Like an alarm clock, the first warm day of spring wakes us up from winter hibernation. Time to banish mittens and sweaters! Away with stews and gratins! In the blink of an eye, we stop craving dishes that comfort – and start longing for food that’s as fresh as baby leaves of grass. Think spring cleaning for your tongue.

So if you want to celebrate spring, desserts that are (gasp!) slightly sour are just right. Pucker-inducing flavors enliven much more than chocolate, caramel, and mango. In fact, a few generations ago, sour tonics traditionally were drunk at this time of year to fortify the body after a long winter and prepare for the frenetic pace of spring.

There’s another great reason for sticking to the sour: Luscious, sweet summer fruits are still a long way off. But if you go sour, there are two options that are perfect a few months earlier: rhubarb and lemon.

Rhubarb is actually one of the first “fruits” of spring (though it’s really a vegetable). It’s often available at other times of year, but it’s at its most tender in spring (some markets do stock it in March, though peak rhubarb season is in April). And while lemons may be available year-round, their vibrancy seems especially suited to spring – just as limes seem summery and oranges are perfectly suited for winter.

But springtime desserts cannot please by sourness alone. It’s not quite hot enough for, say, a lemon sorbet to satisfy. While the evenings are still a bit chilly, sour desserts cry out for some richness.

So instead of a simple rhubarb pie, bake an extra-luxurious tart by pairing rhubarb with puff pastry and whipped cream. Make lemon luscious by using the zest and juice to flavor a buttery glazed pound cake.

For a terrifically tart tart, roast the rhubarb. The vegetable holds its shape and its puckery flavor becomes even more concentrated. Though rhubarb traditionally is paired with strawberries, the vanilla whipped cream is even better here, softening rhubarb’s tartness without competing with its flavor.

You can buy the puff pastry for the tart from the supermarket, but since the dessert demands so little in terms of effort, it’s worth tracking down the best prepared puff pastry possible. Look for the French all-butter DuFour brand, or ask your favorite bakery if it sells its own puff pastry dough.

Or wake up that year-round classic, pound cake. Packed with the grated zest of two lemons, the lemon version is anything but dull. To maximize the zing, the cake is brushed with lemon syrup and paired with a quick lemon curd sauce.

Best of all, since both desserts avoid cloying sweetness, they’re just as tasty at breakfast as at dinner. Talk about a wake-up call!

Roasted Rhubarb Tart With Vanilla Whipped Cream

Be sure to thaw the frozen puff pastry for an hour before beginning.

1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry, or 1/2 pound fresh
1/4 cup blanched almonds
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup apricot jam

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy or whipping cream, well-chilled
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Preheat the oven to 3750F. Gently unfold one sheet of puff pastry and roll it to a 12-inch square. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Brush a 1-inch border with water and fold 1/2 inch of dough inward to form a border. Press with the tines of a fork to seal.

2 Place the almonds, flour, and sugar in the food processor and pulse until fairly fine. Cover the bottom of the tart with the mixture. Arrange the rhubarb pieces in neat rows and sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb. Paint beaten egg lightly over the border and decorations, and chill for 20 minutes.

3 Bake the tart for 35 to 45 minutes. Cover the edges with foil if browning too much. Slide pastry onto a rack to cool. Heat the jam and push through strainer, then brush over the rhubarb to glaze.

4 While the tart cools, make the whipped cream. Beat the cream until soft peaks form, then beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla just until incorporated. Slice the tart into squares and serve each slice with whipped cream.

Glazed Lemon Cake With Lemon Curd Sauce

The cake for this recipe is adapted from “Maida Heatter’s Cakes” (Cader Books/Andrews McMeel) by Maida Heatter. The lemon curd needs at least four hours to chill.

FOR THE CURD

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
3 large eggs

FOR THE CAKE

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
Finely grated rind of 2 large lemons

FOR THE GLAZE

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar

1 First, make the lemon curd. Combine the first four ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 3 minutes, or until the butter melts, whisking every minute. Remove from microwave; let cool for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs in medium bowl to blend, then whisk half of butter mixture into the eggs. Return the eggs to same large bowl and microwave on high until the curd is slightly thickened but not boiling, whisking every minute, about 4 minutes (curd will continue to thicken when chilled). Transfer the curd to medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface. Chill until firm, at least 4 to 5 hours.

2 To make the lemon cake, preheat the oven to 350-F and place the oven rack one third up from the bottom of the oven. Butter and flour a 9″ x 4 1/2″-wide tube pan or Bundt pan with a 12-cup capacity.

3 In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. In the large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter until whipped and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Reduce the electric mixer to its lowest speed and add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the milk in two batches, beating only until each addition is incorporated.

4 With a rubber spatula, fold in the lemon rind and scrape the batter into the pre pared pan. Even out the top of the batter by rotating the pan briskly.

5 Bake the cake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then cover with a rack and invert. Lift the pan from cake, leaving the cake upside down. Place the rack over a large piece of foil and prepare to glaze it.

6 To make the glaze, mix the lemon juice with the sugar and brush all over the hot cake. Let cool completely, then top every slice with a dollop of lemon curd to serve.