14 desserts to make your Valentine swoon
Scrap the roses and avoid the gimmicky cards this Valentine’s Day – we know what the true key to someone’s heart is: homemade dessert, of course!
Be it a heart-shaped fudge cake, an Oreo banoffee pie or a sharing pan brownie, we’ve got a ravishing roster of desserts designed to make your Valentine swoon. Time to tuck into some sweet, gooey goodness.
1. Fudgy chocolate brownie cake
Fudgy. Chocolate. Brownie. Just the name of this cake is enough to bring on butterflies. Sure, it’s a little schmaltzy, but on what other day is it appropriate to make a heart-shaped brownie cake? Not many!
Take it from us, nothing says I love you quite like mini Oreo banoffee pies. This recipe is completely fail-safe – everyone loves Oreos, right? The perfect pud to devour with a special someone.
Why dress up and leave the house to eat, when you can curl up indoors with a hot chocolate fondant instead? These rich chocolate puds are sure to ignite the emotions. Make life easier by using shop-bought chocolate truffles to create that molten centre.
4. Sharing pan brownie with white chocolate Lindor
Let’s be honest, not many of us have the luxury of cooking for hours on end to impress our significant other. That’s why this sharing pan brownie exists. It’s ready and waiting to be demolished in under 45 minutes. Bon appétit!
Trust us, puddings don’t come much better than this. These individual chocolate fondants are paired with chantilly cream and salted caramel, making them the ultimate sweet treat to cosy up with on Valentine’s Day (or any day, to be quite honest).
6. Lingonberry and orange cheesecake with a gingersnap crust
If you and your other half aren’t complete chocolate fiends, how about giving this lingonberry cheesecake a go? From the crunchy ginger base to the creamy orange topping, it’s got a lot of love to give. The pretty heart finish is easier to achieve than you might think: all you need is lingonberry jam and a toothpick. You can use strawberry jam too, if lingonberries are in short supply.
7. Salted caramel brownie pudding
Score serious brownie points with this wickedly good salted caramel brownie-pudding hybrid. Turn up the romantic factor by lighting some candles and cracking open a bottle of your favourite wine – this dessert deserves it!
8. The best sticky toffee pudding
For something a little more traditional but by all means indulgent, what about a full-size tray of our best-ever sticky toffee pudding? It goes wonderfully with our toasted nut and demerara ice cream (but Häagen-Dazs will definitely do).
9. Hazelnut and cinnamon-swirl cheesecake
For the most romantic day of all, you want a dessert which screams indulgence and with good looks to boot. Behold, the beauty of our cinnamon-swirl cheesecake! We can almost taste the cinnamon caramel and creamy hazelnut liqueur-spiked filling…
Perhaps the easiest way to show them you care: a giant skillet pan cookie. Simply grab two forks and tuck in! We advise devouring when still warm and gooey from the oven.
11. Molten-middle Lindor fondants
If you can only bear a small amount of corny gesture, simply make these molten-middle fondants and let the dessert do the talking. With a luscious puddle of melted white Lindor truffle inside, these puds are sure to prompt a succession of heart-eye-emoji looks from your other half.
Sure, shop-bought chocolates are great, but have you ever given the gift of lovingly-made brownies? Take it one step further and top with Maltesers. This recipe is super easy to make and miles better than anything from a box.
13. Warm Nutella puddings with chocolate caramel
Forget about drab meal deal desserts and make your lucky recipient these warm Nutella puddings instead. If you’re short of time, serve with store-bought caramel or chocolate sauce. Sorted.
14. Crunchie honeycomb chocolate mousse
Whatever your Valentine’s Day plans are, we suggest finishing the evening with a bowl of smooth, velvety chocolate mousse, studded with chunks of honeycomb. It’s essentially a deconstructed Crunchie bar in chocolate mousse form – and who wouldn’t fall head-over-heels for that?
Need a full menu for Valentine’s Day? Check out our ultimate romantic meal guide.