It occurred to me recently just how much I love baking and making sweets for Valentine's Day. As a day where all things dolce are celebrated and noshed upon, I'm certainly not alone here, but I think part of why St. Val's Day desserts jump out at me so much is because, generally speaking, this is a holiday where sweet really, really reigns supreme.
There are arguably not a ton of standard savoury dishes for this day (though those with aphrodisiacal qualities, such as raw oysters, have long been firm favourites for a Feb. 14th dinner, as have been luxurious eats such as steak, lobster, and lamb), where sugary treats come out on top and most of us, even those who often eat very health consciously, are apt to indulge in something sweet, fun and tongue pleasingly wonderful.
I generally whip up one or more chocolate dishes for Valentine's Day, but I love anything pink or red as well, from tinted popcorn balls to homemade marshmallows to frosting topped sugar cookies. Today's mid-century recipe for the smile-inducingly named Catch-a-Valentine Cake has pink in spades and would be equally lovely for Easter, Mother's Day, a bridal or baby shower, birthday party, wedding or anniversary.
Fabulously simple to make, yet wonderfully impressive looking, this festive take on a classic marble cake (with two different coloured versions of the same cake batter, as opposed to two separate flavours of cake, though you could certainly use extracts to flavour one or both of them, if so desired) is a cinch to whip up and a fun treat for any February 14th related celebration.
{Beautiful to look at and wonderful to taste, this elegant 1950s Valentine's Day cake recipe is such a crowd pleasing choice. Naturally, if shorting isn't something you're too fond of, feel free to substitute butter, margarine, or another suitable cooking fat of your choice. Vintage recipe image source. Click here for a larger version.}
Valentine's Day itself might not be everyone's cup of (sweetened) tea, but most of us will agree that our eyes turn as wide as saucers when desserts celebrating this festive occasion are laid out before us, be they at home, in a restaurant or at the local grocery store.
This cake - which can easily be made GF by using your favourite store bought white or golden gluten-free cake mix - is free of chocolate, so it's a good choice for those who might be unable to eat it to to medical reason or simply not a fan. It's one of those delightful vintage cake recipes that looks fancy, but is not at all complicated and which most home cooks can successfully put together and bring to the table, where a chorus of cheers is bound to erupt from excited diners.
If you can't find candy hearts of any sort for the top, strawberry slices can easily be formed to make a heart shape and tiny food cutters (such as this lovely little set) can be used to cut hearts and other shapes from berries and many other fruits (and vegetables), too.
I hope that as Valentine's Day draws near, you'll get a chance to indulge in a sweet treat that truly brings you culinary joy, be it a classic cake like this 1950s gem, a decadent box of mixed chocolates, a rich soufflé, a refreshing ice cream sundae, a luscious fruit tart, a fragrant cinnamon bun, a crunchy French macaron, or anything else that - rather fittingly, one might say - your heart desires. I know I will be! :)
*PS* Thank you deeply to each of you for your understanding and kindhearted blog comments regarding the recent death of my computer. As the new one I ordered from Dell on Feb. 3rd hasn't even shipped yet (*le sigh*),
I'm thinking that - best case - I'll be receiving it on the three week end of the delivery time estimate I was given when I ordered. As mentioned in my post here last week, I am still online, just substantially less as I'm making due with accessing the web just from my phone. Hopefully my new laptop will get here soon and I can slip right back into my usual online routine (complete with a tons of catching up!).
