Whatever your feelings are on Valentine’s Day, special sweet treats are definitely worth getting excited over and New York City is full of them. In preparation for the holiday, restaurants and bakeries around the city have come up with festive desserts that are perfect for giving and enjoying with loved ones or to treat yourself. From heart-shaped cakes to a Japanese twist on banana split, here are some desserts that are definitely worth trying.
Quatro Leches at Casa Ora
Co-owner and pastry chef Rachel Diaz Pirard’s romantic, grown-up take on a classic tres leches cake features a dash of Santa Teresa rum and caramelized condensed milk. Diaz Pirard whips the eggs and sugar for more than 10 minutes before folding in the remaining ingredients in order to achieve an airy, bread-like texture for the cake. After soaking the cake with the caramelized milk-rum mixture, it’s finished off with sliced strawberries and salted caramel brittle. If you can’t stop by for Valentine’s Day, the quatro leches cake is on the restaurant’s everyday dessert menu.
Tartelletta alla Gianduja e Frutti di Bosco at Antica Pesa
For Valentine’s Day, this high-end Italian restaurant is serving a $90 per person prix fixe menu full of aphrodisiacs like saffron, seafood, and for dessert, hazelnut. “Each of our specials for the holiday have been created solely for Valentine’s Day, so the theme of love is very much at the forefront,” Emanuele Baldassini, head chef, said. “For dessert, we will offer a Tartelletta alla Gianduja e Frutti di Bosco, a delicate fruit tart with a layer of gianduja hazelnut cream that’s topped with mixed berries.”
Valentine’s Cake at Bien Cuit
2019 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Baker Zachary Golper has created a gorgeous multilayer cake for Valentine’s Day. Its decadent layers include dark chocolate mousse, white cake, raspberry jam, vanilla panna cotta, milk chocolatey crunch and raspberry crémeux, all enrobed in white chocolate (colored red for the occasion) and decorated with a white chocolate heart.
Strawberry Cream Oreos at Red Gate Bakery
Available through February 28, this East Village bakery is offering its housemade Oreos with a pretty in pink twist—strawberry buttercream. “At Red Gate Bakery, we’re all about updating classics,” Greg Rales, chef and owner, said. “One major improvement to the Oreo was making it an all-butter cookie. It was also imperative to use true black cocoa in these cookies, giving them a unique flavor and color while staying true to the simplicity of the Oreo. As for the strawberry filling in our Strawberry Cream Oreos, it was a natural fit! After using the strawberry buttercream to make our pink Vanilla Bean Strawberry Dream cake, it was only a matter of time before the strawberries made their way into our Oreos as well.”
Torta Per Due at Ai Fiori
For those going all-out on Valentine’s Day, Michelin-starred Ai Fiori at The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue is serving a special six-course chef’s tasting menu ($220 per person) with optional sommelier selected wine pairings ($150 per person). For dessert, pastry chef Rachel Pancho has created a chocolate sponge cake for two with chocolate mousse and raspberry jam. […]
