SCOTT LINNETT / Union-Tribune Meringue provides the perfect palette for springtime desserts. At Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Desserts, meringue shells are filled with white chocolate mousse and topped with fresh fruit.

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A cloud. A kiss. A floating island.

Just two simple ingredients – sugar and egg whites – create endless possibilities for stunning spring desserts.

Soft meringue can be swirled onto pies and puddings and burnished briefly in the oven or with a culinary blowtorch for a glossy, alp-like topping.

Forget the neon pink Peeps and robin's egg-blue malt balls. The hot chocolates to hide this year are Moonstruck's clever Country Critters. A toffee pig, cinnamon-almond chick, mocha turkey and milk chocolate cow are some of the menagerie of picture-perfect confections.

The ritual of coloring eggs dates to ancient times, when Egyptians and Persians dyed eggs in spring colors as a symbol of renewed life.