22 Spring Cakes for Every Spring Occasion

Cakes & Cupcakes —
March 22, 2021
Cakes & Cupcakes —
March 22, 2021

22 Spring Cakes for Every Spring Occasion

Looking for the perfect spring cakes to celebrate Easter, Mother’s Day, or any of your other spring occasions. Step into my office. I present to you ever single spring cake recipe you’ll need this season.

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22 Spring Cakes for Every Spring Occasion

Looking for the perfect spring cakes to celebrate Easter, Mother’s Day, or any of your other spring occasions? Step into my office. I present to you every single spring cake recipe you’ll ever need this season.

cardamom carrot cake with caramel and flowers

Every spring cake you’ll ever need

Layer cakes? For spring? Ground breaking. Okay, but in all seriousness, I strongly feel that spring is cake’s time to shine. As soon as the sun starts staying in the sky a little longer and the temperatures start rising, all I want is cake. Now, I know that cake isn’t exactly a “light”dessert, but something about spring cake makes me feel like I’m lounging on a terrace in a European town enjoying a slice of cake with afternoon tea.

Which is pretty much the vibe I always want.

And lucky for you, we have SO MANY spring cakes.

What makes a good spring cake?

Now you might be saying, “Sarah, any cake can be a spring cake!” but this is not true. I strongly believe that there are no rules around eating cake, but certain cake recipes simply don’t belong in the spring season. You won’t find me whipping up a peppermint cake in May. In my opinion, spring layer cakes fall into 3 categories:

  • Lighter Flavors: Now don’t get it twisted – I’m not saying that cake is a light dessert. In fact cake is usually loaded up with sugar and butter (as it should be), but spring cakes should be light, fluffy, and loaded up with fresh spring flavors like in season fruits, floral notes, and tangy cream cheeses rather than the denser, warming flavors of winter.
  • Pretty Presentation: You know how sundresses come out to play in the spring? So do lovely cakes. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with the actual taste of your cake, but dainty spring sweets topped with fresh flowers, lemon slices, or ripe berries can take a plain ol’ vanilla cake from any season to *spring masterpiece.*
  • Fresh Produce: The best part about entering a new season is all the fresh, new flavors. The spring is one of my favorite times to bake because fresh berries are starting to get sweeter, lemons have never tasted tarter, and even stone fruits are starting to make their debut.

Tips for the best spring cakes

These tips apply for all cakes, but especially in the spring 🙂

  • Try not to over bake your cakes: It can be tricky the first time you try a recipe out to tell if it’s done or not, but I recommend keeping a very close eye on your cakes in their last ten minutes of baking. I know it’s annoying to hover around the oven, but cakes can overbake and dry out in the blink of an eye!
  • Always let your spring cakes cool before frosting: The number one mistake novice cake bakers make is frosting their cakes when they’re not completely cool. It’s definitely an exercise in patience, but good things come to those who wait. In fact, I actually prefer to freeze my cake layers before frosting. It helps the crumbs stay in place so you don’t have to do a crumb coat!
  • Decorate your cake with fresh fruit or flowers: The best part about spring is all of nature’s beautiful bounty AKA flowers, fruits, and veggies. And pastels!!
  • Store your cakes securely: Keep your cakes lasting as long as possible by keeping them in an air tight cake holder. It’s not very cute, but we love this one. If you don’t have a cake dome, you can always wrap your cake tightly in plastic wrap!

process shots of cream cheese frosting

1. Lemon Cake

This luscious lemon layer cake is tender, moist and perfectly tangy and bright AKA the perfect spring cake! Whip up this lemon cake to brighten any day!

lemon layer cake with lemon garnish

2. Pistachio Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

This might be my new favorite spring cake. It’s made with freshly ground pistachios, no artificial flavors or colors, and it has the most delightfully subtle pistachio flavor. Topped off with finger-licking good honey cream cheese frosting, this pistachio cake is perfect for spring!

homemade pistachio cake

3. Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird cake may be the most quintessentially spring cake there is. What is hummingbird cake, you ask? In essence, it’s a supremely moist cake that’s loaded with mashed banana, pureed pineapple, and some choice spices. This masterpiece is then topped with a thick cream cheese frosting and is usually devoured within mere minutes.

spring hummingbird cake

4. Vanilla Cake

Now I know vanilla cake can be served at any time of the year, but it’s particularly perfect for spring occasions. Soft and fluffy, this vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream is the perfect centerpiece for any spring celebration or just because. Plus, vanilla is such a versatile flavor, you can use this scrumptious vanilla base and top it off with any frosting you desire!

Make any day feel like a birthday with the best ever vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. This cake IS the celebration!

5. Carrot Cake

This family carrot cake recipe is without a doubt the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. It’s moist, slightly spiced, loaded with carrots, and topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. Basically, it’s the best thing you’ll ever eat.

slice of the best carrot cake

6. Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

So I would actually classify this as a summer cake, but I always feel like spring is essentially just me pretending it’s summer until it’s actually summer, so this cake is perf. We took all your favorite flavors of zucchini bread and baked it up into a scrumptious layer cake with cream cheese frosting instead.

zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting on a cake stand

7. Olive Oil Cake

Okay. I’m going to make a big statement that I might take back later. But… this is my favorite cake I’ve ever made. It is moist as heck, tastes super gourmet but comes together in one bowl in under an hour, and has the most delightfully nuanced flavor EVER. It’s so good on its own it doesn’t even need frosting.

olive cake cut into slices

8. Cardamom Spiced Carrot Cake

We’ve already established that carrot cake is the most quintessentially spring cake. So why not take your spring cake baking a step further and add a sprinkle of cozy cardamom spice. If I were a poet or something, I would say this cake tastes like those first chilly spring days when the cold air starts feeling hopeful. I’m not though, so instead I’ll just say it tastes really damn amazing.

cardamom carrot cake

9. Champagne Cake

The spring brings so many celebrations like Easter, Mother’s Day, graduations, all those Pisces b-days, and anniversaries. Which is why you should always have this champagne cake recipe on hand. It’s the perfect way to use up some excess champagne.

A soft vanilla cake layered with raspberry jam and vanilla CHAMPAGNE FROSTING. Let's get this party started.

10. Lemon Curd Cheesecake

Okay, don’t come at me. I know this isn’t really a cake, but I feel like cheesecake serves pretty much the same purpose, and this lemon curd cheesecake screams spring cake energy to me. It’s super easy to make, delightfully tart and creamy, and stunningly beautiful.

dreamy lemon curd cheesecake with slices cut out

11. Caramel Cake

One of my good friends from high school always had one of those stomachache-y sweet (in the best way) Southern caramel cakes for her birthday every April, so maybe that’s why this decadent caramel cake feels springy to me. This caramel cake is slightly less decadent than those classic caramel iced cakes, but it’s every bit as delicious.

12. Funfetti Spring Cake

It’s officially a party with this homemade funfetti cake recipe! It tastes even better than the cake mix and makes the PERFECT festive birthday cake!

It's officially a party with this homemade funfetti cake recipe! Tastes even better than the pillsbury cake mix and makes the perfect birthday cake.

13. S’mores Cake

Personally I feel this s’mores cake works for any season, but I do enjoy it immensely in the spring when an outdoor s’more doesn’t taste that far away. Made with a decadent chocolate cake, marshmallow butter cream and a crumbly graham cracker streusel between layers, this s’mores cake is one of the most popular cake recipes on the site for a good reason.

s'mores cake with slice taken out

14. Oreo Cake with Coffee Oreo Buttercream

This cake is perfect for when it’s too cold out to start eating coffee oreo ice cream, but you really want all those nuanced chocolatey espresso flavors. This cake is perfect if you’re looking for a unique spring cake or have a half cup of coffee laying around.

slice of oreo cake with coffee frosting

15. Brown Butter Banana Sheet Cake

We photography this cake as a sheet cake because people love sheet cakes, but I actually tested it as a layer cake and it was SO GOOD. I brought it to a gathering of girlfriends who all requested it as their wedding cakes, so basically you need it this spring and every season.

16. Honey Cake with Fresh Figs

Who says a loaf cake can’t be just as show stopping as a spring layer cake? Allow me to introduce this insanely moist honey cake, topped with fresh figs and a goat cheese frosting. Don’t be thrown off by the goat cheese frosting – it’s to die for!

honey fig cake with goat cheese frosting

17. Dulce de Leche Banana Cake

A banana cake covered in dulce de leche buttercream + more dulce de leche? Have you ever heard of a more fitting spring cake for any occasion?

A fragrant banana layer cake made with homemade dulce de leche frosting!

18. Persian Love Cake

This almond and rose cake is an absolute show stopper looks-wise, but it’s one of the easiest cakes you’ll ever make. The combination of almond and rose is perfectly baked up into a moist spring cake.

persian love cake spring cake

19. Lemon Poppyseed Cake

Okay I take back everything I said because *THIS* is actually my favorite cake. It’s light and lemony with a melt in your mouth crumb. It’s truly the perfect spring cake and super easy to dress up for a fancy occasion or keep simple for a casual, more rustic cake. I recognize that I’m talking about cake as if it’s a summer dress I’m trying to convince myself I need, but I stand by this analogy.

spring lemon cake

20. Raspberry Banana Cake

Raspberry banana is such an underrated flavor combination in my opinion. Plus it’s a pretty one. This raspberry banana cake is the perfect switch up for those rotting bananas this spring.

spring raspberry banana cake

21. Easter Egg Cake with Spun Sugar Nest

So this one is a bit on the nose, but this cake is perfect for Easter. I mean, obviously. If you’re feeling really festive it’s super fun to whip up and always impresses! Plus, anything topped with Cadbury eggs is a big win in my book.

Moist vanilla layered cake, chocolate buttercream, and a spun sugar bird's nest make this cake perfect for Easter!

22. Almond Strawberry Cake

I always forget about this cake, yet every time I make it I am astounded by how lovely the flavor is and how beautiful it undoubtedly looks.This almond strawberry cake feels like the perfect spring cake for afternoon tea or a picnic with friends.

strawberry almond spring cake

Let us know what other spring cake flavors you’d love to see on the blog!

XXX

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  1. Good morning! What a beautiful assortment of Spring cakes. I’m starting my Easter menu and have an interest in your hummingbird cake, carrot cake and cardamom carrot cake. For the cardamom cake , it calls for the ginger cream cheese icing, but ginger isn’t listed in the frosting ingredients. Could you verify how much ginger (fresh or dry) it requires? Thankyou!!