10 Bright Citrus Desserts That Taste Like Sunshine All Winter

These desserts have fresh, bright flavors to perk you up even in the coldest months.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published January 15, 2026
Lemon pound cake with glaze on a wooden board, surrounded by lemons, a knife, and a bowl of fresh berries.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

Creating seasonal desserts was one of the highlights of my work as a pastry chef, and in winter, everything revolved around citrus—Meyer lemon pudding cake, blood orange panna cotta, ruby grapefruit–Campari sorbet, candied kumquat truffles. Not a hothouse berry in sight, and no complaints. In the throes of winter, citrus is the perky cheerleader on a mission to rev up your taste buds and inject a much-needed dose of sunshine—and we’re totally on board. Below, you'll find 10 of our favorite citrus-forward dessert recipes, including the lemoniest, zippiest of lemon tarts; a deceptively easy lime posset; and an incredibly moist Greek orange cake made from crushed dried phyllo. Winter citrus desserts may become your favorite source of vitamin C.

Love these recipes? With MyRecipes, your personal home for recipes, easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place.

  • Lemon Tart

    Overhead view of Lemon Tart

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    The mark of a superb lemon tart is a filling that’s vibrant, sharp, and tangy—bursting with fresh citrus flavor—and a texture that’s creamy and firm enough to hold its shape when sliced, without tasting too eggy. An abundance of juice and zest delivers a powerful lemony punch, while the crunchy, shortbread-like crust provides a crisp counterpoint to the silky-smooth curd.

  • Lemon Pound Cake

    Lemon pound cake with glaze on a wooden board, surrounded by lemons, a knife, and a bowl of fresh berries.

    Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

    Sometimes, you have to break a few rules to achieve standout results—as with this buttery, moist, and intensely bright lemony pound cake. A touch of baking powder ensures an even rise, while using fewer eggs and adding a few tablespoons of milk provides just enough moisture for a plush, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Rubbing the lemon zest with sugar, adding lemon juice to the batter, brushing the cake with lemon syrup, and finishing with a sweet lemon glaze yields maximum lemon flavor.

  • Sunny Lemon Bars

    Lemon bars cut into squares and dusted with powdered sugar on a marble countertop
    Vicky Wasik

    The problem with traditional lemon bar recipes is that most start with a runny, uncooked filling that seeps down the edges, turning the underside of the crust into a wet, sticky mess. Stella Parks’s version avoids this pitfall with a bright, sharp lemony filling made from equal parts whole eggs and yolks (by weight), cooked on the stovetop to a lusciously thick consistency before being strained, poured over a pre-baked buttery lemon shortbread crust, and finished in the oven.

  • Key Lime Pie

    Overhead view of a key lime pie

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    Although bottled key lime juice is readily available, it’s well worth squeezing and zesting fresh key limes to create a pie filling with pure, bright, tangy flavor. And if you’re going to go to the trouble of procuring fresh key limes, you might as well make the sweet-and-salty graham cracker crust from scratch while you’re at it.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Lime Posset

    Overhead view of lime possets

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This dead-simple British classic requires nothing more than fresh lime juice and time to thicken cream into a pudding-like consistency. Simply simmer cream and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add fresh lime juice and chill until set. Dress up the sweet, tangy posset with fresh fruit tossed with mint and a dollop of whipped cream.

  • Portokalopita (Greek Orange Cake)

    A slice of orange-flavored cake served on a white plate with a dollop of cream and a fork, with the rest of the cake in a green dish in the background

    Serious Eats /Qi Ai

    The magic of this dessert lies in its simplicity and in the unique use of phyllo dough, which is oven-dried, crumbled, and mixed with an egg, olive oil, and yogurt base to form a cake batter. Once baked, the cake is soaked in a thick, flavorful orange syrup that transforms it into a chewy, pleasantly bouncy, almost custardy dessert that improves with time and stays incredibly moist for days.

  • Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

    20191107-lemon-ricotta-cheesecake-vicky-wasik-12
    Vicky Wasik

    Freshly squeezed juice, grated zest, essential oil, and orange flower water give this lemon cheesecake a richly complex flavor profile, with layered acidity, brightness, and aroma. High-quality ricotta, blended with cream cheese and eggs in a food processor to minimize aeration, produces an exceptionally smooth, creamy cheesecake.

  • Olive Oil Cake with Tangerine Marmalade

    20120110-127677-LTE-Olive-Oil-Tangerine-PRIMARY.jpg

    Homemade tangerine marmalade is a great way to capture the fruit’s vibrant essence in the dead of winter. Paired with moist olive oil cake, it evokes the warmth and brightness of the Mediterranean.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Orange Meringue Pie

    Side view of a slice of Orange Merginue Pie

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    A cross between lemon meringue pie and a Creamsicle, this pie features a filling with a bright, sweet, orange-forward flavor from plenty of freshly squeezed orange juice and zest, while vanilla in the meringue underscores the orange-and-cream profile. Fully baking the crust until golden ensures no soggy bottoms.

  • Orange Honey Cookies

    These slice-and-bake, orange-scented cookies are pillowy soft, with a mellow, earthy sweetness from honey—preferably orange blossom.

Explore more:

More Serious Eats Recipes