18 Unique Valentine's Day Desserts to Make This Year

18 Unique Valentine's Day Desserts To Make This Year

These 18 unique Valentine’s Day desserts are the perfect way to show your valentine how much you love them! The best way to the heart is through their stomach– which Valentine’s Day Desserts will you be making this year?

Here are 18 Unique Valentine's Day Desserts that Your Valentine (or Galentines) Will Devour!

You know those people who always said, “The best way to a person’s heart is their stomach”? They were right. They were absolutely right. What better way than making incredible Valentine’s Day desserts for them?

Whether or not you have that special someone in your life this year for Valentine’s Day, the solution is always and will always be dessert. The real question is, what dessert should I make for my Valentine this year? Well if you’re struggling to find an answer, please allow me to give you 18 different Valentine’s Day dessert ideas to make this year!

If you’re looking for something absolutely rich and decadent like a dark chocolate cheesecake, something to impress them like an apple rose tart, or something cute and sweet like these conversation heart sugar cookies, this list has a unique dessert for you!

Here are 18 Unique Valentine’s Day Desserts to make for your sweet Valentine (or Galentines) this year!

1. Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Ah, vanilla bean creme brûlée. It’s safe to say this is easily one of the first “fancy-ish” desserts I fell in love with; another reason why this is the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. Even though this creme brûlée has such a simple, delicate flavor like vanilla bean, it never fails to disappoint. Creme brûlée has the perfect combination of a crunchy, caramelized “burnt” sugar layer and a rich, creamy custard beneath it. You can find the recipe here. The best tips I have for making creme brûlées include the following:

Temper your eggs very slowly. Tempering is the process of slowly adding a hot liquid (whether that’s cream, milk, or something else) from a pot to a separate bowl containing an egg mixture while whisking constantly. This allows the eggs to gradually become closer to the temperature of your hot liquid to prevent cooking the eggs too quickly and creating cooked egg bits in your creme brulee.
Use a water bath when baking your ramekins. I cannot stress this enough. A water bath helps to distribute the heat of the oven evenly between your creme brulees and cook the custards without turning them into scrambled eggs. This is a must!

2. Chocolate Pots de Creme

If you’re not much of a vanilla bean creme brulee fan, but you do still want something rich and creamy, I give you the chocolate pot de creme. In a summarized version, a chocolate pot de creme is a bit like a vanilla bean creme brûlée but with rich chocolate flavor and without the burnt sugar top.

These chocolate pots de creme are incredibly easy to make– you’ll just need a blender and a pot! This Valentine’s Day dessert is particularly good when you need something you can make ahead of time and leave in the fridge until you want to eat it. Perfect for those with a busy schedule! You can find the recipe here.

3. Cardamom & Apple Rose Tart

If you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day dessert to impress and stun your loved ones with, look no further. This beautiful and stunning apple rose tart tastes just like a classic apple pie with a buttery crust, but with an added hint of cardamom and cinnamon spices that pair perfectly with the apples.

Inspired by the layered petals of a blooming rose, this cardamom & apple rose tart recipe is guaranteed to impress those lucky enough to have a slice. The rose apple tart has a buttery, pâte brisée tart shell, filled with a thin layer of caramelized sugar elevated with cardamom and cinnamon spices, and finished with an ornately arranged apple-slice “rose” to create the perfect dessert. You can find the recipe here.

4. Strawberry Shortcake

These strawberry shortcakes are a household favorite, and would make an excellent Valentine’s Day dessert for your valentine! There are typically two versions of strawberry shortcake I see– one made with a sweet biscuit and one made with vanilla cake. I hate to be the one to say it, but if you’ve been making your strawberry shortcakes with vanilla cake, you’ve been making them wrong!

This recipe yields coarse granulated sugar on top of fluffy, buttery biscuits, homemade chantilly cream, and macerated strawberry pieces. It’s a relatively simple dessert to make and is absolutely delicious! You can find the recipe here.

5. Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

The first time I had a molten chocolate lava cake, I was absolutely amazed. I was absolutely amazed at how quickly I had eaten the entire thing. Nowadays, I’ve seen a lot of molten chocolate lava cakes from different restaurants and pizza places, but nothing beats a homemade molten chocolate lava cake. Jazz it up with a light dusting of powdered sugar, serve it with some vanilla bean ice cream, and it’ll be just like it came from a professional kitchen! You can find the recipe here.

6. Valentine’s Day Candy Heart-Themed Sugar Cookies

Looking for something a little cuter? Maybe something cleaner to eat that won’t result in melted chocolate on your new dress? May I present to you, these Valentine’s Day conversation hearts-themed sugar cookies! The best part about these cookies is that they can be made even a couple days before Valentine’s Day and make great Galentine’s Day party favors for your friends. You can personalize each conversation heart cookie with different sayings and even make them specific for each special Galentine in your life.

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7. Red Velvet Brownies

If you’re a big red velvet fan, you’ll love these red velvet brownies. They’re rich, fudgy, and a mesmerizing red color. If you want to make these brownies even cuter, you can cut them out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make little red heart brownies! Drizzle them with a little melted white chocolate and you’ve just created the cutest Valentine’s Day dessert brownies! You can find the recipe here.

8. “The Great British Bake Off” Paul Hollywood’s Raspberry Donuts

Whether you’re having a Valentine’s Day dessert for breakfast or after dinner, these raspberry-filled yeast donuts are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth! If you’ve ever seen The Great British Bake Off, this recipe comes from Paul Hollywood’s recipe book! Yeast donuts are fluffy, light and are excellent vehicles for all types of fillings. If you’re not a raspberry lover, you can always substitute the raspberry jam in this recipe for blueberry, strawberry, or blackberry preserves! You can find the recipe here.

9. Chocolate Covered Strawberries

In case you may not want a super creamy Valentine’s Day dessert, I am obligated to add a tried-and-true Valentine’s Day classic dessert to this list– chocolate-covered strawberries! These are a classic for a reason! Chocolate-covered strawberries are easy to make and the most romantic and simply dessert to include for your Valentine’s Day dinner. If you even need one, you can find the recipe here.

10. Easy Nutella “Mousse”

Another deceivingly easy recipe that would make an excellent Valentine’s Day dessert is nutella mousse. With just two ingredients, this nutella mousse can be whipped up, piped into a martini glass, and topped with some fresh strawberries or raspberries. It’s such a simple recipe, but with decadent and delicious results. You can find the recipe here.

11. Heart-Shaped Linzer Cookies

If you’re looking for another cute, aesthetically pleasing option, I suggest making these adorable heart-shaped Linzer cookies. Linzer cookies are essentially a cookie sandwich with jam in the middle, but one of the cookies has a heart-shaped cutout punched into it. These cookies are fairly easy to make and would make excellent additions to any Galentine’s Day picnic or party. You can find the recipe here.

12. Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Maybe your child is having a Valentine’s Day party at school and you need a dessert to bring– try these red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Red velvet is extraordinarily popular with kids and adults alike, and the vibrant red color makes a perfect festive Valentine’s Day dessert. Not a big fan of cream cheese frosting? That’s ok! Exchange the cream cheese frosting with some vanilla buttercream and you’re good to go. There’s a reason why red velvet cupcakes are so popular. You can find the recipe here.

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13. Tropical Mango Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is a traditional Italian dessert made with very few ingredients. If you’re looking for perhaps a more tropical Valentine’s Day dessert, try this mango panna cotta! Panna cottas make excellent gluten-free desserts and can be easily turned into a vegan dessert.

Typically, panna cottas are made by heating heavy cream in a pot over the stove, adding in a sweetener like sugar, mixing in bloomed gelatin, and then pouring into a glass and chilling in the fridge for a few hours to set up. If you want to make a vegan version of this panna cotta, you can substitute the heavy cream for coconut milk and exchange the full gelatin amount for half the amount in agar agar. You can also customize the panna cotta flavor by mixing in different fruit purees or topping your vanilla panna cotta with different fruit compotes/preserves. You can find the recipe here.

14. Easy Coffee “Mousse”

Similar to the nutella mousse recipe, this coffee mousse is both decadent and extremely easy to make. With only a handful of ingredients, this coffee mousse can be whipped up in a flash and piped into a cute martini glass. Garnish the coffee mousse with some red, pink, and white sprinkles and you’ve got yourself an easy Valentine’s Day dessert for your coffee-obsessed valentine! You can find the recipe here.

15. Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

Who doesn’t love oreos and ice cream? These oreo ice cream sandwiches make great make-ahead Valentine’s Day desserts that are guaranteed to put a smile on your Valentine’s face! Let’s face it, most of us all have the same weakness– ice cream. What better way to put a creative spin on a beloved dessert! Make these oreo ice cream sandwiches in advance and keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to eat them! You can find the recipe here.

16. Raspberry Souffle

Who doesn’t love a light, fluffy souffle? I know what you’re thinking– this sounds too hard to make! While souffles can seem like a daunting Valentine’s Day dessert, they are delicious and great for impressing your Valentine or Galentines by far! This recipe uses raspberries to create an adorable pink raspberry souffle.

The trick in making souffles is all in the technique. When you’re folding the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, be sure to do it extra gently to not deflate the precious egg whites! The key to such a high-rising souffle is the air incorporated in your egg whites, so be extra careful when doing so to ensure a beautifully executed raspberry souffle. You can find the recipe here.

17. Chocolate Cheesecake

During the years I worked in a professional pastry kitchen at a luxury hotel, the most popular dessert by far was cheesecake. It didn’t matter what flavor was in rotation, people would always order the cheesecake! This chocolate cheesecake recipe combines rich chocolate with creamy cheesecake to make the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert! You can find the recipe here.

18. BJ’s Chocolate Chip Pizookie (CopyCat Recipe)

Recently, I was shocked to find out that not all cities in Florida have a BJ’s restaurant. If you’ve also never heard of them, they are famous for their “pizookie” dessert (or pizza-cookies). Baked in a small cast-iron skillet, these pizookies are essentially a thick, delicious cookie topped with sweet sauces, whipped cream, and ice cream. My favorite pizookie flavor has to be the classic chocolate chip pizookie, complete with melty chocolate chips, a drizzle of hot fudge sauce, a swirl of whipped cream, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. What more could you ask for in a Valentine’s Day dessert? You can find the copycat recipe here.

There you have it– 18 unique Valentine’s Day desserts to make for your valentine (or galentines) this year! Try out a new dessert from this list and test your baking skills for your loved ones– let us know how it goes!

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