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  4. 14 Valentine’s Day Desserts That Will Make Your Meal Special

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

By Food & Wine January 29, 2021
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Ultimate Chocolate Mousse
Credit: Greg DuPree

If you ask us, a homemade Valentine’s Day dinner is just as romantic, if not more so, than spending the night out. And an impressive dinner calls for an equally impressive dessert. Chocolate is a classic option, of course—you could try preparing a simple, creamy mousse, or whipping up a miso chocolate tart that has the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Or, make the most of wintry citrus with dishes like a lemon curd tart or honey cake with citrus frosting. Whatever you choose, it’ll add an extra-special touch to your night.

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Miso Chocolate Tart with Black Sesame–Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust

Miso Chocolate Tart Recipe
Credit: Victor Protasio
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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.

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Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
Credit: Antonis Achilleos
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Marcela Valladolid’s gorgeous cheesecake is marbled with dulce de leche and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

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Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting

Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting
Credit: John Kernick
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This tender, light honey cake, laced with hints of coffee and orange juice, is perfect with a cup of tea.

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Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
Credit: © Jonny Valiant
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This delicious whipped-cream-topped peanut butter pie offers the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors.

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Ultimate Chocolate Mousse

Ultimate Chocolate Mousse
Credit: Greg DuPree
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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.

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Grand Marnier Soufflé

Grand Marnier Souffle
Credit: Greg DuPree
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Another recipe from our 40 Best collection, this timeless soufflé from Jacques Pépin takes just over an hour to make.

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Milk-Chocolate Pots de Crème

Milk-Chocolate Pots de Crème
Credit: © Con Poulos
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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.

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Lemon Curd Tart

Lemon Curd Tart Recipe
Credit: Victor Protasio
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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.

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Praline Brownies

Praline Brownies
Credit: © John Kernick
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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.

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Coconut Milk Cake with Pistachios, Whipped Coconut Cream and Strawberry Glaze

Coconut Milk Cake with Pistachios, Whipped Coconut Cream and Strawberry Glaze
Credit: Abby Hocking
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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

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Raspberry-Coconut Dark Chocolate Cups

Raspberry-Coconut Dark Chocolate Cups
Credit: Photo © Emma Galloway
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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.

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Walnut Galette with Bourbon-Vanilla Custard Sauce

Walnut Galette with Bourbon-Vanilla Custard Sauce
Credit: © Nicole Franzen
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This rustic tart has a super-flaky crust and a sticky-crunchy walnut filling that’s not too sweet.

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Burnt Caramel Flan

Burnt Caramel Flan
Credit: Romulo Yanes
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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.

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Red Wine Chocolate Snack Cake

Red Wine Chocolate Snack Cake
Credit: Justin Walker
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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.

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 14 Miso Chocolate Tart with Black Sesame–Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust
    2 of 14 Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
    3 of 14 Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting
    4 of 14 Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
    5 of 14 Ultimate Chocolate Mousse
    6 of 14 Grand Marnier Soufflé
    7 of 14 Milk-Chocolate Pots de Crème
    8 of 14 Lemon Curd Tart
    9 of 14 Praline Brownies
    10 of 14 Coconut Milk Cake with Pistachios, Whipped Coconut Cream and Strawberry Glaze
    11 of 14 Raspberry-Coconut Dark Chocolate Cups
    12 of 14 Walnut Galette with Bourbon-Vanilla Custard Sauce
    13 of 14 Burnt Caramel Flan
    14 of 14 Red Wine Chocolate Snack Cake

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