Passover desserts might get a bad rap, but here are 18 sweet recipes that you'll actually want to bake and serve at seder. Some of these recipes call for packaged ingredients, such as almond flour, cocoa, or canned fruit that are not always kosher-for-Passover products. So if you are keeping kosher for Passover, be sure to check the certification on the package first before buying and baking. All of these recipes are free from chametz ("wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment," according to Chabad.org) and kitniyot (corn, rice, sesame, or legumes), so you can feel good about offering them to your family and friends celebrating the holiday.
Best Passover desserts
Meringue cookies always feel like a treat and these extra chocolatey ones are a dream Passover dessert. They're made with just five ingredients—egg whites, vanilla extract, cream of tartar, superfine sugar, and cocoa powder.
The beauty of Passover is that it falls in the heart of spring, when it's just starting to warm up outside. Caramelized honeycomb candy is folded into homemade vanilla ice cream for this buttery, rich dessert.
When you really want to wow guests at your Passover seder, introduce this multi-layered mousse, which was named "Dessert of the Year" by San Francisco Focus magazine in 1987.
The sweet, aromatic nature of Meyer lemons tastes like the way spring makes us feel—light and happy.
"Matzo is, in my opinion, best when used as a vehicle for consuming amounts of chocolate, and this recipe allows for just that," writes recipe developer Sarah Jampel. "This Passover-friendly treat is too good to enjoy for only eight days: I recommend keeping a batch in your freezer all-year round."
6. Richard Sax's Chocolate Cloud Cake
We're dubbing this the ultimate flourless chocolate cake, made with just good-quality chocolate, eggs, sugar, and unsalted butter.
This fluffy, spongy cake is made with potato starch. The sweet, lemony bite is the perfect end to your Passover meal.
Setting a beautiful Passover table and cooking a feast is enough work, so make an easy dessert. This cake can (and should!) be made in advance, which saves you prep time before seder.
9. Torta Caprese (Chocolate and Almond Flourless Cake)
This cake is a work of art. It calls for very few ingredients (mainly just almond flour, dark chocolate, unsalted butter, sugar, and eggs), but the result is a dark, not-too-sweet chocolate cake with subtle hints of almond flavor.
10. Passover Ice Cream ("Roca of Affliction")
"Inspired by the Ben & Jerry's charoset-flavored ice cream—available only in Israel—I decided to design a Passover ice cream of my own. I use my mother's recipe for Roca (the chocolate-covered toffee), and pour it over matzo. This gets mixed with chopped nuts and incorporated into the ice cream, which is enjoyable well past Passover," writes recipe developer Amy Ettinger.
We love these bulky chocolate clusters (I say that lovingly), which get their crunch from broken-up matzo sheets and chewiness from marshmallows. Just be sure that the marshmallows you use are kosher for Passover.
Instead of serving individual macaron cookies that disappear in just a bite or two, make these gorgeous stacks of meringues, which are layered with a duo of strawberry and vanilla buttercream.
13. Dorie Greenspan's Top Secret Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au Chocolat)
This chocolate mousse is melted chocolate thickened with egg yolks, then lightened with whipped egg whites. We love an easy dessert that just so happens to be kosher for Passover too.
14. Buko Salad (Filipino Fruit Salad)
A traditional Filipino dessert makes its way onto the Passover seder table with bright flavors like coconut and canned pineapple, plus a rich, creamy base of cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.
If you can find kosher gelatin (there are great options from brands like Lieber's), then whipping up homemade marshmallows are a totally doable Passover dessert.
Poached pears always seem like such an elegant, delicious dessert but how often does anyone actually make them? Now's your chance! Celebrate Passover with this sweet, aromatic ending.
17. Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies from François Payard
These extra chocolatey cookies, studded with walnuts, are gluten-free and perfect for Passover.
Dreamy, airy pavlova shines a spotlight on the bounty of spring produce like rhubarb and strawberries.
