazine.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Birds' Nests

Pistachio Baklava Tartlets

Mini phyllo shells make this treat extra quick and easy.

Get the Recipe: Pistachio Baklava Tartlets

Crispy Easter Eggs

Stuff egg-shaped crispy rice treats with chocolate candy eggs, and roll each one in colorful sprinkles for a festive Easter look.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Easter Eggs

Citrus Macarons

French macarons take some TLC, but these pastel cookies are worth the effort.

Get the Recipe: Citrus Macarons

Jade's Strawberry-Filled Cupcakes

Giada stirs strawberry fruit spread or jam into the icing of these kid-friendly cupcakes.

Get the Recipe: Jade's Strawberry-Filled Cupcakes

Peep Cake

Food Network Magazine shows you step by step how to make a cake shaped like a peep.

Get the Recipe: Peep Cake

Easter Cupcake Decorations

Make adorable Easter cupcakes, from chicks and little lambs to spring-hued flowers, all using one vanilla cupcake-batter base.

Decorating Ideas: Cutest-Ever Easter Cupcakes

Easter Egg Cake

All it takes is two layers of chocolate cake, buttercream frosting and a couple handfuls of pretty colored candies for this festive Easter dessert.

Get the Recipe: Easter Egg Cake

Pavlova Eggs with Lemon Curd

This fun and beautiful Easter treat is deceptively easy to make. Fill sweet meringues with a tart homemade lemon curd. To get the most volume when making your meringues, make sure the beaters and bowl are super clean.

Get the Recipe: Pavlova Easter Eggs with Lemon Curd

Bunny Butt Snickerdoodle Cookies

Turn store-bought cookie dough into an adorable and subtly spiced Easter treat.

Get the Recipe: Bunny Butt Snickerdoodle Cookies

On Tonight

67 Fun and Festive Easter Desserts

Related To:

The Sweetest Day

Chocolate Malt Nest Cake

Bunny Oreo Balls

Hot Cross Buns

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Bunnies and Carrots Cake

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Eggs

Mini Egg Cupcakes

Giant Easter Egg Cookie

Leftover Easter Candy Crispy Treats

Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies

Coconut Bunny Butt Cake

Bunny Butt Marshmallow Pops

Italian Easter Cookies

Bunny Butt Sundae Cone

Key Lime Pie

Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars

Bunny Butt Doughnut

Fried Cadbury Eggs

Chocolate Pastel Easter Cake with a Chocolate Vermicelli Nest

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Southern Banana Pudding

Easter Pie

Mini Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze

Chick Slice-and-Bake Cookies

Peep Sunflower Cake

Lemon Macaroon Chicks

Alton Brown's Carrot Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Sugar-Cookie Easter Bunny House

Giada's Espresso Brownies

Carrot Cake

Cheesecake

Missy's Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

Michael Symon's Baklava

Hot Cross Buns

Buttermilk Pie

Carrot Cake

Easter Bunny Centerpiece

Flower Cookie Pops

Raspberry-Lemon Easter Cake

Mini Pineapple Cakes

Blueberry-Lemon Pie with a Butter Crust

Lemon-Filled Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut Layer Cake

Butterscotch Bird Nests

Blushing Strawberry Cupcakes

Little Lemon Meringue Pies

Charmed Marshmallow Treats

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Truffle Tarts with Raspberries

Rhubarb Compote

Easter Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Blueberry Lattice Cake

Three-Layer Carrot Cake

Grandma Yearwood's Coconut Cake with Coconut Lemon Glaze

Chocolate Birds' Nests

Pistachio Baklava Tartlets

Crispy Easter Eggs

Citrus Macarons

Jade's Strawberry-Filled Cupcakes

Peep Cake

Easter Cupcake Decorations

Easter Egg Cake

Pavlova Eggs with Lemon Curd

Bunny Butt Snickerdoodle Cookies

More from:

Related Pages