As Valentine’s Day approaches, couples begin to think of the romantic gifts they will get their partners and the fancy restaurant they will go to on that special night. This Valentine’s Day, after you have cooked your partner a romantic meal or after you have gone to your favorite restaurant, leave room for dessert. With these easy dessert recipes, your partner will be glad they have you as their Valentine.
Raspberry Cheesecake
Few people can resist the power of a cheesecake, especially when it has sweet raspberries swirled within. Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Blend one and a half cups of fresh raspberries (you can also use frozen raspberries that have been thawed) until the mixture is smooth. Remove the seeds from the mixture by pouring the raspberry mixture through a fine sieve. Add one third of a cup of sweetened condensed milk to the raspberry mixture and stir. In a large mixing bowl, beat two eight ounce packages of softened cream cheese, three eggs, and the remainder of the sweetened condensed milk (originally a fourteen ounce can). Pour this mixture into two separate six ounce chocolate pie crusts (these can be bought pre-made at any grocery store). Lightly drizzle the raspberry mixture onto the two cheesecakes and use a knife to create swirls of raspberry through the cheesecake. Bake the cheesecakes for twenty five minutes. Once the cheesecakes have cooled down, cover them and refrigerate them for at least four hours before serving.
Baked Alaska
There are few desserts as decadent as a Baked Alaska. This recipe will make individual servings for your special Valentine’s night. On a baking sheet, place six individual servings of store-bought sponge cakes. On each cake, place one tablespoon of your favorite strawberry preserves. Top the preserves with one scoop of vanilla ice cream. Spoon some store-bought blueberry sauce over the ice cream and then place the baking sheet in the freezer. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat four egg whites until they just start to foam. Slowly beat in half a cup of sugar and one quarter of a teaspoon of salt. Beat the entire mixture until it forms stiff peaks (when you pull up on the mixture, it drags some of the egg whites up into a peak that maintains its shape). Take the baking sheet out of the freezer and cover each of the six desserts completely with the egg white mixture. You must be sure not to leave any spaces where air can get through to the inside of the dessert. Freeze the desserts once again. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Bake the desserts for approximately seven minutes. You will know it is ready when the meringue surrounding the cakes has started to brown just a bit. Serve warm for a delicious sweet treat.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
What is Valentine’s without some chocolate-covered strawberries? Instead of paying an arm and a leg to get some of these sweet treats, make them yourself. You will be amazed at how easy they are to make. Melt half a pound of coarsely chopped semi-sweet or milk chocolate (you can even try white chocolate) in a double boiler. You will want to make sure the water is not boiling, just hot. Continually stir the chocolate until it has a smooth consistency. Remove the chocolate from the double boiler. Stick a toothpick into a strawberry (you can make about a dozen chocolate covered strawberries with this recipe) and dip it almost all the way up to the stem in the chocolate. Place the strawberry on wax paper to cool. Once you have dipped all of the strawberries, refrigerate them until your romantic dinner. Served with champagne, these strawberries will be divine.
