A box of chocolates is a traditional gift for your Valentine on Valentine’s Day. There are some great chocolates out there, but even the best store-bought chocolates aren’t going to be made with as much love as a homemade chocolate treat. These are some of my favorite chocolate goodies and each and every one is a great choice for a Valentine’s Day gift when your sweet heart has a sweet tooth.
Conversation Heart Mendiants are an adorable way to get your message across, since the candies quite literally tell your Valentine how much they mean to you. The candies are easy to make and can be made using dark chocolate, milk chocolate or even white chocolate. Don’t forget to sort through your conversation hearts for the best looking pieces before you start, though!
Homemade Dark Chocolate Truffles and White Chocolate Truffles are both decadent options and the homemade recipe are just a little bit more special than a box of the pre-made chocolates. Homemade truffles are always fresher and often have a creamier, richer consistency than some of the ones you can buy.
Molten Center Chocolate Cakes are baked with a chocolate truffle in the center of the cake batter, which is what creates the oh-so-indulgent molten chocolate filling in this cake. This dessert should be made at the last minute, but it is well worth the effort because it is a showstopper.
Simple Dark Chocolate Soffles are another treat that should be made at the last minute, but these deliver a large dose of dark chocolate and are very impressive when you serve them. Fortunately, they’re also much easier to make than you might think, so they’re a great choice for dessert after a romantic dinner.
Classic Chocolate Mousse is a great choice if you want a dessert that can be prepared in advance. The airy mousse tastes almost like chocolate pudding but is much lighter and more elegant. You can spoon the mousse into pretty dessert cups or even into martini glasses, for a more upscale presentation. Garnish this with a dollop of whipped cream or a sprinkle of chocolate shavings.
Flourless Chocolate Cakelets can also be prepared in advance, so you won’t find yourself rushing to get things ready on Valentine’s Day itself. They look like brownies, but have a very tender, melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture that makes them feel a little bit more special than just another brownie. The recipe makes enough to serve for Valentine’s Day dessert and a few to have leftover for lunch the day after, which is a nice bonus.
This White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Tart delivers the best of both white and dark chocolate. The velvety filling, which should be made with high quality white chocolate, is ultra-creamy and has a tremendous amount of vanilla flavor. The dark chocolate comes in because the tart shell is made with a buttery, cocoa dough that delivers more than enough dark chocolate flavor to balance out the creaminess of the filling.
Individual Nutella Bread Puddings can be the perfect Valentine’s Day comfort food on a chilly winter night, since they are especially delicious when they are served warm. The individual dishes are perfectly portioned and you get that delicious combination of chocolate and hazelnuts in each one. To make these even more decadent, you can top them with a little extra dab of Nutella while they are still warm from the oven.
Churros con Chocolate will definitely have you falling in love, even if churros are not the first dessert you think of for Valentine’s Day. The crisp, sweet churros are addictive, and the intense chocolate dipping sauce is the perfect pairing. A plate of these is a wonderful treat to share while watching a movie or sitting by the fire, so you can take your time with each churro.
What do you think?