The 30 Best Mother’s Day Desserts (Because Your Mom Deserves It)
Grab a spatula and get into the kitchen with your stash of flour, sugar and spices—you’re whipping up dessert this Mother’s Day. Whether you have five minutes or five hours, we’ve got a recipe for you and your mom. Here are 30 desserts that will really wow her on her special day in May.
1. Naked Lemon and Olive Oil Layer Cake
Impress Mom with this professional-looking naked cake—and adding olive oil makes it kinda healthy, right? (Sorta?)
2. Sachertorte Chocolate Apricot Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Aida Mollenkamp presents her take on the classic Austrian cake from Vienna’s Hotel Sacher: the sachertorte. While the real recipe is a secret, plenty of people have crafted their own versions of the delectable blend of dark chocolate and apricot jam. We’re a little obsessed with this one.
3. Strawberry Shortcake
Maria Lichty’s strawberry shortcake is love on a plate. We bet Mom will love digging into this pile of strawberries, whipped cream and homemade shortcake.
4. Grapefruit Meringue Stacks
This cross between a meringue pie and grapefruit pavlova is the dessert you never knew you needed. (But now that you know it exists, you’ll need to eat it every weekend.)
5. Vegan Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Glaze
If your mom is vegan, whip up Gena Hamshaw’s chocolate Bundt cake, drizzled with a vegan chocolate ganache glaze. (Plus, here’s a tip: You can make it in advance and store it for up to six weeks in the freezer.)
6. Key Lime Pie
Key lime is the queen of pies—the fresh, tart and sweet dessert will surely have Mom going for seconds. (Thanks for the recipe, Heidi Larsen.)
7. Chocolate Raspberry Fool
Rushing to get Mother’s Day dinner on the table? Don’t stress about the sweets. This chocolate and raspberry mousse-ish dessert is done in just 25 minutes.
8. Loaded Funfetti Dessert Nachos
Let Mom feel like a kid on Mother’s Day with Stefani Pollack’s loaded dessert nachos: cookies covered with rainbow sprinkles, meringue and chocolate chips.
9. Easy Lemon-Hibiscus Layer Cake
Ready to dress up a simple yellow cake? Use hibiscus tea bags to make a bright pink frosting in honor of your mother.
10. Simple Butterscotch Pudding
Dessert doesn’t need to be a big to-do. Sometimes a simple butterscotch pudding checks all the boxes. (Katie Workman has done it again.)
11. Pear and Thyme Tarts
Here’s a dessert pairing we’re all about: Jodi Moreno’s vegan and gluten-free fruit and herb tart alongside a glass of Champagne.
12. Three-Ingredient Blood Orange Granita
Finish your alfresco Mother’s Day dinner with the best warm-weather dessert: granita. This recipe has just three ingredients—blood orange juice, sugar and water—and takes only five minutes of prep.
13. Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake
Monique Volz’s peanut butter and banana cake may be the ultimate dessert: It’s sweet, gooey, chocolatey and has peanut butter frosting. Need more convincing? Shockingly, it’s gluten-free!
14. White Chocolate Citrus Pots de Creme
Whisk melted white chocolate with citrus juice and egg whites for Charlene Thomas’s fancy pots de creme this Mother’s Day.
15. Kiwi and Lime Curd Fools with Blackberries
Meet the fool, an English dessert that combines fruit and custard or whipped cream. Try Liz Harris’s kiwi and lime version, topped with blackberries.
17. Red Velvet Lava Cakes
This restaurant-caliber cake is begging to be pierced with a fork.
18. Banana Cream Pie Parfaits
Magnolia Bakery has nothing on you: Gaby Dalkin shares her banana cream pie parfaits—which look gorgeous in Mom’s crystal dessert bowls.
19. Carrot Cake Roll
Want to dress up a simple carrot cake? Fill it with cream cheese icing, roll it up and cut it into slices.
20. Limoncello Prosecco Floats with Lemon Sorbetto
Remind Mom of that epic trip to Italy with this tangy dessert made with limoncello and lemon sorbet. And the best part? It’s doused in Prosecco.
21. Heart Thumbprint Cookies
Show Mom some love with simple heart-shaped thumbprint cookies filled with her favorite flavor of jam.
22. Foolproof Vegan Applesauce Spice Cake
No one said Mother’s Day dessert had to come after dinner. Serve Gena Hamshaw’s vegan applesauce spice cake for breakfast alongside coffee or tea.
23. Mixed Berry Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Whipped Cream
We’ll admit that a pavlova isn’t the easiest dessert to make, but you’ll be so satisfied when it’s done. Layer together homemade meringue, mixed berry compote, lemon curd and mascarpone whipped cream. (Brava, Aida Mollenkamp.)
24. Yogurt Coffee Cake
Start Mother’s Day off right with a sweet treat: This yogurt coffee cake includes that classic streusel topping and cream cheese glaze. (Maria Lichty knows the drill.)
25. Easy Chocolate Mousse
Searching the pantry for what to make for Mother’s Day? Head to the baking shelf for all the ingredients you need for this oh-so-easy chocolate mousse.
26. Cardamom Cream-Filled Bundt Cake
Surprise Momma with this twist on a Bundt cake. It’s cut in half and filled with a cardamom-laced whipped cream for a fluffy layer in every slice.
27. Meyer Lemon Bars
We love those bittersweet, bite-sized desserts covered in powdered sugar. Here’s an easy recipe from Heidi Larsen that you can whip up for a Mother’s Day snack.
28. Mini Blackberry Cheesecake Tarts with Walnut Crust
Carlene Thomas’s bite-sized cheesecake tarts will make a great addition to the dessert bar at your Mother’s Day celebration. Even if it’s just the immediate family, the mini tarts—made with a walnut crust and topped with blackberries—really dress up the party.
29. Easy Turtle Sundae Ice Cream Pie
Six ingredients and store-bought ice cream come together in this turtle sundae ice cream pie from Jesse Reilly. We bet Mom will be impressed.
30. Salty Dark and Milk Chocolate Skillet Cookie
“No, I don’t want a salted chocolate skillet cookie,” said no mom ever.
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