A selection of the 42 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 easily find the perfect balance of taste and style for your loved one!
Table of Contents
- Frequently Asked Questions
- 42 Best Valentine's Day Desserts
- Romantic Desserts for Two
- Valentine's Candy Recipes
- Easy Valentine's Day Desserts
- Best Chocolate Desserts for Valentine's Day
- Red Desserts for Valentine's Day
- Valentine's Desserts Without Chocolate
- Gluten Free Valentine's Day Desserts
- Light Valentine's Desserts
- Romantic Breakfast Ideas
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. With so many diverse possibilities, it’s best to err on the side of caution and give your loved one something as fresh as possible! I think it is best to prepare by making sure you have enough of each ingredient, designating bakeware and unique plating possibilities, and making toppings if needed to take away an extra step at the end of baking. 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—but if all you are preparing is dessert, I’d 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. If going with that, 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 worried about a melty, messy situation, consider staying away from desserts that don’t have a strong structure, like 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, like trifles, mousses, and puddings, or with desserts that you know will hold their form like cookies, unfrosted cakes, and galettes. You could also wait to add things like buttercream until the end, letting them stay chilled for as long as possible!
42 Best Valentine's Day Desserts
Easy and down-to-earth professional chef guidance through 42 of 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!
Searching for 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. 😉
This classique Crème Brûlée has the ideal creamy, silky custard underneath a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. Moreover, it is perfectly portioned for two!
The beauty of this Easy Red Wine Poached Pear Dessert is that it can be easily scaled up or equally scaled down to serve two people or 20! Hey, Valentine’s Day or date night! Just poach more pears. Maybe don’t do all that work to just poach one pear though. Poach 4 and make this Hazelnut Pear Tart too!
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, because you don't need a hassle when you're making something sweet.
These easy Dark Chocolate Nutella Truffles make the perfect end to Valentine’s Day dinner, a casual or fancy dinner party or an easy passed dessert! Four ingredients, one whisk about the bowl and a little patience bring you, in conclusion, these balanced Nutella truffles.
This Pecan Praline recipe makes pecan pralines that are undeniably thick, full of toasted pecans, and have that unique caramelized brown sugar flavor. I’ll show you how to make them so they don’t crystallize and have a silky smooth exterior that screams accomplished candy-maker.
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, and enrobe your chocolates, make your toppings, chocolate everything to your heart's content.
There is something so satisfying about making homemade chocolates, especially Chocolate Bourbon Truffles! Taking that first bite is heartwarming. Or concurrently that could be the whiskey ? These Chocolate Bourbon Truffles have a creamy bourbon dark chocolate center enrobed in perfectly tempered dark chocolate.
Easy Valentine's Day Desserts
Sometimes you just need something simple to show you care. Sometimes you just want to show your loved one you're happy they're home. Even as a chef, I enjoy making nostalgic, easy desserts because love is genuinely an important ingredient.
Measure, mix, shape and basically put those cookies straight in the oven. These Childhood Chocolate Chip Cookies bake thick and chewy without all the fuss. My favorite type of easy Valentine's dessert.
If you have been around CLF for a minute, then it will not come as a shock to you that I am extremely picky about my chocolate mousses. This easy Black Forest Mousse lives up to all my expectations. That is why you come here, yes? For the best? This mousse is easy, rich, and deeply chocolate!
How cute is it that these Peanut Butter Blossoms are topped with a Hersey's Kiss? These cookies are an old favorite and were my first introduction to the magical world of chocolate and peanut butter! Peanut butter and chocolate is, after all, a pairing made in Heaven.
Because nothing says, “I love you” quite like a One Bowl Chocolate Layer Cake. No one has to know that you whipped it up from start to finish in under an hour and only dirtied one bowl! If you want to frost it with a can of store-bought frosting rather than The Best Chocolate American Buttercream, that'll be our little secret too!
Truly epic AND easy, this One Bowl Brownie is 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 Ice Cream on top and wait for the accolades to flood in.
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. There is a flakey pie crust, a decadent chocolate filling and a lightly sweetened whipped cream on top to round out this chocolate treat. {The chocolate mousse filling is even cooked so it is safe for everyone!}
These Death by Chocolate Cupcakes are double chocolate cake, filled with a German’s chocolate ganache and topped with a decadent chocolate buttercream. They certainly bring big BOLD chocolate flavors to any special occasion! Chocolate craving crushed!
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 when I was the Pastry Chef for a NYC restaurant. True story. It is silky and dense, yet surprisingly light! You can't go wrong with the traditional texture and tang of a NY Style Cheesecake!
The Best Chocolate Ice Cream is a bold name, but it is equally matched by the bold chocolate flavor of this custard-based ice cream. It’s creamy and rich, decadently sweet, and it will make any chocolate-lover swoon.
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!
Red Desserts for Valentine's Day
If there's a perfect time of year to break out the Red Velvet Everything--it's Valentine's Day! In recent years I've spent more and more time devoted to the unique combination of cocoa powder and an acid (like white vinegar) to create the red color and slightly tangy flavor we know and love. Ok, let's move on from my pro chef nerd session to the desserts!
This Red Velvet Layer Cake with Bourbon Cream Cheese Buttercream is extravagant! Layers of perfectly tender red velvet cake between a silky, smooth whiskey Cream Cheese 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!
These Red Velvet White Chocolate Cupcakes with a Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream are soft, tender red velvet cake with white chocolate chips baked inside! I make a silky, smooth Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream for a perfect pairing. Red velvet single serving romance!
Look no further for the perfect Red Velvet Cookies with cream cheese frosting! 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!
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 bunt pan, this is the cake for you!
Valentine's Desserts Without Chocolate
Classic Valentine's desserts 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 professionally perfecting dessert recipes has been to find the very best across the board--with chocolate and without alike! I hope you enjoy these ones, I think they're quite special.
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 chocolate fudge sauce option...
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.
This Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is a go-to crowd pleaser. The cheesecake is melt-in-your-mouth creamy and it is perfectly tart. Unabashedly lemon, much like my perfect lemon bars and the best lemon curd, this lemon cheesecake is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
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!
This Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberry Icing is moist, dense and packed with fresh lemon flavor. The pale yellow cake is tinted by lemon, and the sweet, strawberry icing is flavored and colored by fresh strawberries. Warning: You are going to want to eat this icing on EVERYTHING. Cakes, tarts, cupcakes...literally everything. It's really lovely to have such a natural and overall spectacular icing.
Gluten Free Valentine's Day Desserts
Gluten intolerances shouldn't keep you from celebrating with your loved ones! There are other gluten-free treats throughout this post, but I specifically put together this section of desserts that will not only be safe but delicious! **Be sure that the chocolates you purchase are also gluten-free.**
This Flourless Chocolate Decadence 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.
This 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 vintage and modern cookbook collection, and I dove deep into the web looking for fudge illumination. Method significantly matters, and I have you covered.
This easy gluten-free recipe for a 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!
So you want to go in the hazelnut direction? I support you! This isn't just another flourless chocolate cake, this gluten-free Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Cake 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.
This gluten-free pudding is rich and creamy with deep chocolate flavor. This Dark Chocolate Pudding is topped off with crushed chocolate cookies (get those gluten-free Oreos!) and lightly sweetened whipped cream for a dessert easy enough for after school snacking but fancy enough for a dinner party.
Light Valentine's Desserts
You caught me: this section is mostly dessert toppings. But, sometimes you just need something light to give that cocktail or fruit plate a little bit of extra love and a strong finish. Chocolate fudge covered strawberries anyone!? #classic
This rich Chocolate Fudge Sauce is deeply chocolatey and decadent! Lightly drizzle on cheesecakes, fruit, tarts, or ice cream! It takes any dessert (read: experience) to the next level.
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 augment all the things? Plus it’s a personal challenge. I can tell you as a professional chef, master that perfect caramel and the Valentine's dessert world is your oyster.
I took one taste and I legit swooned. You know I am practically married to my Italian Meringue Buttercream but I am having a full-on fling with this Chocolate American Buttercream. It is light, silky smooth, and deeply chocolately. It uses both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for an extra rich chocolate flavor!
This three ingredient, Homemade Whipped Cream is rich, silky smooth and perfectly sweetened. Make this light and easy homemade whipped cream recipe with an electric mixer or by hand in under 5 minutes! Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
Romantic Breakfast Ideas
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 professional chef 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 to floor your special someone the moment they get out of bed. The recipe is also EASY! Caveat: it is easy if you have a sourdough starter. If you don’t, I am here for all your sourdough starter needs. {Or you could make these Cinnamon Rolls instead!}
So you're more of a dip your-biscotti-into-coffee for breakfast kind of couple? Why not make the BEST Double Chocolate Biscotti!? They have a rich chocolate flavor and additional chocolate throughout, so take that romantic vacation to a Tuscan villa from home. ☀️
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!
Looking for something with a little more substance? Buttermilk Waffles in bed it is! These Sunday Buttermilk waffles are fluffy, soft, and crispy on the outside. Fast and easy with a hint spices and a splash of brandy to start the morning off right!
After perfecting sour cream cake donuts, I HAD to create the perfect old fashioned Chocolate Cake Donut recipe. They are light, yet cakey; chocolaty, yet perfectly sweet. Your loved one will love these.
Leave a Comment!