🌷 Hello Baking Buddy! 🌷

The sun is shining, our grass is finally turning green again in between snow storms this week. Hopefully spring will come soon to Minnesota.

Either way, Passover and Easter is right around the corner! It’s the perfect time to dust off your mixing bowls and bake something beautiful. This month, we’re celebrating fresh flavors, pastel colors, and springtime classics that belong on your table.

🥕 Carrot, Pistachio & Pastel Treats for Spring

April is all about light and bright flavors and fun pastel-colored desserts. Here’s what’s trending in my kitchen this month:

Carrot Cake Desserts – This veggie-filled cake flavor is always a winner! Here are my best carrot infused treats:

• ​Easy Carrot Cake Cookies​
• ​Layered Carrot Cake​
• ​Carrot Cake Cheesecake​
• ​Carrot Cake Cupcakes​
• ​Carrot Muffins​
• ​Carrot Loaf Cake​
• ​Pistachio Carrot Bundt Cake​

Helpful Tip: I pair most carrot desserts with this fluffy cream cheese frosting recipe.

🌿 Pistachio Perfection – This nutty flavor shines in Pistachio Muffins (from Fresh April Flours) or Sticky Pistachio Cake (from Molly Yeh).

🎨 Pretty in Pastel – If Easter candy had a color palette, it would be soft pinks, blues, yellows, purples, and greens!

• ​Meringue Nests, fill them with your favorite fruit curd or use food coloring for the meringue.
• ​Cut-Out Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing would make beautiful seasonal cookies in pastel colors!
• ​Lemon Strawberry Trifles for the ultimate springtime showstopper that's easy to serve.
• ​French Lemon Tart is our most popular dessert. She's stunning, delicious, and so fun to decorate.

🐣 Easter Bunny-Approved Menu​
Planning your Easter menu? Here are a few ideas:

• ​Perfect Deviled Eggs – Made with a little cream cheese so the filling is perfectly sturdy and easy to pipe.
• ​Hot Cross Buns – A traditional spiced bun with a touch of sweetness.
• ​Easter Nest Cupcakes – Topped with toasted coconut and mini eggs.
• ​Maple Bourbon Baked Ham - My favorite recipe for Easter. It is baked in a dutch oven and produces a perfectly tender Ham.
• ​Strawberry Spinach Salad - Our go-to... it's light and refreshing, made with balsamic dressing.

📅 Important Dates for April Baking

🍯 National Caramel Day (April 5)
Try this quick and easy homemade caramel sauce.

🍽 Passover (April 12-20) – Celebrate with these gluten-free desserts perfect for passover (think flourless chocolate cake or creme brulee).

🐰 Easter Sunday (April 20) Here are a few more Easter Dessert ideas to inspire you.

🥕 Baking Science Spotlight: Why Carrot Cake Works

Ever wonder why carrot cake is so moist and tender? It’s all about the natural sugar and moisture in carrots! When shredded, carrots release liquid into the batter, keeping the cake soft without needing tons of extra fat. Plus, the warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) enhance the sweetness, making it taste even better. Science + baking = magic!

🌸 Springtime Baking Challenge: Pastel Perfection!

This month, I challenge you to bake a dessert inspired by pastel colors! Think soft pinks, mint greens, light purples, and baby blues—whether it’s a batch of decorated sugar cookies, a gorgeous cake, or fluffy fruit-filled frosting.

📸 Tag me on Instagram @pretty_simple_sweet so I can see your beautiful creations!

Here's what I made: Mini Key Lime Pies with Blackberry Whipped Mascarpone Cream!

🌿 Pro Tip: When Key limes are in season, I spend an afternoon juicing them and freezing the juice for a rainy day. Oddly enough, the same bags that hold milk when I was breastfeeding are the perfect bags for freezing fresh squeezed juice, too! They freeze flat and have ounces and ml markings on the side.

💌 Personal Note from Stephanie

Spring always feels like a fresh start—longer days, new growth, and plenty of reasons to bake (or go hiking). It is my hope that you find something this month that brings you joy.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays because it’s filled with bright, happy desserts that bring people together. We celebrate it with our family and do a classic Easter Egg Hunt in my parent's yard. I hope you carve out a little time to laugh and share food in good company too.
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With the changing season, I love taking time to reset my kitchen and organize my baking space (because let’s be real, things get messy fast when you bake as much as I do!). Spring cleaning is getting tackled next week!

Cheers,
Stephanie Gonzalez
CEO + Creator
Pretty. Simple. Sweet.

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