Valentine's Day Desserts: Recipe Ideas

One easy and relatively inexpensive way to celebrate Valentine's Day is with a romantic dessert. Whether it is part of a whole meal or simply the conclusion to a meal out back at home, your spouse will appreciate the gesture. No matter what your dessert preferences are, there are lots of great romantic options. Here are just a few to get you started. Happy baking!

This recipe is designed for the heart springform pan that I linked below. If you already own this pan and are looking for a new recipe that fits it or you enjoy purchasing new kitchen gadgets, this is a great recipe for you. The layers for this cake are gorgeous and still make it easy for you to enjoy the flavors of the chocolate, cheesecake, and raspberry all together. You can easily switch the raspberry out for a different fruit flavor or skip it altogether if you prefer. The fresh fruit surrounding the dessert on the plate is the perfect touch to finish off this dessert.

I am not a huge fan of red velvet cake, but when it is homemade and has a not overly sweet frosting, it can be delicious. I love these little cakes. You only need a few bites to be satisfied with this type of dessert. The author used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the cake. I love the idea of adding a little lemon juice to the cream cheese frosting to make it just a bit tangy.

Last year, Kristy posted seven days of sweets for Valentine's Day. You can see the entire set here. I picked this one to highlight here because it is such a classic choice. Chocolate truffles are a widely loved dessert. You can create an entire set with a single topping or have fun mixing it up as you go.

Take a classic vanilla crème brûlée recipe and give it the perfect touch for Valentine's Day with rose syrup. I'm not sure which will be more delightful: the color or the flavor. This recipe is a bit time intensive, but not too tough otherwise. The author suggestions that you can caramelize the crème brûlée in the broiler if you don't have a blow torch.

If you and your spouse enjoy Neapolitan ice cream and cupcakes, combine your loves with this great recipe. Strawberry cake, chocolate brownies, and butter cream frosting makes for a killer combination both for taste and aesthetics. A cupcake is the perfect portion for enjoying this rich indulgence.

An easy way to make any dessert into a Valentine's Day dessert is to add a powdered sugar heart to the top of it. You can use a heart shaped cookie cutter or your own heart stencil. I like this recipe because it's portioned just for two people (with the option to double or triple the recipe for more people of course).

Add a bit of red to your Valentine's Day dessert with red Jello. The recipe suggests strawberry. This has the perfect combination of sweet Jello and cream cheese/whipped cream filling with salty pretzels. Make sure that you allow time for the Jello to set so that it's ready in time for dessert.

Cake pops are all the rage right now, so why not whip up a batch for Valentine's Day? This recipe assumes that you already have some experience with cake pops and are ready for a new twist. You can make the detail on the bears as simple or complex as you like.

I saved this recipe for last because it is one of the most complex and most rich recipes here. If you are looking for something completely decadent to wow your significant other, this is the way to go. Chocolate, wine, almonds, crepes...there are so many things to love about this recipe.