Valentine's Day is a special occasion celebrated by couples around the world. It's a day filled with love, affection, and of course, sweet treats! Whether you're planning a romantic dinner or a cosy night in, the perfect dessert is an essential part of the celebration. From rich and indulgent chocolate cakes to light and fluffy mousse, there's something for every taste preference.
Three amazing chefs have kindly shared their expertise with us to make sure that your day is full of sweet nothings. From classic favourites to modern twists, these recipes are sure to impress your significant other and sweeten up your celebration. Whether you're an experienced baker or just starting out, you'll find plenty of inspiration to create the perfect dessert for your special someone. So, grab your apron, preheat your oven, and let's get started!
Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Compote
By Sous Chef Sasha Wadhwa– Pastry & Bakery, Couche Patisserie
Ingredients:
- Vanilla Cake
- 100 gms Maida
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 140 gms Thick Curd
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 80 gms Caster Sugar
- 50 gms oil
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Compote
- 80 gms diced Strawberries (1)
- 160 gms chopped Strawberries (2)
- 3 tbsp/45 gms Caster Sugar
- ¼ Lemon
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 150°C
- Mix the baking soda and curd well and set aside.
- Whisk oil and caster sugar until well combined.
- Add in vanilla and curd + baking soda mixture and whisk until it comes together.
- Sift in the maida and baking powder and fold gently with a spatula until the batter looks well combined and no flour pockets are visible.
- Pour into a greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted to check doneness comes out clean.
- Add 80 gms of diced strawberries to a pan with the caster sugar. On a low flame, slowly let the strawberries cook down. Stir occasionally and make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the base of the pan.
- When the mixture has thickened up (about 10-15 minutes), switch off the flame and set aside. Let it cool.
- Add the chopped strawberries to the cooked strawberry compote, along with the lemon juice and vanilla and mix to combine. Refrigerate until required.
- Slice the vanilla sponge cake and serve with a side of strawberry compote and whipped cream.
- Serving suggestion – You can also make a layered cake by slicing the cake in half horizontally, and layering it with strawberry compote and whipped cream. Cover the sides and top with whipped cream and garnish with fresh strawberries.
Blueberry & Blue Matcha Cupcake
Delicious cupcake recipe especially curated by Group Pastry Chef Balwinder Singh, Centre Point Hotel Nagpur.
Ingredients
Cup Cake Batter
- 50gm Butter
- 50gm Castor sugar
- 1no Egg
- 50gm Flour
- 2 gm Baking Powder
- 5 gm Blue Tea Matcha Powder
- 10 gm Blueberry Filling
For topping
- 20gm Whip cream
- 2gm Blue Tea Matcha Powder
- 5gm Milk Maid
- 2 no Fresh Blueberries
- Sugar Sprinklers for Garnish
Method
- Weigh all the above ingredients and cream butter and castor sugar together with a hand whisker.
- Now add eggs and mix it well till all lumps smoothen properly.
- Now add all dry ingredients and blueberry filling and mix till all ingredients may make a smooth Batter.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and bake the mixture by pouring in cupcake moulds and bake for about 12-15 min.
- For the topping take whip cream add milk maid and blue matcha powder and make smooth blue cream.
- Now cool the cupcake for an hour. Put the prepared topping cream in a piping bag and pipe the cream with a star nozzle on top of the cupcake as you desire. Now garnish with blueberries and sugar sprinklers.
Classical Vanilla and Strawberry Cake
By Chef Akash Khandelwal, Sous Chef – Pastry & Bakery, Welcomhotel Sheraton New Delhi
Ingredients
Sponge cake:
- 3 eggs with vanilla essence
- 90g sugar
- 90g flour
- 30g unsalted butter, melted
- For the syrup:
- 200ML cane sugar syrup (50gm sugar and 150ml hot water)
For the strawberry mousse:
- 3 gelatin sheets
- 370ml whipping cream (up to 40% fat)
- 250g strawberries
- 50g sugar
For the garnish:
- 250g fresh strawberries
Method
Sponge cake:
- Whisk eggs with sugar until light and fluffy, and slowly fold in the flour.
- Add the melted butter at the last and bake at 180c for 15 mins in a heart-shaped tin.
Strawberry mousse:
- Soak the gelatin in ice-cold water.
- Take the strawberries in a pan and add the sugar.
- Cook slowly and create a preserve-like structure.
- Add the soaked gelatin to the compote.
- Whip the cream until soft and fluffy.
- Fold the cream in the compote, creating a strawberry mousse.
- Chill in a refrigerator.
Assembling:
- Take a heart shape ring and arrange strawberries on the corners.
- Take the sponge and apply sugar syrup using a brush.
- Pipe the strawberry mousse using a star nozzle and put ½ strawberries in an concentric pattern