13 Citrus Desserts to Make Before the Season Is Over

To make the most of citrus season, we a create layers of flavor in baked goods by using both the zest and juice to deliver fruity aromatics as well as tartness. Adding complexity with herbs, nuts and spices keeps things interesting, and the wide range of styles—from personal-sized cakes to an impressive chocolate orange tart—means there’s a sunny citrus treat for every occasion.

Glazed Three-Citrus and Almond Bundt Cake

For a tender cake with a velvety crumb, we use cake flour, which keeps the gluten content low. A trio of citrus zests lend bright, balanced flavor to both the cake and glaze. Don’t worry if you don’t have the “right” citrus—any combination will do. Replace lime zest with grapefruit or mandarin, and you’ll still be in good shape. One crucial note: This recipe uses fresh almond paste instead of marzipan. The almond paste adds a saccharine nuttiness, and its fine texture easily melds into the batter.

Yogurt Cake with Citrus and Spice

Gâteau au yaourt is often the first recipe children in France are taught to make. It has a fine, moist crumb similar to a pound cake, but isn’t nearly as rich. Our version features bright citrus flavors from grated zest, along with warming spices—your choice of cinnamon, allspice or ginger. Citrus juice is whisked with powdered sugar to make a glaze that’s speedy, simple and sweet, with a welcome acidic snap for good measure.

Broken Phyllo Cake with Orange and Bay

You won’t find a single speck of all-purpose flour in this ingredient list. The bulk of this cake is made from dried, crushed phyllo dough. The crumbled phyllo is tossed with a yogurt-enriched batter, and the entire cake is soaked with a flavorful syrup after baking. We use Greek yogurt and oil to add richness to the dessert; eggs, meanwhile, bind and lift (with the added help of baking powder). The cake has a trio of powerful flavors: grated orange zest, cinnamon-infused syrup, and—for added dimension—earthy cardamom and bay.

Lemon Cream and Raspberry Victoria Cakes

For a lemon-y crowd-pleaser, try our version of a Victoria sandwich cake. This classic English dessert is normally prepared as a large cake, but we miniaturized it for personal servings by using a muffin pan. Fruit preserves and whipped cream are sandwiched between two layers of poppy, seed-speckled sponge cake for a fruit-forward dessert that isn’t too sweet.

Lemon-Orange Tart

The ideal lemon tart contains two non-negotiable features: a crisp crust, and a, punchy, velvety filling. Too often, though, the flavor winds up harsh and puckery. We developed an easier, better method—one that doesn’t require stovetop stirring and provides a gentler, more balanced citrus combination with orange. We combine the sugar, zest, juice and eggs in a bowl, with a little heavy cream to soften the citrus’ edge. Use a warm pastry shell to help the filling set more quickly and keep the crust crisp.

Clementine Blender Cake

For speed and ease, we look to the blender to make this sunny clementine cake, but that’s not the only unusual thing about it. For bold flavor and texture, we purée whole clementines to make the batter. Where similar whole-citrus recipes call for oranges or lemons, we prefer clementines: they’re small, their sweetness-to-tartness ratio is perfectly balanced, and their peels provide intense flavor in addition to bright color. And while this cake requires no icing—trust us, it’s flavorful enough as-is—a thin coating of clementine syrup at the end can add a touch of added sweetness and a handsome gloss.

Orange-Anise Bundt Cake (Ciambella)

This finely textured Italian ciambella cake is rich, tender, and features the robust aromas of orange and licorice-like anise. No need to fuss with creaming butter and sugar for this cake—olive oil is the main enriching fat. Requiring little more than a whisk and a couple bowls, the batter for this elegant cake comes together with ease. Don’t skip the final glaze of powdered sugar, honey and orange juice. After it dries, this cake resembles a larger-than-life glazed doughnut.

Semifreddo with Mandarin Oranges and Biscuits

This one-step frozen dessert is made with whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk layered with packaged tea biscuits. Sweet mandarin segments are folded into the mixture for texture and a creamsicle-like flavor. When sliced, it displays an impressive, fruit-studded pattern.

Spiced Orange Shortbread

This is our spiced spin on classic shortbread. We added ground coriander and freshly grated orange zest to lend aromatic complexity, and they are both highlighted beautifully in this buttery cookie. We like to roll out the dough to a chunky half-inch thickness for the best firm-tender texture after baking. For best results, be sure to slice and separate the cookies while the dough is still warm.

Chocolate Orange Tart

With its press-in-the-pan tart shell and its one-minute food processor filling, this creamy dessert might be the quickest and most impressive tart you can whip up. We love how the ricotta filling creates a rich yet surprisingly light filling, and the orange and chocolate flavor leave a lasting impression. The low-maintenance crust includes almond flour which adds to its crisp, sandy texture, and contrasts well with the creamy filling.

Amalfi-Style Lemon Cake

This straightforward recipe uses all pantry ingredients, and gets its bold, lemony flavor from a solid dose of lemon zest, which is followed by a lemon syrup soak. Be sure to soak the cake with the citrus syrup while it’s still warm for maximum absorption.

Lemon Pistachio Bars

Our take on the standard lemon bar includes a small measure of fruity olive oil in both the custard and crust. Pistachios and lemon zest are mixed into the shortbread base, providing citrusy, nutty notes and ensuring a tender, crumbly result. For richness and a deeper lemony color, we use egg yolks in addition to whole eggs in our filling. We recommend using raw pistachios for their verdant color, but if you can’t find them, roasted unsalted pistachios can work just as well.

Lemon-Buttermilk Pound Cake

This cake stands comfortably at the midpoint of the classic rich pound cake and fluffy angel food. To lighten up the traditionally dense pound cake, we separate the eggs and use the yolks to preserve the rich pound cake flavor and whip the egg whites for lift. With support from baking soda this cake becomes even lighter, with a tender moist crumb that only buttermilk can offer. Enjoy this cake as-is or topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.