65 Easter Cakes For The Prettiest Holiday Finale
There is more to Easter Sunday celebrations than church, dresses, dinner parties, and egg hunts. You've also got to debut a delicious Easter cake for the occasion. Lucky for you, we've got Easter cake recipes that will wow your friends and family at every egg hunt this season. From the deliciously springy Hummingbird Cake to a Lemon Bar Cheesecake, we've got all the Easter cakes you could ever think to make. Our Strawberry Dream Cake has a full layer of strawberries standing up inside, making for a beautiful surprise when you slice in. In the mood for something a little simpler? Opt for our Strawberry Cupcakes.
Go ahead and choose your favorite Easter cake recipe, that is if you can pick just one from the bunch. Don't worry about making too many—think of those extra Easter cakes as decoration for your cake stand collection and Easter table. We're sure any and all of these pretty holiday cakes will be enjoyed.
Easy Bunny Cake
Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Torie Cox
A bunny cake is a no-brainer for Easter, but some renditions can be quite hard to pull off. Our easy version is not too difficult to make and is a great baking project to do with the kids.
Carrot Cake With Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
Maple lends a classic cream cheese frosting subtle caramel notes and it pairs deliciously with moist and tender carrot cake. Arrange the "carrots" (orange candy-coated almonds) in rows to look like a vegetable patch.
Strawberry-Lemonade Cake
This pastel cake is beautiful for an Easter spread and tastes just like spring. A drop of pink food coloring adds a pretty pink hue to the dreamy Strawberry Frosting, which covers tender lemon cake layers filled with Strawberry-Lemonade Jam.
Chocolate Chick Cake
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
Inspired by ornately jeweled antique eggs, this chocolate cake is an easy but beautiful way to end an Easter meal. Cadbury mini eggs and chocolate chicks make a fun topping for the kids.
Easter Egg Lemon Cake With Whipped Cream Topping
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
For those who find frosting too sweet, try this sheet cake with a lighter whipped topping that allows the lemony flavor of the cake underneath to shine through. We cut a stencil from parchment paper to help create the colorful egg decoration.
Coconut-Carrot Cake With Coconut Buttercream
Can't decide between coconut cake and carrot? We've got you covered. This sheet cake is also easy to prepare when you're not quite ready to tackle layers.
Key Lime Pound Cake
Serve a taste of the Keys this spring with this twist on a classic pound cake. The sweet and tart Key lime glaze doubles the tropical flavor.
Strawberry Dream Cake
We love the look of upright strawberries between the layers when you slice into this cake. The berries and cake layers are embedded in a cloud of creamy mascarpone frosting.
Chocolate Strawberry Cake
This beautiful layer cake tastes like a chocolate-covered strawberry. You can bake the cake layers a day in advance, wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and storing them in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble.
Coconut Cream Cake
The egg yolks, half-and-half, and coconut milk in this recipe result in an extra rich filling. Look for packaged coconut shavings to garnish this sweet treat in your grocer's natural foods section.
Easter Carrot Cake Trifles
These adorable trifles are a fun treat for the whole family. Prepare a carrot cake mix, then layer chunks of cake with cream cheese frosting and top with a bunny decoration.
Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
The pastel purple shade of the glaze on our Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake fits right in with Easter. No artificial coloring is required to achieve this cheerful hue—just plenty of fresh blueberries.
Hummingbird Sheet Cake
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
Hummingbird is a classic, but the original recipe requires stacking three-layers of banana-pineapple cake. With this version, you can still feed a crowd, but with much easier assembly.
Strawberry Patch Cake
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
We bet you've never seen a cuter cake than this. The best part? The marshmallow daisies on top are easy to make and only require a pair of scissors to pull off.
Easter Egg Cake
Robin's-egg blue icing makes this cake visually stunning for Easter. The recipe starts with a rich chocolate cake mix, then puts the focus on springtime decorations for the holiday table.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Boxed cake mix and boxed brownie mix meet in this decadent and easy recipe that has twice the chocolate of your usual cake. It transforms from delicious to delectable when topped with a chocolate drizzle and edible pansies.
Cheerwine Bundt Cake
Jessica Furniss
Our recipe uses a box of white cake mix and a few add-ins to amp up the cherry soda flavor and color. Top it with a thick white glaze and bright maraschino cherries.
Lemon Raspberry Cake
This lemon cake with cream cheese-raspberry frosting is truly elegant. This recipe will delight anyone who loves the contrast between sweet and tart.
Lemon-Lime Pound Cake
This recipe is based on a classic Southern favorite called 7UP Pound Cake, which was created in the 1950s when the soda company suggested using its soft drink instead of other liquid in pound cake recipes. The result: one of the best, and simplest, cakes you'll ever make.
Hummingbird Bundt Cake
From pineapple to cream cheese, the same ingredients first featured in the 1978 version of this popular layer cake still shine in our new version—simplified by baking in a Bundt pan.
Sweet Tea-And-Lemonade Cake
This Arnold Palmer-inspired cake is perfect for springtime. You can make the icing tipsy if you're having an adults-only Easter dinner.
Coconut Pound Cake
Studded with pecans and enriched with cream cheese, this is no ordinary Coconut Pound Cake. But it's the half cup of bourbon that makes it a Southern specialty.
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
You won't find a drop of artificial flavor or dye in these gorgeous spring cupcakes. The secret to the pink frosting is freeze-dried strawberries, which are blended into a powder.
The Ultimate Carrot Cake
What makes it ultimate? How about the addition of Granny Smith apples and coconut. These layers are tender, so remove from pans carefully.
Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake
Chocolate enthusiasts will be over the moon for this recipe, but it has enough unexpected flavor—thanks to the addition of the buttermilk glaze—that you'll also win over the harder-to-please dessert eaters at the table. Warning: You—and they—won't be able to resist a second slice.
Lemon-Orange Chiffon Cake
When you serve this decadent spring dessert at Easter, wow the crowd with edible flowers. You can also garnish with candied oranges and lemons or kumquat slices.
Strawberries-And-Cream Sheet Cake
This simple and swoon-worthy sheet cake gets an extra burst of berry flavor from gelatin. But it's the strawberry-flecked frosting that really makes it worthy as a centerpiece on your table.
Easter Bunny Cake
The kids will love this sweet cake that they can help decorate and devour. Make the meringue cookie bunny ears the night before so you'll be ready to assemble.
Hummingbird Cake
The legendary Hummingbird Cake loaded with flavors of pineapple and banana is our most popular recipe of all time. If that's not reason enough to make it, we're not sure what could convince you.
Heavenly Angel Food Cake
The rich, moist texture of this divine angel food cake is unlike any other. Made from scratch in minutes, it's spread with frosting that's a lemon lover's dream.
Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake
To make the strawberry swirls, pour in 1/3 of the batter, swirl in the strawberry glaze, and repeat a second time before adding the final 1/3 of batter on top. The result is a marbled looking cake sure to impress your family.
Best Carrot Cake
Make this classic favorite for a crowd and you might not have any leftovers to bring home. Adding crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness as well as a luscious Buttermilk Glaze makes this truly the Best Carrot Cake.
The Lane Cake
This legendary Southern cake is the ultimate labor of love, and your Easter guests will taste it in every bite. This Alabama original has a peachy filling and fluffy Peach Schnapps meringue frosting.
Lemon Bar Cake
A bright citrus dessert is always welcome on the Easter table, especially when it's made with the hands-off ease of the slow cooker. Skip the frosting and dust with powdered sugar.
Grand Marnier Cakes
This orange dream gets topped with a sweet glaze, whipped cream, and fruit segments. Mini Bundt pans make for the prettiest presentation of this vintage recipe.
Banana Pudding Poke Cake
This oh-so-moist poke cake was made to feed a crowd, though we expect there won't be any left after the meal. This cake-and-banana-pudding mashup requires advance planning, but you can use instant pudding as a time-saver.
Chocolate Éclair Cake
This layer cake honors the beauty and perfection of a truly authentic éclair. With toasted pastry flecks in a buttercream, chocolate ganache, and real pastry cream, this recipe does the pastry justice.
Dreamy Lemon Cheesecake
With a lemon cookie crust and sweet lemon curd topping, this cheesecake really is a dream. You can make the lemon curd up to two weeks in advance to save you a step on Easter.
Lemon-Orange Pound Cake
This recipe, courtesy of the Junior League of Houston, is drizzled with two icings so every bite is different. Decorate the cake plate with citrus slices for your special Easter luncheon.
Mini Confetti Cakes
These mini cakes are perfect for little hands. Plus, the edible flowers are an easy and gorgeous way to make them festive.
Mary's Mango Cake
This cake tastes bright and sunny, so it's perfect for an early Easter brunch. The recipe comes from Mary Moehling, the mother of Robert Moehling, who owns the popular Robert Is Here fruit stand in Homestead, Florida.
Banana Pudding Cheesecake
We feel like the name probably says it all for this incredible recipe. Packed with all the flavor of traditional banana pudding, this twist on cheesecake will take everyone by delicious surprise.
Pineapple-Coconut Cupcakes with Buttermilk-Cream Cheese Frosting
These easy cupcakes start with a box of cake mix, but your guests will never know. The adorable Easter nests can be made with bright-green edible paper and egg-shaped malted milk balls.
The Coconut Chiffon Cake
This storied layer cake is the queen of cakes, guaranteed to earn "oohs" and "aahs" from your Easter crowd. Our version has a Coconut-Mascarpone Filling and White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Buttermilk-Lime Mini Cakes With Vanilla-Mascarpone Buttercream
These cakes might be miniature, but they'll make a big impact. While perfect for Easter, they also make great desserts for baby or wedding showers.
Lemon Bar Cheesecake
Love lemon bars? Love cheesecake? Then we've got great news for you, because cheesecake and lemon curd are a match made in heaven.
Hummingbird Cupcakes With Candied Pineapple Wedges
This might be the easiest Hummingbird Cake recipe ever, and it makes two dozen cupcakes for a big Easter crowd. Pro tip: Don't drain the pineapple juice from the can, as it gives the cake its incredible moistness.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
This coffee cake will be the best way to finish off Easter brunch with a warm cup of coffee. The sour cream in the batter helps balance the sweet cinnamon streusel.
Tropical Carrot Cake
Update your classic carrot cake with the tropical taste of banana, pineapple, and coconut. This cake is a riff on our beloved Hummingbird cake, combining some of its elements with a traditional carrot cake.
Classic Coconut Cake
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
With coconut sponge, coconut filling, and a light whipped cream frosting, this layer cake is a coconut lover's delight. The real punch of coconut flavor comes from the filling, which features both frozen coconut flakes and coconut extract.
Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Both cheesecake and carrot cake lovers will be thrilled with this layered dessert. A thick layer of carrot cake is substituted for a crust in this spiced cheesecake packed with fresh ginger and cinnamon.
Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake
Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
The best part about this strawberry shortcake recipe is how easy it is to put together. The cake, strawberry topping, and mascarpone mixture can all be prepped and held separately for a day, then assembled before serving.
Pineapple-Coconut Cake
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley
Tropical pineapple and coconut are a match made in dreamy cake heaven. Toast the coconut to enhance its nutty flavor.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Pound cake is appropriate at every occasion. You can top this classic pound cake with seasonal fruit and dollops of whipped cream for pretty Easter presentation.
Lemon-Vanilla Pound Cake with Lavender Glaze
Bright lemon and lavender give this pound cake bright and fresh springtime flavor. We recommend looking for dried lavender buds at specialty food markets like Fresh Market or Whole Foods.
Four-Layer Coconut Cake
Take your Easter celebration to the next level (literally) by adding an extra layer to your dessert. Just make sure you have four 9-inch cake round cake pans in the kitchen, or borrow a couple from a neighbor.
Strawberry Icebox Cake
Busy hosts rejoice: You can still put a picture-perfect dessert on the table without turning the oven on. This recipe is made with chocolate wafers, whipped cream, and strawberry jam.
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Two favorite holiday desserts—crème brûlée and cheesecake—meet in this incredible mashup recipe. You'll need a kitchen blowtorch to create the glazzy layer of caramelized sugar.
Angel Food Cake
Light, fluffy angel food cake is absolutely heavenly to serve on Easter. Use a tube pan for this recipe—a Bundt pan has too many nooks and crannies for this pillowy cake.
Chocolate-Coconut Pavlova Cake
If you have family members with dietary restrictions, this dairy-free and gluten-free dessert will delight them. This cake is built with layers of meringue and topped with coconut cream.
Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake
Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Ana Kelly; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
This was one of our most popular cake recipes of 2019, so it's definitely holiday-worthy. It may seem intimidating to make homemade caramel, but this photo-worthy frosting is a great place to start.
The Lemon Cheese Layer Cake
This vintage cake reminds us of Grandma, and a floral topper is beautiful for Easter. The orange-flavored cake layers are filled with a buttery lemon curd.
Cheerwine Cherry Cupcakes With Cherry-Swirl Frosting
The kids' table will be thrilled to see this colorful confection on Easter. Cheerwine added to a classic white cake mix creates a pale pink crumb that tastes of almond extract and mild cherry.
Petite Blueberry Cheesecakes
Give everyone their own personal cheesecake with this sweet spring recipe. These petite cheesecakes look super fancy, but they only require five easy steps to put together and are baked in a muffin pan. To customize, trade the blueberries for your family's favorite fruits.
White Cake With Berry-Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones
Prepare a white cake mix according to the directions on the box, then get ready to create a masterpiece. This cake is all about adding the icing tinted with freeze-dried raspberries. Follow our step-by-step instructions for frosting a rose cake for spectacular results.
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