Bake Your Heart Out: Valentine’s Day Pastries

There’s no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by baking up some treats that are made with love and lots of sprinkles! Whether you want to surprise your friends, share with your family, or just treat yourself, these pastries are the perfect way to make the holiday extra special. Don’t worry if you’ve never baked before; these recipes are simple, fun, and guaranteed to add a pop of color (and flavor) to your Valentine’s Day. Get ready to mix, bake, and decorate your way to a sweeter celebration! And don’t forget to check out the pastry photos on the sides of all recipes.

Pink Velvet Donuts

To kick it off, we have our Pink Velvet Donuts. These fuchsia-colored donuts are sure to be a Valentine’s Day success. Topped with perfect swirls of delicious cream cheese frosting and small donut crumbles. This scrumptious dessert is an amazing Valentine’s Day hit!

  Ingredients for 10 donuts:

Prep time: 15 min. Bake time: 10-12 min. Servings: 10 donuts

• Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
• 1 and ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• ½ cup of whole milk
• 1 large egg & 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1 drop of fuchsia gel food coloring
• 2 drops of deep pink gel food coloring

  Frosting:

• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 4 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream  (whipping cream)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the donut pan.  
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, milk, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and, if desired, add a few drops of food coloring. 
4. Add all the DRY ingredients to the WET ingredients, whisking to incorporate the first addition, then switching to a rubber spatula. 
5. Combine the wet and dry mixtures until just smooth. Pour the batter into the greased donut pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. 
6. Whisk the glaze ingredients together, adding food coloring until you reach the desired pink shade
7. . 
8. Dip the cooled donuts into the glaze and immediately add sprinkles. 

From my experience, this only took one hour. The donut crumbs being put on top are one whole crumbled donut used as sprinkles (optional). Don’t worry if they don’t come out as pink as you’d like; you can always add more color! These quick-and-easy Pink Velvet Donuts are a great treat for you to try!

The next dessert to spice up the day would be the Valentine’s Day Pancakes! These exquisite pancakes are red velvet, fluffy, and stacked with velvety cream cheese icing and drizzled with sweet strawberry sauce. All these different flavors create a dish guaranteed to wow any person in your life. Surprise, surprise: this takes about an hour to possibly an hour and a half. 

Ingredients for 2 Servings:

Strawberry sauce:

• ½ strawberry stemmed and diced
• ¼ cup of granulated sugar 
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Cream Cheese Filling: 

• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 4 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup of heavy cream (whipping cream) 
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Red Velvet Pancakes:

• 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
• ¾ tablespoons of cocoa powder\
• 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 ¼ cups of buttermilk
• ½ tablespoons of white vinegar
• 1 large egg, yolks and whites SEPARATED
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ¾ tablespoons of red food coloring
• Non-stick cooking spray, for greasing

Chocolate Sauce:

• 4 oz of 60% dark chocolate, roughly chopped 

For Serving:

• Whipped cream
• Chocolate chips
• 2 strawberries, halved lengthwise

Equipment Needed: 

• Heart-shaped cookie cutter, 6 inches (15 cm)
• Wire rack
• Baking sheet non-sticking spray

Strawberry sauce

1. Make the strawberry sauce and add the ½ lb of strawberries. 
2. Add ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 1 tbsp of lemon juice into a small saucepan. This is to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. 
3. Transfer the sauce to a liquid measuring cup or a medium bowl and let it cool to room temperature. 
4. Once cooled, puree the strawberry mixture with an immersion or standing blender until finally smooth, and set aside. 
5. In a large bowl, combine the 4 cups of powdered sugar, the 8 oz of cream cheese, then the 8 tbsp of unsalted butter, the ½ cup of heavy cream, and the 1 tbsp of vanilla extract. 
6. Combine with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until completely smooth, about 2-3 minutes. 
7. Transfer the filling to a Piping Bag and cut an opening about 1 in (3 cm) from the tip. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

Red Velvet Pancakes

1. In a large bowl, sift together the 2 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ tbsp of cocoa powder, 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 2 tsp of kosher salt, 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1 tsp of baking soda. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the 2 ½ cups of buttermilk and 1 tbsp of white vinegar, and let it sit for 2 minutes. 
3. To the same bowl, add 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 8 tbsp of unsalted butter, and 1 ½ tbsp of red food coloring. 
4. Mix until well combined. Whisk together the WET ingredients to the DRY ingredients. 
5. In a large separate bowl, whip the 2 egg whites with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form, 3-5 minutes, being careful not to overmix. 
6. Gently fold in the egg whites into the batter previously created. Let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. 

Oven Time

1. Preheat the oven to 250° F (120° C). Set a wire rack over the baking sheet. 
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. 
3. Place a 6-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter in the center of the pan and spray the inside with the non-stick spray. 
4. Scoop out the pancake batter into the mold, filling halfway up. 
5. Cover the pan and cook until bubbles form all over the surface and the pancake doesn’t jiggle too much, 6-8 minutes. 
6. Uncover the pan while using a wide spatula, carefully and quickly flip the mold cover, and cook the pancake for another 3-4 minutes.
7.  Remove the pancake and mold from the pan. 
8. Set the pancake on the wire rack to cool, and repeat with the remaining batter. If any batter leaks out of the mold while cooking, simply use a knife or kitchen scissors to trim off the excess once the pancakes have cooled. 

When ready to serve, drizzle some of the chocolate sauce, if you want it, onto two serving plates. Set a pancake in the center of each plate and pipe the cream cheese filling on top. Continue stacking, alternating between the pancakes and filling with three pancakes per plate. Drizzle the top pancakes with more chocolate sauce, using a piping bag or spoon, and drizzle the strawberry sauce around the top edges and down the sides of the pancake stacks. Decorate the plates with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and strawberries. 

The final dessert, Strawberry Cheesecake Macarons, takes an hour and a half to two hours. Though this is a long process, in the end, it is worth the time and patience to get a delicious taste of strawberry heaven. 

For a Serving of 10 Macarons:

• 1 ¾ of Egg White, room temperature
• ⅛ cup of granulated sugar
• 1 ⅛ cups of powdered sugar
• ⅔ cup of superfine almond flour
• 1 ¾ drops of red food coloring

Filling:                                                                   

• 5 oz of cream cheese, softened
• ⅔ cup of powdered sugar
• 1 ¼ tbsp of milk
• Strawberry jam (If wanted for the center)

1. In a medium bowl, add 3 egg whites and beat the egg whites until frothy. Keep beating (mixing) and slowly/carefully add the ¼ cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. 
2. Sift the 1 ¾ cups of powdered sugar and 1 cup of almond flour over the bowl of egg whites. 
3. Pour the dry mixture into the egg whites, giving the bowl a quarter turn every third fold. 
4. Once the batter reaches a liquid/lava consistency, transfer half to a separate bowl and include food coloring. 
5. Mix, but do not overmix. While working quickly, put the white & pink batters into separate small zip-top bags.
6.  Cut a small corner off of each bag and simply squeeze the 2 batters evenly into a large gallon-size bag or piping bag to create a beautiful multicolor effect. 
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Tip: Use a little batter to “glue” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put.
8.  In a circular motion, pipe 1 ½ dollops onto the baking sheet. 
9.  Lift the baking sheet and gently tap on the counter to settle the batter. 
10. Now, let the cookies rest. 
11. Preheat your oven to 285° F (140 °C). Make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 2 tbsp of milk in a medium bowl, mixing until it’s smooth. 
12. Set aside until it is ready to fill the cookies. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 13-15 minutes, until they have risen. Let them cool for 10 minutes. 
13. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center (if desired). 
14.  Between both parts, sandwich with another part of the cookie, macaroons are best kept refrigerated until served. Enjoy!

These are just a few of the countless mouthwatering recipes that will make your Valentine’s Day unforgettable! Dive in, savor every bite, and let your taste buds celebrate. Whether you’re cooking for someone special or treating yourself, remember that food is one of the best ways to show love. So set the mood, turn up your favorite playlist, and enjoy the delicious magic you’ve created. Go make this Valentine’s Day one to remember!