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.
Ingredients 2 medium-sized ripe mangoes Finely grated zest of 1 orange Whites of 3 large eggs 125g/0.5 cup caster (superfine granulated) sugar 1 tbsp cocoa powder 15g/1 tbsp finely chopped hazelnuts
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2.
Peel mangoes and cube the flesh. Mix with the orange zest 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.
Ingredients 400g/12 oz rhubarb 240g/1 cup caster (superfine granulated) sugar 7 ripe and wrinkly passion fruit 3 large eggs, separated 75g (2/3 cup) self-raising (self-rising) flour pinch salt 150ml/two-thirds cup semi-skimmed (2% milkfat) milk 150ml/two-thirds cup single (light) cream large pinch cream of tartar
Serves 6-8
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
Cut the slender pink rhubarb into 4cm (1 ½ inch) pieces. Place in a saucepan, sprinkle over 85g/one-third cup 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 the passion fruit, scoop out the pulp into a sieve placed over a bowl and rub with a wooden spoon. Discard the seeds.
Put 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 the flour and salt.
Fold in, then stir in the milk and cream.
Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until they form soft peaks, then 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.
