Food and Recipes Desserts Baking Projects To Take on Every Week in April By Zoe Denenberg Zoe Denenberg As a professional baker, Zoe Denenberg has spent the past two years traveling across the country—from Alabama to Hawai'i—working in farm-focused pastry kitchens. She has written about food, travel, and culture for Southern Living since 2019. See more of Zoe's work at https://zoedenenberg.wixsite.com/portfolio and follow her on Instagram. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 14, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Make use of your spare time and challenge yourself in the kitchen this April. We've created a month-long baking challenge that will help you hone your skills and test out some of Southern Living's all-time favorite recipes. There are two baking projects per week, which gives you just enough time to polish off that batch of cookies before you move onto the next baking adventure. We've organized these projects to increase in difficulty as the month rolls on, so by the end of April, you'll be a total master in the kitchen. The month starts off with our Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies—which only require 4 ingredients—and concludes with a show-stopping Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake. Of course, we've included some special Easter desserts to make it a celebration to remember. From cookies to cupcakes, these recipes are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Each of these recipes holds a special place in our heart, and soon enough you'll see why. 01 of 08 Week 1: Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro Recipe: Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Start the month off right with these 4-ingredient cookies that surely won't last long on your counter. Get the kids involved and you'll have a batch of flour-free ready cookies in just 35 minutes! 02 of 08 Week 1: Peach Dump Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Peach Dump Cake When you're craving a fresh, fruity dessert but your fridge is empty, this Peach Dump Cake is a saving grace. Built on boxed cake mix and canned peaches, this dump cake only takes 5 minutes of active time—just toss all the ingredients in the pan and toss it in the oven. 03 of 08 Week 2: Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Buttermilk-Cream Cheese Frosting Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Buttermilk-Cream Cheese Frosting Kick off your Easter festivities with cupcakes that the whole family can help bake. For a smaller celebration, cut the recipe in half. 04 of 08 Week 2: Strawberry-Lemonade Cake Jen Causey Recipe: Strawberry-Lemonade Cake Even if you're not hosting a big Easter soiree this year, baking a luscious layer cake is one holiday tradition we certainly won't be giving up. We may be eating this Strawberry-Lemonade Cake for the next two weeks, but we won't be complaining. 05 of 08 Week 3: Cream Cheese Brownies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Cream Cheese Brownies Take regular brownies up a notch with a beautiful cream cheese swirl topping. Marble the cream cheese any way you'd like—it's meant to be abstract. 06 of 08 Week 3: Blueberry-Cornmeal Cake Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Blueberry-Cornmeal Cake If you're looking for an excuse to eat dessert at any time of day, this cake is it. You'll be snacking on this fruit-filled fusion between cornbread and coffee cake all day long. 07 of 08 Week 4: Pineapple Ginger Upside-Down Cake Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Pineapple Ginger Upside-Down Cake Once you bake this upside-down cake once, you'll be baking it all spring long. The recipe calls for fresh pineapple, but feel free to use canned to make this tropical-inspired cake completely pantry-friendly. 08 of 08 Week 4: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake Southern Living Recipe: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake Homemade caramel frosting meets fluffy, decadent pound cake in this recipe that'll have your head in the clouds. It doesn't get more Southern than this. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit