recipes

31 Lemon Desserts to Make You Pucker Up, Buttercup

From tarts to bars to a lemon cream cloud sprinkled with graham cracker dust.
Glazed lemon loaf cake on a pink surface.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh

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.

  • Cherry Lemonade Pie with a slice taken out and put to the side
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin
    1/31

    Cherry Lemonade Beach Pie

    While the buttery Ritz cracker crust recipe was developed specifically for this lemon dessert, something tells us you’ll return to it for other kinds of pies too.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
    2/31

    Foolproof 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.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    3/31

    Any-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.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    4/31

    Lemon 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.

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  • Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    5/31

    Lemon 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.

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  • Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    6/31

    Super Lemony Olive Oil Cake

    Traditional Greek olive oil cake recipes use orange juice and zest, but chef Mina Stone swapped in lemon here for a fragrant, lush lemon cake with the bold flavor of extra-virgin olive oil. Use a good one, you want to taste it.

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  • Photograph by Doaa Elkady, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker
    7/31

    Lemon-Poppy Seed Tart

    A buttery shortbread crust studded with poppy seeds and produced in a food processor is a thing of true beauty. There’s simply nothing more to say.

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  • Alex Lau
    8/31

    Semolina–Lemon Syrup Cakes

    Okay, they’re basically icing-free lemon cupcakes, but doesn’t syrup cake sound better? Brush the mixture of lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar onto the cakes while they’re still hot; it will seep into them creating a chewy texture reminiscent of a financier.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau
    11/31

    Sour 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.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
    12/31

    Lemon-Elderflower Pound Cake

    You want a dessert that’s dense but fluffy at the same time. You want something bright, sweet, and a little floral. You want this pound cake.

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  • Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    13/31

    Triple 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.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    14/31

    Lemon-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.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Claire Saffitz
    19/31

    Lemon Cake With Fruit

    This is a lemon dessert for any day of the year—it could work for Easter in the spring, Thanksgiving in the fall, and beyond—because you can use whatever fruit is in season. She’s versatile like that.

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  • Eva Kolenko
    20/31

    Blueberry-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.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen
    27/31

    Lemon 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?

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski
    28/31

    CBD Lemon and Black Sesame Semifreddo

    Some cakes call for you to refrigerate them; for a semifreddo, only the freezer will do. After about six hours, it will be firm enough to slice with a knife.

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  • Alex Lau
    31/31

    Creamsicle-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.

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