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A selection of the best Valentine’s Day Desserts chosen by a professional pastry chef, complete with step-by-step tips for success learned in a professional kitchen. These desserts are grouped into categories, so you can find the perfect balance of taste and style for your special someone!
Table of Contents
- Why these are the best Valentine’s Desserts:
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes
- Romantic Desserts for Two
- Easy Valentine’s Day Desserts
- Best Chocolate Desserts for Valentine’s Day
- Red Desserts for Valentine’s Day
- Sweet Treats Without Chocolate
- Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Desserts
- Light Valentine’s Desserts
- Sweetheart Breakfast Ideas, Serve with Hot Chocolate
- Valentine’s Candy Recipes
Why these are the best Valentine’s Desserts:
- Professional quality recipes. These recipes are all created or perfected by a professional pastry chef for the best texture and flavor.
- Divided into categories for easy selection. We’ve done (almost) all the work for you by subdividing all the desserts into categories. You can easily select what suits your needs and your loved-one’s palate.
- Flavorful & varied. I’ve made sure that we have a large variety of flavors, textures, and types in this list. There are decadent cakes, light pavlovas, easy cookies—and everything in between!
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, you can prepare most Valentine’s desserts 3 days in advance. Some things, like pie crusts, are possible to make weeks in advance and freeze. It’s best to err on the side of caution and give your loved one something as fresh as possible! It is useful to prepare by making sure you have enough of each ingredient, designating bakeware and unique plating possibilities, and making toppings if needed. That way the desserts are easier to assemble, prepare, and present on Valentine’s Day.
I like to think about the dinner as a balance. If you’re going with a heavy dinner, consider a citrus dessert to end the meal. Be sure you’re considering your loved one’s favorite things and dietary restrictions! A little detail like their preferred fruit on top will really go a long way. If you’re also making dinner, don’t choose something too complicated. If you are only preparing dessert, I say go all in! It’s also possible to make something together with your partner, so consider what could be fun to do as a team. I’d suggest that you do a test run in advance so there isn’t any stress to disturb the romance!
Lighting a lot of candles or have the heat turned up in your home? If you’re nervous about a melty, messy situation, consider staying away from desserts that don’t have a strong structure. This would include those with large amounts of chocolate or whipped dairy products (like whipped cream or buttercream). If you’re really worried about the heat, it could be good to stick with desserts that are served in goblets. This encompasses trifles, mousses, and puddings. Or, you could make desserts that you know will hold their form, such as cookies, unfrosted cakes, and galettes. You could also wait to add things like buttercream until the end. This will allow the dessert to stay chilled for as long as possible!
Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes
Easy and down-to-earth professional chef guidance through the Best Valentine’s Day Desserts. Find your loved one’s favorites to make them feel special this year!
Romantic Desserts for Two
As a pastry chef, I’ve made desserts for hundreds of people at a time, but there’s nothing quite like zeroing in on a small batch dessert for someone you love and making sure it’s special! These desserts are for when it’s just the two of you.
This easy Lemon Strawberry Shortcake for Two has a tender, moist lemon shortcake and is the perfect way to highlight fresh strawberries! The lemon adds a bit of tartness and augments the strawberry flavor. Pair with my Lemon Whipped Cream for the perfect end to an especially romantic dinner for two!
Easy Lemon Strawberry Shortcake For Two
Searching for a simple dessert that looks particularly elegant and sophisticated? This easy 4-ingredient, White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse recipe will blow your mind! It is perfectly sweetened and like eating a white chocolate cloud! Get cute bowls and serve it just for two.
White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse
This classic Crème Brûlée for two has a creamy, silky custard underneath a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. Moreover, it is perfectly portioned for two!
Crème Brûlée – Perfect Portion For Two!
The beauty of this Easy Red Wine Poached Pear Dessert is that it can be easily scaled up or equally scaled down! Just poach more or less pears. Poach 4 pears and make this Hazelnut Pear Tart too!
Easy Red Wine Poached Pear Dessert
Easy Valentine’s Day Desserts
Sometimes you just need something simple to show you care. Maybe you want to make something with your kid to celebrate your partner. I enjoy making nostalgic, easy chocolate desserts because love is genuinely an important ingredient.
Measure, mix, shape and basically put those cookies straight in the oven. My Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies bake thick and chewy without all the fuss. My favorite type of easy Valentine’s dessert.
My Favorite Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie
It will not come as a shock to you that I am extremely picky about my chocolate mousses. This easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe lives up to all my expectations. That is why you come here, yes? For the best? This mousse is easy, rich, and deeply chocolate!
Black Forest Mousse
How cute is it that these Peanut Butter Blossoms are topped with a Hersey’s Kiss? These cookies are an old favorite! Peanut butter and chocolate is, after all, a pairing made in Heaven.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Because nothing says, “I love you” quite like a One Bowl Chocolate Cake. No one has to know that you whipped it up from start to finish in under an hour! You can also frost it with a can of store-bought frosting rather than Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Truly epic AND easy, these One Bowl Brownies are chewy, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey. I’ve perfected this recipe to have a perfect flaked top and a chewy interior! Scoop a generous portion of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream on top and wait for the accolades to flood in.
One Bowl Brownie
Best Chocolate Desserts for Valentine’s Day
This right here is the bold chocolate dessert section. Working in a professional kitchen, it’s important to know how to balance a meal, and these are the decadent chocolate desserts that are going to give you the smooth, rich, chocolate overload you’ve been waiting for all year!
Don’t say I didn’t warn you! This French Silk Pie is light, silky smooth and rich. The flakey pie crust, decadent chocolate filling and lightly sweetened whipped cream build an extraordinary chocolate treat. {The chocolate mousse filling is even cooked so it is safe for everyone!}
French Silk Pie
These Chocolate Cupcakes are double chocolate cakes, filled with a German chocolate ganache and topped with a decadent chocolate buttercream. They certainly bring big BOLD chocolate flavors to any special occasion! Chocolate craving crushed!
The Best Death by Chocolate Cupcakes
Think of the best cheesecake you’ve had in your life. This is better. Mass hysteria and fights have broken out over Chocolate Chip Cheesecake slices. True story from my executive pastry chef days. It is silky and dense, yet surprisingly light! You can’t go wrong with the traditional texture and tang of a NY Style Cheesecake!
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
The Best Chocolate Ice Cream is a bold name. But, it is matched by the bold chocolate flavor of this custard-based chocolate ice cream recipe. Finish it off with some chocolate sprinkles to make any chocolate-lover swoon.
The Best Chocolate Ice Cream
In these Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Cherry Mascarpone frosting, the bold chocolate flavor of the cake is perfectly complemented by the cherry almond compote filling and the silky cherry mascarpone frosting. Insanely delicious!
Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Cherry Mascarpone Frosting
Red Desserts for Valentine’s Day
If there’s a perfect time of year to break out Red Velvet Everything, it’s February 14th!
This Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe is extravagant! Layers of perfectly tender red velvet cake between a silky, smooth whiskey cream cheese buttercream frosting! Pipe some royal icing hearts on at the end, because why not?
Red Velvet Layer Cake with Bourbon Buttercream
This easy Red Velvet Raspberry Trifle recipe is a showstopping dessert that can be made in 10 minutes! I love the layers of red raspberries and red velvet cake offset by the fluffy cream cheese whipped cream. It is so simple but looks so elegant!
Red Velvet Raspberry Trifle
The Best Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe with a strawberry cream cheese frosting makes soft, tender red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate chips baked inside. Red velvet single serving romance!
Red Velvet White Chocolate Cupcakes
Look no further for the perfect Red Velvet Cookies with cream cheese frosting for cookies! The interior texture is soft and moist with a hint of chocolate. I’ve rolled the outside of the cookies in granulated sugar for crunch and a little extra sweetness! Plus, the sparkle makes it feel extra festive!
Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
The perfect pound cake recipe but make it red velvet. Challenge accepted! This Red Velvet Pound Cake is moist, dense and super tender! It tastes subtly chocolatey and decadently rich. The cream cheese glaze locks in the moisture and adds a delightful tangy sweetness. If you have a favorite decorative bundt pan, this is the cake for you!
Red Velvet Pound Cake
Sweet Treats Without Chocolate
Classic Valentine’s gifts often include chocolate, but what if you’re feeling like a rebel? Or what if your partner isn’t a fan of chocolate {I don’t understand them, but I respect them}? Part of perfecting dessert recipes has been to find the very best, with chocolate and without alike! I hope you enjoy these ones, I think they’re quite special.
Whether you go all out with the royal icing decorations or you keep it simple with an easy cookie icing, these Valentine’s Day cookies are the perfect dessert or gift for your Valentine! Soft sugar cookies cut in the shape of a heart and decorated with a lemon royal icing!
Valentine’s Day Cookies
This Angel Food Cake with blueberry sauce is light, sweet, and moist! It is naturally fat-free and easier to make than you think! The blueberry sauce is delightful if you want to stay without chocolate, but you could also make a hot fudge option or use this 20 minute strawberry jam as a sauce…
Angel Food Cake with Blueberry Sauce
Rustic and classy, this Cherry Galette with an Almond Buttermilk Crust has sweet, roasted cherries and the all-butter, buttermilk crust has a wonderful texture and just a hint of almond.
Cherry Galette with Almond Buttermilk Crust
This Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is a go-to crowd pleaser. The cheesecake is melt-in-your-mouth creamy and it is perfectly tart. She’s unabashedly lemon, much like my perfect lemon bars and best lemon curd. This lemon cheesecake is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
This Raspberry Sorbet is soft, delightfully tart, and bursting with fresh berry flavor. It is a bright and lovely pop of color on any dessert table! It can be made with store-bought purée or fresh raspberries, so choose your own difficulty level!
Raspberry Sorbet
This Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberry Icing is moist, dense and packed with fresh lemon flavor. Warning: You are going to want to eat this icing on EVERYTHING. Cakes, tarts, cupcakes…literally everything.
Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberry Icing
Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Desserts
Gluten intolerances shouldn’t keep you from celebrating with your loved ones! I specifically put together this section of desserts that will not only be safe but delicious.
This Flourless Chocolate Cake is sensational: it is rich with an eye-opening chocolate flavor; it is dense and moist like a good gluten-free flourless chocolate cake should be; and it has this amazing crust that forms on top.
Flourless Chocolate Decadence Cake
My gluten-free Old Fashioned Fudge Recipe is chewy, fudgy with the perfect amount of chocolate. Step by Step instructions for perfect fudge every time! I am not exaggerating when I say that I read every single recipe for fudge in my extensive cookbook collection searching for perfection. Method significantly matters, and I have you covered.
Old Fashioned Fudge Recipe
This easy Lemon Berry Pavlova Cake is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is the perfect balance of tart and sweet! A stunning and delicious dessert for your Galentine!
Lemon Berry Pavlova Cake
So you want to go in the hazelnut direction? I support you! This Flourless Chocolate Torte is rich and chocolatey with a little nuttiness from the hazelnuts and just a hint of brightness from lemon zest! A silky ganache on top makes it truly decadent.
Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Cake
This gluten-free pudding is rich and creamy with a deep chocolate flavor. My Chocolate Pudding Recipe is topped off with crushed chocolate cookies (get those gluten-free Oreos!) and lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Dark Chocolate Pudding
Light Valentine’s Desserts
Sometimes you just need something light to give that cocktail or fruit plate a little extra love and a strong finish. Chocolate fudge covered strawberries anyone!? #classic
This rich Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe is deeply chocolatey and decadent! Lightly drizzle on cheesecakes, fruit, tarts, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream! It takes any dessert (read: experience) to the next level.
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Don’t sit there and give me the side-eye like a little light Salted Caramel Sauce isn’t EVERYTHING. Because it is. What else can be eaten on the sly with a spoon or can elevate all the things? Plus it’s a personal challenge.
The BEST Salted Caramel Sauce
I took one taste and I legit swooned. You know I am practically married to my Italian Meringue Buttercream Recipe but I am having a full-on fling with this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. It is light, silky smooth, and deeply chocolatey. It uses both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for an extra rich chocolate flavor!
The Best Chocolate American Buttercream
This three ingredient, Homemade Whipped Cream is rich, silky smooth and perfectly sweetened. Make this light and easy recipe in under 5 minutes! Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥
Homemade Whipped Cream
Sweetheart Breakfast Ideas, Serve with Hot Chocolate
As a professional pastry chef (note: not a nutritionist}, it’s my opinion that the best way to start Valentine’s off right is with a sweet homemade breakfast. Show your partner you love them because you woke up a little earlier and prepared!
It is with the confidence of a MLB player that I give you THE BEST Sourdough Cinnamon Roll. They are tender and soft with the perfect amount of filling. The recipe is also EASY! I put together a post on how to make your own sourdough starter. If you’re pressed for time, make these Cinnamon Rolls instead!
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
So you’re more of a dip-your-biscotti-into-coffee for breakfast kind of couple? Why not make the Best Chocolate Biscotti!? They have a rich chocolate flavor and additional chocolate throughout. Take that romantic vacation to a Tuscan villa from home. ☀️
The BEST Double Chocolate Biscotti
Do you drink tea first thing in the morning? Make Valentine’s a High Tea occasion! Just like my other scones, these Chocolate Chip Scones are English scones. These scones are soft, tender and packed with chocolate chips!
Chocolate Chip Scones
Looking for something with a little more substance? Whole Wheat Pancakes in bed! These easy Whole Wheat Pancakes are dairy free, vegetarian and delicious! Mix some chocolate chips into the whole wheat batter for a filling and festive breakfast!
Whole Wheat Pancakes (Dairy Free)
After perfecting sour cream donuts, I HAD to create the perfect glazed chocolate donut recipe. They are light, yet cakey; chocolaty, yet perfectly sweet. Your loved one will love these.
Chocolate Cake Donut Recipe
Valentine’s Candy Recipes
I can guarantee that your Valentine will be all the more impressed when they open their box of chocolates and you follow it up with a nonchalant “I made those for you.” As a pro chef, that’s swoon-worthy language right there. With me in your corner, it’ll be wayyyyy easier than you expect. I broke down all these candy recipes to make them super simple. You don’t need a hassle when you’re making something sweet!
Easy Dark Chocolate Nutella Truffles make the perfect end to Valentine’s Day dinner! Four ingredients, one whisk, and a little patience bring you these balanced truffles.
Nutella Truffles
This Pecan Praline recipe makes pecan pralines that are thick and full of toasted pecans. They’re complete with a unique caramelized brown sugar flavor. I’ll show you how to make them have a silky smooth exterior that screams accomplished candy-maker.
Pecan Praline Recipe
So you’re feeling fancy and want to make gorgeous tempered chocolate for your loved one? I see you and I unquestionably respect it. I’ve used my pastry chef skills to break down How to Temper Dark Chocolate. Use the ice bath method to get perfectly tempered chocolate every time. Enrobe your chocolates, make your toppings, put chocolate on everything to your heart’s content.
How to Temper Dark Chocolate with the Ice Bath Method
There is something so satisfying about making homemade chocolates, especially Chocolate Bourbon Truffles! Taking that first bite is heartwarming. Or that could be the whiskey ? These have a creamy bourbon dark chocolate center enrobed in tempered dark chocolate.
