43 Fun (and a Little Fancy) Mother’s Day Desserts
You love your mother. She’s the best mother there is. That’s why you thought not only about dinner but also—and mostly—about Mother’s Day desserts. That’s why you’re here! But before we get into our picks for best Mother’s Day sweets, here are some stories we’ve written about our own moms: those who coached us through making meatballs and eggplant parm over FaceTime during lockdown, ones who first learned to cook after having children (and ended up feeding us so well), and mothers who sustained themselves on miyeokguk while they raised us.
Okay, now on to the sweet stuff.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards1/43Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie
Mother’s day desserts should feel festive—but that doesn’t mean you have to break your back making them. Case in point: This golden, brown sugar-y crumble is way less complicated than a lattice topping.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Hazel Zavala and Caroline Newton2/43
S’mores Sandwich Cookies
Outdoorsy moms will be fans of these tender, chewy sandwich cookies. The mixture of toasted marshmallow crème and bittersweet chocolate ganache sandwiched between sugar cookies made with graham crackers will transport the whole family to her favorite camping spot.
- 3/43
Simple Strawberry Shortcakes
“AMAZING! I am officially done searching for a strawberry shortcake recipe,” writes one reader in the comments. “Truly the best ever!!!!!” We’re blushing.
- Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Judy Mancini.4/43
Brooklyn Blackout Cake
A special day calls for a layer cake. A rich, dark, moist, decadent layer cake. A chocolate layer cake with a milky chocolate pudding filling and a dark chocolate ganache-style frosting.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Dayna Seman5/43
Buttermilk Banana Cake
One bite is all it takes to fall in love with this cardamom-scented cake and its salt-sprinkled glaze. PS: This works well as a snacking cake to enjoy with a cup of tea. In other words, leftovers are not a problem.
- Photograph by Jessica Pettway, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh6/43
Plum and Lime Upside-Down Cake
We didn’t add just any caramel to this upside-down cake; we added a lime caramel. Just a little bit of fresh lime juice turns the stone-fruit-studded wonder into something that’s not only sweet and buttery but also has some tang.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni7/43
Chocolate and Coconut Cream Pie
Mom can’t make up her mind? This double-decker pie stacks her two forever favorites—chocolate and coconut cream—in a homemade salted graham cracker crust for a best-of-both-worlds situation.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua8/43
The Strawberriest Pavlova
One of our favorite Mother’s Day dessert recipes, this pavlova is all about fresh strawberries and syrupy homemade strawberry sauce draping themselves over that signature crispy-shelled, marshmallow cloud-stuffed meringue.
- Photo by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness9/43
Fudgy Weed Brownies
If your mom likes a chill-out session here and there, this is the Mother’s Day gift for her. Really, it’s a two-in-one: You’re giving her dessert and the best afternoon of relaxation she’s had in a while.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Christina Allen10/43
Walnut-Buckwheat Toffee Cakes
Use muffin pans to make these tiny but mighty single-serving cakes. Drenched in caramel, they bring big sticky toffee pudding energy to the Mothers’s Day dinner table.
- Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime11/43
Chocolate Ganache Tart
This deceptively simple Mother’s Day dessert features a press-in nut crust that requires zero dough-making skills and also happens to be gluten-free. (Please direct all thank-you letters to our offices in Manhattan. Appreciate it.)
- Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li12/43
Cherry Biscuit Cobbler
Why choose between shortcakes and cobbler when you can have one dessert that combines the best of both? Fresh or frozen cherries work, so you can easily serve this dessert outside of prime cherry season (i.e. Mother’s Day).
- Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski13/43
Lemon Meringue Pie
This is a sky-high pie with sharp lemon filling, sweet-and-salty meringue, and a shatteringly crisp crust. In other words, this is definitely a Mother’s Day dessert your mom would like.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi14/43
Red Velvet Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Cool, unusual sprinkles and an airy whipped cream cheese frosting take this sheet cake from cute to elegant. Princess to Queen. Skipper to Barbie. You know what we mean?
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.15/43
Apricot Tart With Whiskey-Pecan Frangipane
A frangipane and fruit tart is a good go-to entertaining dessert. For those who might not know frangipane is a mixture of toasted nuts (usually almonds; here, pecans), egg, sugar, salt, buttery, and vanilla. The whiskey in this one is just a boozy bonus.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro16/43
Foolproof Lemon Bars
A final dusting of powdered sugar adds a nice touch to these shortbread and lemon curd bars, but hold off until you’re ready to serve. Otherwise, the sugar might disappear into the lemony depths.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Hazel Zavala and Caroline Newton17/43
Tiramisu Snowball Cookies
If your mom is Italian and a cookie girlie, this Mother’s Day dessert might just be for her. And if you want to stay in this flavor realm but get a little fancier, try a Tiramisù Layer Cake With Mascarpone Mousse.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley18/43
Sticky Chocolate Cake
This spoonable dark chocolate dessert combines the oozy goodness of a molten lava cake (we love a throwback) with the crackly shell of a good brownie.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi19/43
Japanese Cheesecake
The key to nailing the dessert’s signature texture is in the meringue, which gets folded into a lightly sweetened cream cheese mixture. Then, you’ll have the bounciest, fluffiest, best cheesecake you’ve ever eaten.
- Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua20/43
PB&J Dome Cake
This Mother’s Day dessert—which would be great as an Easter dessert next year—has the same filling as one of Mom’s favorite childhood snacks: peanut butter and jam.
- Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh21/43
Preserved-Lemon Tea Cake
Looks like a poundcake, tastes like a dessert fit for a queen—but if she prefers her lemon cake in Bundt form, try this Lemon-Buttermilk Bundt Cake.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Floral Styling by LaParis Phillips22/43
Chocolate Sheet Cake With Brown Butter Frosting
Dessert doesn’t have to be a layer cake to be worthy of this special day. This not-so-humble sheet cake recipe—why should she be humble, anyway?—features buttercream frosting and artful sprinkles.
- Photo by Alex Lau23/43
Easy One-Bowl Upside-Down Cake
This Mother’s Day cake is a breeze for bakers of all levels. You can use frozen sweet cherries or blueberries, and there isn’t even a need to thaw them.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley24/43
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cream Puffs
If it’s just you and Mom this year, the recipe for these foolproof, ice-cream-filled choux buns (or, as the French say, profiteroles) might be a good choice: It makes the perfect dessert for two.
- Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sean Dooley25/43
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies With Toffee
Prepare yourself for your mother’s requests to make these toffee-and-chocolate-laced brown butter cookies throughout the year. This is the recipe that ruins most people for all other cookies.
- Peter Frank Edwards26/43
Rhubarb Galettes With Hazelnut Frangipane
It’s like spring exploded on pie crust—and that’s exactly why we love it. Serve with a little crème fraîche on the side if you want to be even more extra.
- Photo by Chelsie Craig27/43
Buttery German Apple Cake
Don’t tell anyone, but we have a super simple method for getting that professional shingled look without having to layer each individual apple slice.
- Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott28/43
Matcha–White Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Show your matcha-loving mom you’ve been paying attention by making her these cookies, which get their flavor (and color) from the Japanese powdered green tea.
- Eva Kolenko29/43
Blueberry-Lemon Icebox Cake
All you need is a 9x5" loaf pan to form this Greek yogurt, graham cracker, jam, and fresh berry icebox cake. Just take care when building those layers in the loaf pan.
- Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen30/43
Coconut-Chocolate Mousse
A couple cans of coconut cream, some coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate, aquafaba, cream of tartar, salt, and sugar: That's all you need for this vegan Mother’s Day dessert—oh, and the ramekins.
- Deb Perelman31/43
Pretzel Linzers With Salted Caramel
A bite-size dessert made of a dollop of caramel sandwiched between DIY pretzel “flour” and sugar cookies? Yes, we think your mom will be pleased.
- Photo by Alex Lau32/43
Olive Oil Cake
Be choosy about your olive oil here. “You want high-quality oil with ‘extra-virgin’ on the label, but you don’t have to shell out for fancy-shmancy single-estate stuff.”
- Kelsey McClellan33/43
Blood Orange and Poppy Polenta Shortbread Cookies
Lovers of contemporary art will delight in these blood orange-infused shortbread cookies, which look like they could be on display at The Museum of Modern Art.
- Jesse David Green34/43
Strawberry–Pistachio Crumble Pie
Fresh strawberries and chopped pistachios make for a study in pink and green (Mom’s favorite color combo?). This is a beautiful but homey spring dessert.
- Photo by Alex Lau35/43
Rhubarb Custard Cake
Only 2 Tbsp. of dark rum are required for this cake batter. What to do with the rest of the bottle? Bonus gift for Mom.
- Kelsey McClellan36/43
Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies
Originally developed as a Christmas cookie recipe, we think this treat made with pistachios and pistachio paste is the perfect spring pea color. So, load a platter with them and send them your mother’s way.
- Photo by Alex Lau, styling by Sean Dooley37/43
BA’s Best Angel Food Cake
This is one of our essential recipes. A simple, cloud-like angel food cake topped with fresh berries and whipped cream makes for a timeless, classic Mother’s Day dessert.
- Photo by Alex Lau38/43
BA’s Best Carrot Cake
This is the only carrot cake recipe you’ll ever need. We tested and tested and tested to achieve our dream carrot cake—stripped of all nonessentials, moist layers studded with walnuts, cream cheese frosting slicked on so thick you’d think it was cheesecake—and we got it.
- Christopher Testani39/43
Rhubarb-Almond Cake
Okay, we know it might feel like you’re beating the batter for a long time, but that’s what gives this Mother’s Day cake recipe its airy lift. So, stay with it.
- Alex Lau40/43
Whiskey and Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pulsed chocolate wafers (discs, pistoles, fèves), not chocolate chips, give these cookies satisfyingly gooey pools of softened chocolate throughout the experience. It’s cookie utopia.
- Alex Lau41/43
BA’s Best Key Lime Pie
Using coconut oil in place of some of the butter suggests hints of the tropics, and yogurt folded into the whipped cream reinforces the tang of the lime juice. The graham cracker crust is a tad thicker than most, adding satisfying crunch.
- Linda Xiao42/43
Gluten-Free Chocolate Tea Cake
This sweet treat would work for a Mother’s Day brunch menu, too, but we like it as an easy dessert. Olive oil and blitzed-up almonds keep it moist; chocolate and sugar keep it delicious.
- 43/43
Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés
Oh, you didn’t think Mother’s Day desserts could be make-ahead or slice-and-bake? Think again, because these sablés are both. And here’s a little language lesson: Sablé means “sand” in French, referring to the cookie’s signature texture.
