Valentine Day Dessert Recipes
Posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I wish I could actually call this “my” vanilla frosting recipe, but when you’ve got something that works so well, why reinvent the proverbial wheel??? Pillsbury’s The Complete Book of Baking is one of the best general cookbooks around for pies and cookies and cakes, and its recipe for Buttercream Frosting is a thing of beauty!
The great thing about this recipe is its simplicity:
2/3 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons half-and-half or milk
In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in vanilla and half-and-half, adding enough half-and-half for desired spreading consistency. Yield: Frosts 2-layer or 13x9-inch cake.
Now, I do admit that I tinker a bit with this vanilla frosting recipe. I use double-strength vanilla extract, to add extra depth and richness to the flavor, and I use 2 teaspoons of it. It’s no more expensive than pure vanilla extract (no one should even acknowledge the existence of the artificial stuff); and although you won’t readily find it at your local grocery store, it’s easily bought online. When you have a recipe as simple and straightforward as this one is, the quality of the ingredients is paramount. So don’t buy your butter on sale but invest in a European-style, go with the half-and-half rather than milk, and use the double-strength vanilla extract. You’ll thank me later!
Once you’ve made your vanilla frosting recipe, you can use it to frost a sheet cake or a layer cake; you can add a bit more confectioners’ sugar to make an icing to decorate your cake or cookies; you can frost 24 cupcakes; and you can just pick up a spoon and eat it “as is” … my favorite! People will wrestle with each other for the privilege of licking the bowl and the spoon.
This recipe is readily adaptable for vegans, for people with lactose intolerance, and for those who keep Kosher and need non-dairy desserts to accompany a meat meal. Use margarine (though the flavor won’t be the same as it is with butter, some accommodations are necessary in this life), and substitute vanilla soy milk for the half-and-half. Voila! Treats that everyone can enjoy!
Another beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can tint the frosting for any occasion -- red for Valentine’s Day, green for St. Paddy’s Day, yellow for Easter, pink and blue for a baby shower. And you can even leave it in its original creamy color for a wedding. This vanilla frosting recipe is too good to be true!
I'm looking for some Valentine's Day dinner help!?
I love to cook so much, but for Valentine's day I would like to cook something extra special for my boyfriend. Give me your best ideas for romantic appetizers, main courses, side dishes and desserts. Try not to make it the normal fettucine or chicken parmesean and generic stuff like that. I'm looking for something a bit out of the ordinary. Just name the dish and I will look for a recipe. Will be choosing for best answer! Thanks in advance for all the help!
***Let me add this...He WANTS me to cook because he loves my cooking. We are both extremely busy, so we eat at restaurants all the time, and take out is a staple at our home. We've been together 6 years, so he's pretty much eaten all I can cook, so I'm looking for some different ideas! Thanks!
for our anniversary a month ago i made my bf homemade spinach and cheese raviolis... he LOVED them! I wanted to make them shaped like hearts but I had never made pasta before and it didn't work out so good so I stuck to squares, but if you can you should try to!
What I'm going to make for Vday is 4-cheese pasta (my bf's fave, he begs for it all the time!) I use a recipe from allrecipes.com, and I make it kinda like macaroni and cheese and then just put a big dollop of sauce on top, but I think this time I'm going to put the sauce in the shape of a heart <3 Sometimes I make it with garlic bread too.
An easy dessert to whip up (literally 
) is some chocolate mousse in a martini glass with some strawberries on top - it looks like you spent a while on it. No need to kill yourself over dessert! And of course, its very romantic with chocolate and strawberries 
For salad I usually use dark greens, goat cheese, strawberries, walnuts, and a raspberry vinaigrette.
I hope I helped! Have fun 
Valentine's Day Dinner for Two
 |
No items matching your keywords were found.
 |
Wilton 2304-1050 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set List Price: $16.99 Sale Price: $11.16  |
|
Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day...cookie cutters for every season, and more! With a complete set of letters and numbers, designs for cowboys, stars, cars and animals, you'll be ready for any occasion... |
 |
HIC 24-ounce Porcelain Coeur A La Cr?me Dish 7.25-inch List Price: $25.99 Sale Price: $8.99 |
|
Create delicious Coeur a la creme desserts in the French fashion with this beautiful, high quality dish. Literally the Heart of Cream in French, the dessert is made by filling this dish with your favorite cream, and letting it drain through the perforations and set in your fridge... |
 |
Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets List Price: $30.00 Sale Price: $14.45 |
|
CALL IT THE BUDDY SYSTEM, because Baking with the Cake Boss is an education in the art of baking and decorating, from kneading to rolling, fondant to flowers, taught by Buddy Valastro himself, the star of TLC’s smash hit Cake Boss... |
 |
What's New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion List Price: $16.95 Sale Price: $6.99 |
|
Product Description The endlessly imaginative duo who turned cupcaking into a national pastime is back, with utterly new, eye-popping creations anyone can make. Create a race-car cupcake, a robot cupcake, or ravishing jewelry cupcakes for a birthday party... |
 |
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat List Price: $24.99 Sale Price: $11.85 |
|
random house martha stewarts cupcakes. there is no more in demand dessert right now than cupcakes and theres no better authority on them than martha stewart featuring 175 ideas including recipes for the cakes frosting fillings and decorating every home baker will be inspired... |
 |
Dippin Dots Frozen Dot Maker List Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $19.50 |
|
Magically Make Frozen Dots at Home! |
