Spring has its charms to be sure. But with summer fruits still beyond the horizon and winter fruits all but gone, selecting an appropriate fruit dessert for the season can be tricky.

Sometimes, I cheat and do what I can with early season strawberries hauled in from points south. They are not the same as summer strawberries, but with a splash of balsamic vinegar and some sugar, they can be quite good. One might opt for stalks of rhubarb, a member of the buckwheat family with a red pigment and a substantial dose of oxalic acid to stand in for fruit. And citrus fruits, their season having peaked a few months ago, are still around. Another option is to present something chocolate; chocolate may be wintery but in truth, it knows no season.

This week, I’m posting a trio of spring dessert recipes:
Orange and Rhubarb Tart
Orange Sunshine Tart, and
Elegant Chocolate Tart

All three recipes come from West Coast Cooking, which contains more than 400 recipes for everyday cooking with family and friends.