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Whether you’re baking for a romantic partner, a friend, a family member, or yourself, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to get creative in the kitchen.
Whipping up some homemade heart-shaped biscuits, rich red velvet cake, and fluffy choux buns can be a great way to show a loved one that you care, or to treat yourself to something a bit special.
These 10 Valentine’s Day baking ideas are all about fun shapes, bright colours, and decadent flavours. Let us know which ones you’ll be trying in the comments below!
1. Red velvet cake
Red velvet cake certainly lives up to its name with its smooth, moist texture and rich, chocolatey flavour. Those who love it often describe it as ‘heavenly’ because each light, fluffy bite melts in your mouth.
This cake’s deep red colour also makes it the perfect Valentine’s treat and sets it apart from your typical vanilla or chocolate sponge. Plus, when finished with a sweet, cream cheese frosting and a handful of raspberries or strawberries, it looks even more romantic.
To have a go at making your own red velvet cake, check out this classic recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction (which uses red food colouring to achieve the red tint), or this recipe from Good Housekeeping, which takes a more natural approach and uses beetroot to add colouring instead.
Or, to see a video tutorial, have a watch of the video below.
2. French macarons
French macarons are sweet, delicate, cream-filled cookie sandwiches that consist mainly of egg whites, almond flour, and sugar.
These mini delights are soft and chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and are ideal for an afternoon tea. They’re beautiful to look at, too – reminiscent of cobbled Paris streets and quaint patisseries.
French macarons are also incredibly versatile, and can be flavoured almost any way that you like – from champagne and raspberry, to strawberry cheesecake, lavender, and white chocolate. Take a look at this list of 50 different macaron flavours from diys.com for more ideas.
If you’ve never made them before and are looking for somewhere to start, why not try this easy vanilla macarons recipe from Delicious Magazine? Or check out the video below to see how French chocolate ones are made.
3. Iced heart cookies
These classic iced biscuits are quick and easy to make, and sure to brighten up your day – or put a smile on the face of someone you love.
Many of us will have fond childhood memories of making cookie-cutter biscuits, and revisiting these memories to make some Valentine’s Day-inspired bakes can be a fun and nostalgic way to spend an afternoon.
Before you get started, it’s worth investing in some heart-shaped cookie cutters (or another shape of your choosing if hearts aren’t your thing). You can pick these up for a few pounds on Amazon. Or, if you’re feeling extra creative, you could try cutting your shapes by hand, or making your own cutters out of tin foil – you can find out how to do this using this YouTube video.
The next part is as simple as making cookie dough using flour, sugar, milk, and eggs; cutting the dough into shapes; baking them in the oven; and choosing how you’d like to finish them – there are endless colours, flavours, and toppings to choose from.
You could try this recipe from Delish, which shows you how to make classic cookies with pink and red buttercream icing and sprinkles. Or, to add a twist, why not try these lemon-flavoured heart-shaped cookies from The Happy Foodie?
If pink icing isn’t for you, the video below will also show you how to make some irresistible Italian butter cookies, dipped in chocolate.
4. Chocolate tart
For chocolate lovers, this sumptuous tart could be the perfect way to indulge this Valentine’s Day.
It’s made from eggs, dark chocolate, and cream, which are beaten together; poured into a sweet, crisp pastry shell; and baked until firm.
You can keep your tart simple by just flavouring it with chocolate – or get more adventurous by adding in salted caramel, hazelnut, orange, or various other tempting flavours. Tarts can also be topped with fresh berries for additional colour and flavour.
If you’re looking for a smooth, creamy dessert that’s quick and easy to make, this simple chocolate tart recipe from Jamie Oliver offers the ultimate chocolate fix.
Or, if you’d like to really push the boat out, you could try this chocolate orange tart from The Happy Foodie, this white chocolate and raspberry version from Good Housekeeping, or this salted maple chocolate one from Sainsbury’s Magazine.
If you’d rather make smaller, individual chocolate tarts, check out the video from Gordon Ramsey below.
5. Strawberry choux buns
Choux buns are light, crisp pastry balls that can be filled with a sweet or savoury filling, like whipped cream, custard, Greek yoghurt, or cream cheese. ‘Choux’ is the French word for cabbage, and in this context, it describes the cabbage-like shape of these little buns.
While they might be dainty, they certainly pack a delicious punch – and amazingly, the dough consists of only three ingredients: butter, plain flour, and eggs.
You can then experiment with flavours by trying different fillings. A popular choice is cream and fresh strawberries. If this sounds appealing, take a look at these strawberry choux buns from Delicious Magazine. Other sweet fillings and toppings you could try include rose and almond from Olive Magazine or vanilla and white chocolate from Dr. Oetker.
If you’d prefer a savoury, low-sugar alternative, this recipe from Great British Chefs has a cream cheese and herb filling – or why not try these smoked salmon choux puffs with horseradish cream from Del’s Cooking Twist?
When making choux buns, some people choose to dollop them onto a baking tray with a spoon, while others prefer to use a piping bag, which can be found on Amazon.
To see exactly how to make a basic choux pastry, check out the video below.
6. Croissants
Warm croissants, served with fruit and a cup of tea or coffee, can make for a special treat on Valentine’s Day morning – or any morning for that matter. There are also few better smells to wake up to than freshly baked pastries.
The warm, flaky, and buttery pastry of a croissant is delicious on its own. Though if you have a sweet tooth, you might fancy cutting yours open and spreading it with butter and jam. Or, for a savoury alternative, you could fill it with a slice of ham and cheese.
Croissants can be challenging to make to start with because the dough needs to rest regularly to develop all its layers. So it’s important to leave yourself enough time, and to treat it as more of a project than a quick bake.
To make a batch of classic croissants, why not try this recipe from Home Cooking Adventure? It’s relatively quick for a croissant recipe, taking a total time of 45 minutes (but possibly longer depending on the warmth of your home, as this can affect how long it takes the dough to rise while at rest).
For something more chocolatey, you could try these 3-ingredient Nutella croissants from Gimme Some Oven. They take just 40 minutes, and all you need is some ready-to-roll puff pastry, one egg, and some Nutella.
For more inspiration, check out the easy croissant recipe in the video below.
7. Sweet or savoury tear-and-share bread
Tear-and-share bread can be enjoyed with any meal, or as a delicious snack with a spread or dip of your choice. With the emphasis on sharing, this bread can be enjoyed with a loved one as part of a romantic dinner – though it also keeps well, so there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy it by yourself over a few days.
When it comes to tear-and-share bread, the flavour possibilities are almost endless. If you have a sweet tooth, you could make these lemon and raisin buns from Catering-Online, this cinnamon-spiced tear-and-share bread from Allinson’s, or this fig and rosemary version from Only Crumbs Remain.
If you prefer savoury breads, there are a whole host of interesting recipes you could try, such as this sundried tomato, black olive, and mozzarella bread from Jamie Oliver, this garlic and herb one from The Happy Foodie, or this smoky jalapeno one from Priya (who starred in series 10 of the Great British Bake Off).
You might also like to watch the video below to see how to make tomato tear-and-share pizza bread.
8. Vanilla cupcakes
Sweet and simple, the cupcake has long been used to celebrate Valentine’s Day, birthdays, weddings, baby showers – and almost any celebration you can think of.
While cupcakes come in a range of great flavours, what tends to strike people first is the elaborate way they’re decorated; often piped with intricate icing swirls and topped with fruit, sweets, or chocolate.
If you’re baking for someone else and aren’t sure what flavour to go for, it’s almost impossible to go wrong with vanilla, as it’s gentle, distinct, and loved by many.
This vanilla cupcake recipe from Mary Berry will show you how to make light, fluffy cupcakes with pastel-pink icing and a sprinkle of your choice, in just 40 minutes. Or, you could try this one from RecipeTinEats, which applies a Japanese baking technique to classic butter cupcake ingredients to keep the sponge moist for a minimum of four days.
If you fancy experimenting with other flavours, why not try making these banana cupcakes from Baking With Granny, or these lemon and blueberry cupcakes from The Baking Explorer?
We also love these vanilla cupcakes that each have a secret heart baked inside. Check out the video below to see how it’s done.
9. Baked jammy doughnuts
Doughnuts are so cheap and easy to get hold of in the supermarket that few of us think of making them at home. However, there’s something so much more satisfying about enjoying a mouthwateringly soft doughnut that you’ve baked yourself, or someone has baked for you.
If you’re making doughnuts yourself, you’ll also have the option to bake them, which is a healthier alternative to the deep-fried versions we typically find in shops.
This baked jammy doughnut recipe from So Vegan puts a healthy spin on the traditional doughnut by using a classic yeast dough instead of a cake mixture (for a lower sugar and fat content), and cooking them in the oven – rather than in a deep-fat fryer or a large pan of oil. While this recipe uses a strawberry jam filling, you can substitute this for a filling of your choice, such as raspberry or blackberry jam, custard, or chocolate.
If you’d prefer to create doughnuts without a filling, you could also make baked ring doughnuts with a glaze or icing. Have a watch of the video below to see how it’s done.
10. Chocolate truffles
Truffles are some of the most romantic sweet treats around, and homemade truffles can make the gesture feel more personal. Or, if you plan to treat yourself and enjoy them on your own, knowing you took the time to make them at home can make every bite feel so much more rewarding.
Although truffles are rich, velvety, and incredibly decadent, their bite-sized nature means they can be enjoyed in smaller doses, which is great if you fancy a mini sweet treat over a larger dessert.
In their traditional form, truffles are essentially balls of chocolate ganache (chopped chocolate, added to warm cream) coated in powdered chocolate, nuts, desiccated coconut, crushed raspberries, or whatever takes your fancy. They typically don’t require an oven, as once the ganache balls have been rolled, they’re placed in the fridge to set, and will be ready to serve a couple of hours later.
If you’re feeling tempted by the idea of homemade truffles, it’s worth checking out this dark chocolate truffle recipe from Jamie Oliver, which uses brandy, mixed nuts and clementine zest. Or why not try this white chocolate truffle one from BBC Good Food?
The video below will also show you how to make eight types of truffles, including tiramisu, brigadeiro (traditional Brazilian fudge balls), Oreo, and peanut butter flavours. All truffles shown in the video are no-bake, apart from the red velvet truffles, which require some oven time.
Final thoughts…
The wonderful thing about time spent in the kitchen is that there’s always something new to try; whether that’s a new technique, new flavours, or a brand-new recipe entirely. And if you’re in need of some fresh inspiration, a Valentine’s Day theme can hopefully offer you a few ideas.
These Valentine’s Day recipes can be taken up by anyone and enjoyed with a partner, family, friends, or as a tasty treat for yourself. So whether you consider Valentine’s Day to be romantic or not, it’s still a great excuse to explore your creativity in the kitchen.
For some additional ideas, head over to our baking section. Here you’ll find everything from tips on developing technical baking skills to recipes with a healthy twist.
Are you planning to try any of the recipes above? Or perhaps you have some additional ideas that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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Give unwanteds a better next chapter
Your once-loved items are just waiting to be useful again. Pop them in a box, send them to Vintage Cash Cow for free, and they’ll make you an offer to rehome them all.
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