Easy Valentine Day Dessert Recipes

Make a special dessert part of your Valentine Day dinner.

Use these easy Valentine Day dessert recipes to make your Valentine dinner complete.

Since chocolate is a traditional gift for Valentine’s Day, use the same ingredient to make a memorable and delicious dessert. These recipes also use fresh fruit, which is always so welcome in winter.

Rhubarb is a good choice, because its fresh pink colour is the perfect shade for a Valentine dessert. I don’t usually buy imported fruits, preferring to stick to the varieties that are in season and available locally. But for this special meal I might make an exception, and use the slightly acidic and tangy passion fruit, or some fragrant mango.

In fact you won’t go wrong if you simply serve a platter of luscious, super-ripe fruits, if you don’t have time to make one of these easy Valentine Day dessert recipes.

EASY VALENTINE’S DAY DESSERT RECIPES

MANGO WITH CHOCOLATE MERINGUE
Succulent mango slices under an airy topping of nutty, chocolatey meringue. A great choice for Valentine's Day. Delicious!

Serves 6 Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. Peel 2 medium ripe mangoes and cube the flesh. Mix with the finely grated zest of an orange and divide between six ovenproof individual ramekins. Place 3 large egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks. Whisk in 125g (1/2 cup) caster sugar until the whites are stiff and glossy. Fold in 1 tbsp cocoa powder. Spoon over the fruit, and sprinkle 15g (1 tbsp) finely chopped hazelnuts over the top. Bake for 20-25 mins until the meringue is crisp on the outside. Serve at once.

FRESH FRUITS WITH CHOCOLATE FONDUE
Use a selection of fruits, peeled and cut into cubes if large. Try mango, pineapple, whole strawberries, juicy pears, strawberries or banana chunks. The healthiest chocolate choice is any brand of dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa solids. The cheaper brands are very high in fat and sugar, and don’t taste nearly as good. This recipe makes a generous quantity of chocolate fondue, so you may prefer to omit the alcohol and serve it as a special Valentine dessert for the whole family.

Serves 2 Break 200g (1 ½ cups) dark chocolate into pieces, and place in a heatproof bowl with 50g (1/4 cup) organic butter, 75ml (1/3 cup) water and 2 tbsp white rum (optional) and place over a saucepan of gently simmering water, so that the base of the bowl is clear of the water. Leave for 5-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chocolate has melted. Stir to make a smooth sauce, remove from the heat and pour into the serving bowl.
Arrange the fruit on a platter with forks or cocktail sticks. Serve a small bowl of chopped nuts alongside if you wish. To eat, simply dip pieces of fruit into chocolate, then into nuts.

PASSION FRUIT PUDDING
This dish is a perfect and easy Valentines Day dessert recipe, but takes a little time. You can make it the day before and serve cold. It has a pretty pink filling of fresh forced rhubarb and the light sponge topping is sparked up with the zesty flavour of passion fruit. There is cream in the sponge, which makes it a good choice for a special occasion.

Serves 6-8 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Cut 400g (12 oz) slender pink rhubarb into 4cm (1 ½ inch) pieces. Place in a saucepan dish, sprinkle over 85g (1/3 cup) caster sugar and add 4 tbsp water and cook very gently for about 20 mins until the rhubarb is tender, but hasn’t lost its shape. Strain off the juice and set aside. Spray-oil a 2-litre (4 pint) ovenproof dish, and put in the rhubarb. Halve 7 ripe and wrinkly passion fruit, scoop out the pulp into a sieve placed over a bowl and rub with a wooden spoon. Discard the seeds.
Put 3 large egg yolks and 150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar into a bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Whisk in the passion fruit juice, then sift in 75g (2/3 cup) self-raising (self-rising) flour and a pinch of salt. Fold in, then stir in 150ml (2/3 cup) each of semi-skimmed milk and single (light) cream. Whisk 3 egg whites with a large pinch of cream of tartar until they form soft peaks, tehn stir gently through the sponge mix. Spread this over the rhubarb, and place the dish in a large roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the roasting tin to come halfway up the side of the dish, then bake for 45 mins until the sponge is firm. Serve warm or cold, with icing sugar dredged on top (in a heart shape if you wish), and serve the rhubarb juices alongside as a sauce.

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