14 Valentine’s Day Desserts That Will Make Your Meal Special

This dreamy tart uses a touch of white miso to balance out dark chocolate in its filling, resulting in a wonderfully rich, not-too-sweet dessert.

Marcela Valladolid’s gorgeous cheesecake is marbled with dulce de leche and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

This tender, light honey cake, laced with hints of coffee and orange juice, is perfect with a cup of tea.

This delicious whipped-cream-topped peanut butter pie offers the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors.

The key to this recipe (one of our 40 Best) is to use the very best semisweet dark chocolate you can find. The better the chocolate, the better the mousse.

Another recipe from our 40 Best collection, this timeless soufflé from Jacques Pépin takes just over an hour to make.

Pot de crème ("pot of cream") is a traditional French custard typically served in a pot-shaped cup. This milk-chocolate version from pastry chef Frank Urso is super-silky and dense.

To make a simple topping for this elegant dessert, add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the leftover egg whites and whip to stiff peaks to make a meringue. Garnishing the tart with mixed citrus segments adds a natural sweetness to balance the rich, tart lemon curd filling. Read Jamila Robinson’s essay about this recipe, Romancing the Stove.

Pastry chef Kelly Fields of Willa Jean in New Orleans makes her delicious fudgy brownies with brown sugar, dark chocolate and cocoa powder, and studs them with crunchy bites of nutty pecan praline.

Chef Angela Garbacz’s Coconut Milk Cake has crunchy edges, a gooey, thick crumb and it just happens to be vegan. Topped with pillowy whipped coconut cream and a gorgeous bright pink Strawberry Glaze, this cake is a showstopper. You can use the same base recipe to make round or square cakes, loaf cakes, and cupcakes, and top it with whichever fruit, nuts, and toppings you like best

You can use fresh or frozen raspberries to make these easy treats, which have a red-and-pink-hued filling that’s very on theme.

This rustic tart has a super-flaky crust and a sticky-crunchy walnut filling that’s not too sweet.

Photographer Romulo Yanes lets the requisite caramel sauce in this vanilla-flecked flan go a shade darker for a faint bitter edge that cuts through the dense, sweet custard. For a distinctly Cuban touch, he tops the flan with a rum-spiked whipped cream.

We all cook with red wine, adding a glug or two to enrich pan sauces and stews. Here, Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple makes the case for baking with it as well. Cabernet Sauvignon adds fruity notes that brighten this chocolate cake, which is great for a midday snack or casual dessert.