Sugary sweets for your sweetheart
Sugary sweets for your sweetheart
By: Compiled by Hillary Haenes
Readers wrote in to share their Valentine’s dessert recipes along with a special memory associated with it. Have fun deciding which one you’ll make for your loved one this Valentine’s Day!
Nancy Olcott made this flourless chocolate cake with a rich, fudge-like quality several times. She said it is perfect for the end of that special meal, but advises that it takes some time to prepare so make it the day before.
Popular dessert: “The first time I made this cake, it was for an auctioned dinner for the American Cancer Society. The group who came for dinner raved about the dessert, so I have made it again for other dinners.”
Decadent chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ganache
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use chocolate from Trader Joe’s — make sure to use bittersweet — not unsweetened)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces — you will need more butter to prepare the pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Frangelico liqueur
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; sifted if lumpy (You will need a little more to prepare the pan.)
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan and line it with a round of parchment paper. Lightly dust with extra cocoa powder and tap out any excess.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt for one minute and then stir with a rubber spatula. Continue at short time intervals (30 to 60 seconds) until mixture is smooth. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, Frangelico and water. Beat on medium-high speed until mixture is foamy, pale in color and doubled in volume, about two minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually pour in chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium and beat until well-blended, about 30 seconds. Add the cocoa and mix on medium speed just until well-blended, about 30 seconds.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Test with a pick — should look slight wet and gooey. Don’t over-bake. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. If necessary, gently push the edges down with your fingertips to even out the layer. After 30 minutes, run a knife along the edges to loosen the cake, cover the cake with a wire rack and invert to remove. Remove the pan and parchment paper and let the cake cool completely. When completely cooled, transfer cake to a plate, cover and refrigerate until cake is very cold, six hours or overnight. Makes one nine-inch cake; serves 12 to 14 generously.
Chocolate ganache
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions
Put the semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small pan, over low heat, until just hot to the touch. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Mix well with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts.
Glaze the very cold cake with the chocolate ganache. The ganache will drip over the edges of the cake. Refrigerate the glazed cake for about an hour. Decorate the cake with your favorite berries. To serve, cut into slim slices using a warm knife if necessary.
Angene Grigg’s s’mores mud pie
This is a recipe that she’s made for years. Angene Grigg loves to prepare the s’mores mud pie cake for her family of ice cream eaters. Not only does it look impressive and taste terrific, but can easily be made ahead of time. And it is a great way to top off a Valentine’s Day dinner.
Funny memory tied to this recipe: “One year my son-in-law, Derek, wanted to be in charge of browning the marshmallows under the broiler and the cake caught fire! Needless to say, we had to reapply fresh marshmallows and repeat that part of the recipe.”
S’mores mud pie
2 packages (18 rectangles) graham crackers
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 12-ounce jars chocolate fudge sauce
3/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1½ quarts chocolate ice cream
1½ quarts vanilla ice cream
2½ cups mini marshmallows
Directions
Grind graham crackers to fine crumbs and add melted butter. Press mixture into a nine-inch springform pan, coating the bottom and two inches up the sides. Freeze until solid (about 30 minutes). Next, spread one jar of fudge sauce over the crust and refreeze until solid. Stir chopped almonds and one cup of marshmallows into softened chocolate ice cream and spread mixture over frozen fudge sauce layer. Refreeze until solid. Spread second jar of fudge sauce over chocolate ice cream layer and refreeze until solid. Spread vanilla ice cream over frozen fudge layer and refreeze until solid. Place oven rack six inches from broiler and set. Top cake with remaining marshmallows and lightly toast under broiler. (This is a very fast process that takes maybe 30 seconds.) Return the cake to the freezer and refreeze until solid. Remove from springform pan when you are ready to serve.
Casey Zacks’ red velvet cake
Casey Zacks found this recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine and it has become a favorite in her household. But the buttercream frosting is her own recipe.
What this recipe means to me: “The night I met my husband was at a Christmas party, which I hosted. I made this recipe into cupcakes and I found out later that he ate several of them that night. Now red velvet cake reminds me of the night we met.”
Red velvet cake
3 eggs
3/4 cup butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2¼ cups sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring (2 tablespoons)
1½ cups buttermilk
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons vinegar
Directions
Let eggs and butter stand 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-by-1½-inch round baking pans; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder and the salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium-high for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time; beat on medium after each. Beat in food coloring on low. Add chocolate chips. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to egg mixture; beat on low-medium after each, just until combined. Stir together baking soda and vinegar. Add to batter; beat just until combined. Spread in prepared pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until pick inserted near centers comes out clean (cakes may appear marbled). Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool. Prepare buttercream frosting. Place layer flat side up on plate. Spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Stack layer, flat side up; spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Stack final layer, flat side down; spread remaining frosting on top and sides. Makes 16 servings.
2 pounds powdered sugar
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup shortening
3 tablespoons of Karo syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
Directions
Beat softened butter and shortening until smooth. Continue mixing and add Karo syrup, vanilla and salt. Alternately add powdered sugar and water and mix on high for about eight minutes.
Kelsey Rosanne Smith’s heart-shaped buttermilk biscuits with strawberries and cream
These biscuits topped with strawberries and cream are what Kelsey Smith calls a “buttery, sweet delight.” This recipe is perfect for people with a sweet tooth and the guys love it too because it is also a hearty dessert.
Family favorite: “My youngest brother, Trey, is always begging for me to make him biscuits and gravy, but I have a major sweet tooth, so strawberries and sugar are definitely my cup of tea! My family and friends are so gracious to let me “test” recipes on them (which usually ends in a brawl over who gets the next batch!). This one was a huge hit. Last year, I think I made over a dozen biscuits for five. And they were gone before I had time to stick the whipped cream back into the fridge!”
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Cut the butter into the flour with your fingertips (or pastry blender). The pieces should be the size of small peas. Measure buttermilk; set aside 1 tablespoon. Add the remaining buttermilk to the flour, and stir with a fork until the mixture just comes together. Lightly knead the dough a few times in the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured board, and roll out about 3/4 inch thick. Cut Hearts with your cookie cutter out of the dough. Reroll the scraps, if necessary. Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet, and brush the tops with the tablespoon of buttermilk. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and done. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
4 cups strawberries (hulled and sliced)
1/4 cup sugar
Cinnamon to taste
Directions
Mix together in a medium bowl.
Whipped cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Whip the cream, vanilla and sugar until soft peaks form (don’t over-whip or it will turn to butter texture).
Slice the heart biscuits in half, spoon strawberries and whipped cream onto bottom half and top with the other half of biscuit and sprinkle with powdered sugar. These also look just as delicious as two open face halves with toppings (for those of us who like extra berries and cream).
To Teresa Adamo’s family, this recipe means instant happiness. She discovered the recipe several years ago, while she was an associate editor at MÁS Magazine. Readers clamored for more food stories with recipes, so she would review contenders for each month’s issue. And that’s how Adamo stumbled upon this chocolate cupcake recipe, knowing it would make a perfect Valentine’s Day treat for her valentine.
Recipe made with love: “The first time I made a batch, they were actually a Valentine’s Day gift for my husband, Felix. I packaged them in a box that I decorated with various red and pink hearts. Of course, our two boys got to enjoy the treats as well. Especially on Valentine’s, I love to think of a “gift from the heart,” which often naturally involves food/cooking.”
Be mine cupcakes
1¼ cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 large marshmallows, pulled apart in halves for 12 pieces total
Directions
Combine dry ingredients in one medium bowl. In another larger bowl, beat together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Alternate from whisking in the dry ingredients from the medium bowl, and adding the buttermilk, into the larger one, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop about 1/4 cup of mixture into muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees in the lower half of the oven for 22 to 27 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes spring back lightly when touched. Let cool in pan on rack for about five minutes. Then, using a melon scoop, make a small indent in each cupcake center by removing a scoop-sized portion. (Tip: Save the “cake scoops,” crumble and store in a plastic container — they make a perfect topping for ice cream.) Insert one-half of a large marshmallow into each indent, pushing gently until it is even with the cupcake surface. They will melt slightly into the cupcake. Cool for another 25 to 30 minutes. Then frost completely over entire cupcake surface, hiding the marshmallow surprise. Makes one dozen.
Chocolate buttercream frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips melted and cooled.
Another 1/3 cup of unmelted chocolate chips to use to top cupcakes.
1¾ cups powdered sugar
Directions
Blend until spreading consistency. This formula makes more frosting than needed (better than not enough) and can be stored and used for other items. After cupcakes have cooled, dollop one small spoonful of frosting on the cupcake center, spreading just short of the edges. Top with three or more chocolate chips and place in fridge until set.
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