Easy lemon desserts

Lemon dessert recipes

Lemon tart

Spend time making a lemon tart from scratch – with its citrusy, creamy custard filling and golden, flaky pastry, it’s a richly rewarding project. A bright, sunshiny dessert that's perfect for summer.

Lemon curd trifle

Lemon curd gives this English dessert staple a zesty update. Try making your own lemon curd with our recipe.

Lemon drizzle cake

A classic afternoon tea lemon drizzle cake that sounds as good as it tastes. If you fancy some enjoyable baking, with a great reward at the end, then this recipe is for you. Why not make this one for a birthday cake and decorate your own way?

Lemony panna cotta with toasted milk crumbs

Toasted milk powder, celebrated by acclaimed chefs like Christina Tosi at NYC’s Milk Bar and Edd Kimber, boasts a unique brown butter and hazelnut-like flavour, making it perfect for baked goods and desserts. We’ve used it in this lemony panna cotta for a memorable dinner party pud.

Lemon meringue pie

A classic, impressive lemon meringue pie with crisp pastry, tart curd and fluffy meringue that's easy to make. What more could you want? Try our step-by-step guide to create the perfect lemon meringue pie. Here's how to make the perfect meringues (with an expert video guide). Now try our vegan lemon meringue pie.

Lemon cheesecake

Feed a crowd with our classic no-bake creamy lemon curd cheesecake filling on a crumbly digestive biscuit base with browned butter.

Lemon cheesecake with candied lemon peel

A baked cheesecake is a great skill to master and much easier to make than you think. This lemon and vanilla cheesecake is finished with a candied lemon peel syrup which makes it smart enough to serve for a dinner party.

Limoncello tart

Add a bit of a kick to your lemon dessert with our smooth and zingy limoncello tart, encased in buttery homemade pastry. Make this impressive pudding for a light yet seriously moreish dinner party dessert.

Easy lemon curd

Add a lemony zest to your cakes and desserts with our easy lemon curd recipe. Spoon onto warm crumpets, stir through greek yogurt, or use to sandwich meringues together.

Vegan lemon loaf cake

A delicate, zingy vegan lemon cake made without eggs, milk or butter! The key to that lemony tang is a decent lemon extract (we use Nielsen-Massey), ready in just 1 hour!

Lemon pavlova

Top glossy meringue with yogurt rippled with lemon curd and pillowy double cream, plus citrussy zest and edible flowers for a pretty finish.

Lemon posset

The perfect way to get ahead for dinner parties or entertaining. Get the shots of limoncello ready to really take this pudding to the next level.

Lemon curd cake

A showstopping, lemon sponge layer cake with a delicious lemon curd icing and beautiful edible crystallised violets and primroses on top. Now try our lemon and elderflower almond cake.

Lemon and elderflower maritozzi with pistachio and raspberry

Pillowy soft brioche buns are bursting with lemon zest and elderflower cordial-spiked cream, topped with freeze-dried raspberries and chopped pistachios.

Olive oil and lemon cake

Serve a slice of sunshine with this lemon-scented cake made with ground almonds and extra-virgin olive oil, dusted with icing sugar.

Lemon curd and blueberry roulade

Crisp on the outside, marshmallowy on the inside and packed with flavours of the summer, this is a surprisingly easy yet showstopping summer dessert.

Lemon and pistachio bakewell tart

Got a jar of lemon curd in the cupboard? Put it to excellent use in this zingy riff on a bakewell tart, studded with pistachios and flavoured with cardamom.

Lemon self-saucing pudding (Lemon surprise pudding)

Lemon self-saucing pudding, also known as lemon surprise pudding, is easy to whip up and can be ready in an hour. Make one simple mixture and as it cooks it separates into a light sponge on top and zesty lemon curd beneath. This is our most popular dessert recipe ever, so see what all of the fuss is about. You could also try our indulgent chocolate self-saucing pudding or our exotic coconut and lime self-saucing pudding.

Lemon polenta cake with limoncello syrup

Our lemon polenta cake is a dense, rich cake with a boozy limoncello syrup. A great way to zest up and afternoon tea, or the perfect after-dinner centrepiece to serve with coffee (or limoncello!). We even have an easy limoncello recipe.

Lemon cupcakes

These cute little lemon cupcakes would work equally well for a kids party, baby shower or just a treat to serve with afternoon tea. If you are short of time make the sponges ahead and store in an airtight box then ice on the day. Extra cupcake cases to use?

Lemon and blueberry tray bake

These simple lemon and blueberry bars are seriously moorish, gooey on the inside and crunchy on the out, the ideal summertime picnic treat.

Vegan lemon sheet cake

Use olive oil in place of butter and chia seeds instead of eggs in this beautiful grown-up take on a classic lemon cake. It makes for a much lighter (and totally vegan) bake.

Limoncello meringue pie

This is a great way to make use of lemons. Italian meringue is made with hot sugar syrup rather than regular sugar. This starts to cook and stabilise the egg white, so it needs no further cooking in the oven. You’ll need a sugar thermometer to get the right consistency for the syrup.

Lemon and almond tarts

If you like Bakewell tart you'll love this lemon version. A crisp shortcrust shell is filled with lemon curd and a rich egg and ground almond sponge. Serve warm straight from the tin or at room temperature with a nice cup of tea.

Lemon drizzle crumpets

We've taken these crumpets and given them a zingy makeover. Drenched in lemon and sugar they are great with your afternoon tea.

Lemon and raspberry flapjacks

A lemon sweet treat for after-school or a mid-afternoon treat, our lemon and raspberry flapjacks are easy and fun to make. With plenty of lemon zest and a delicious layer of raspberries these oat bars are sure to be a hit with friends and family.

Amalfi lemon syllabub

Check out this refreshing lemon dessert from Italian restaurant Bancone in Covent Garden. Bancone's easy recipe makes more lemony granita than you’ll need – store any leftovers in the freezer.