Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and that has us thinking about dessert. Sure, you can make something elaborate that will take you all weekend, like an intricately tiered cake, but sometimes you just want something easy. These simple, no-bake desserts are perfect for Mother’s Day and won’t have you stressing late the night before the holiday.

All of the desserts below can be made without turning on your oven - although they’ll require some store bought elements (like pound cakes). If you’re not a fan of Entenmann's (although we harbor a secret love for those white and blue boxed cakes), we’ve linked to great recipes that you can use to make that item yourself.

Strawberry Shortcakes

strawberry shortcake
Image via The Completely Delicious

Yields 12 Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients

Note: because whipped cream is delicate, you want to whip the cream and assemble this dessert right before serving.

  1. In a small bowl, mix the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Next, whip the cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until it starts to thicken. With the mixer running, add the vanilla extract and sprinkle on the powdered sugar. Whip until the mixture reaches the soft peak stage.
  3. Take the bowl off the mixer and beat by hand until the cream maintains stiff peaks. Doing the final whisk by hand gives you more control and makes it much harder to over-beat.
  4. Slice the biscuits in half. Spoon a layer of whipped cream over the bottom half of the biscuit, and top with a layer of the strawberries. Top with the remaining biscuit half. Spoon another layer of whipped cream and strawberries on top of the biscuit and serve immediately.

Spring Berry Pound Cake

Spring Berry Pound Cake

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb mixed fresh berries, like raspberries, blackberries and strawberries (if using strawberries, hull and slice the berries into ¼ inch pieces).
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1 store-bought pound cake (or make your own using this great recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum)
  1. Mix the berries, vanilla, lemon juice and sugar and let sit for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Cut pound cake into 1-inch thick slices. Serve with berries - either alongside or on top of your slices.

Chocolate Trifle with Coffee Whipped Cream

Chocolate Trifle with Coffee Whipped Cream

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • ½ cup coffee beans
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (2 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 store-bought chocolate pound cake, cut into 1-inch cubes (or make your own - we love this recipe from King Arthur Flour)
  1. In a small sauce-pan, heat the cream and coffee beans together until the mixture reaches the boiling point. Remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain out coffee beans and discard. Chill cream completely - at least 4 hours.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until it starts to thicken.
  3. With the mixer running, add the vanilla extract and sprinkle on the powdered sugar. Whip until the mixture reaches the soft peak stage. Take the bowl off the mixer and beat by hand until the cream maintains stiff peaks.
  4. In the serving vessel of your choice (stemless wine glasses work nicely here), spoon or pipe in a layer of cream, and top with a layer of cake pieces. Repeat, layering the cream and cake, until the glass is full.
  5. Fill your remaining glasses using the same layering method. Let chill for at least one hour, to allow flavors to meld. Serve chilled.

Blueberry Ginger Ice Box Cake

Blueberry Ginger Ice Box Cake
Image via Bon Appetit

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup blueberry jam
  • 2 tbs freshly grated ginger
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (2 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 package graham crackers
  • 8 oz fresh blueberries
  1. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with plastic wrap.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the blueberry jam with fresh ginger. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until it starts to thicken. With the mixer running, add the vanilla extract and sprinkle on the powdered sugar. Whip until the mixture reaches the soft peak speed. Take the bowl off the mixer and beat by hand until the cream maintains stiff peaks.
  4. Line the bottom of the loaf pan with a layer of graham crackers. Using a small offset spatula, cover the graham crackers with a layer of blueberry jam (if the jam is difficult to spread, thin it out with a little water to loosen the consistency). Top the jam with a layer of whipped cream. Dot the cream with fresh blueberries.
  5. Top the blueberry/cream layer with another layer of graham crackers. Top graham crackers with another layer of jam, then another layer of cream and berries. Repeat this layering process until the entire loaf pan is full. Top the pan with a final layer of graham crackers.
  6. Cover the top of the cake with plastic wrap and freeze for at least six hours - preferably overnight.
  7. To serve, remove the top layer of plastic wrap and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Cut into 1 inch slices.

 Whisked! has some of the best mail order cookies and mail order pies if you don't feel like baking on Mother's Day. Our dessert gifts are great for moms and we also have vegan desserts as well for the animal loving moms out there.

About the author, Jenna Huntsberger
Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Jenna moved to DC in 2005 to work in nonprofit communications. After deciding her real passion was pastry, she founded Whisked! in 2011, selling baked goods at a local farmer's market. Today, Whisked! cookies and pies are carried in more than 100 retail locations, and have been featured in publications like the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, and NPR.

Written by Jenna Huntsberger