valentineand39s day

Ok, so maybe nutmeg and chocolate is boring to others, but it was new to me. Particularly nutmeg and milk chocolate. I don&#39;t normally go for milk chocolate, but this tart managed to change my opinion. It was delicious enough that I&#39;m just going to share it, whether or not nutmeg and chocolate is a snooze fest! The idea comes from reading the Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, which is currently one of my favorite books. The tart crust is based off of Kate Zuckerman&#39;s hazelnut crust in The Sweet Life.

Milk Chocolate Nutmeg Tart with Hazelnut Crust

hazelnut tart crust (see below)

heavy cream

(about) nutmeg

butter

Barely sweetened whipped cream,

hazelnuts

all purpose flour

each, salt and baking powder

salted butter,

sugar

egg yolk,

Finely chop your chocolate, and cut your butter into several smaller pieces.

In a saucepan, bring the cream and 1/4 teaspoon of the ground nutmeg just to a boil around the edges. Remove it from the heat and immediately dump in the chocolate and the butter. Let it sit undisturbed for a minute. Then gently, starting from the center of the pot and stirring in small circles, begin to stir the melted chocolate into the cream. Stir in progressively larger circles (but still gently because you don’t want extra air to get in there and ruin the silky consistency), until it is completely mixed and is a uniform color.

Set aside and allow to cool for just a bit, around 10 minutes, then taste and add up to another 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to get a nice spicy flavor in the chocolate. Next, pour the chocolate mixture into the pre-baked tart crust. Set it in the fridge and let it chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Serve chilled in thin slices with soft pillows of whipped cream mounded on top.

Milk chocolate nutmeg tart

In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts and the flour together until you have a pretty fine powder. Transfer this to a small bowl and whisk in the baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute. Then, beat in the sugar on medium-high speed until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy and fully creamed together, about 6 minutes. Stop on occasion during this process to scrape down the sides.

Beat in the egg yolk until fully incorporated, a couple minutes.

Use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Then, mix it with the mixer on slow speed for a couple of minutes, until completely combined. Stop and scrape down the edges now and then to make sure everything gets mixed in. Gather the dough into a ball and pat it into a thick disc, then wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 24.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crust and carefully transfer it to a 9-inch tart pan. Press it into the tart pan, using your fingers to press together and fix any cracks (my dough cracked quite a bit, but it was really malleable and easy to press back together, making it quite nice to work with). Freeze the tart shell for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line the frozen tart shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with dry beans or pie weights. Put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven, remove the weights and lining, then pop it back into the oven to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool before filling with the chocolate filling.

Hazelnut tart crust

We have gotten totally spoiled by living near a bunch of really good ice cream shops with all sorts of great flavors. A favorite of mine is malted ice cream -- in ice cream form, not in shake/frappe form. It may not be terribly sophisticated, but I adore malt (and malted milk balls), probably because we had a malt shop in town that made insanely thick malts -- complete with whipped cream, a wafer, and a cherry on top -- when I was growing up, and it was where we went for treats on warm summer evenings. Anyhow, back to the present. Earlier in the summer, our neighborhood ice cream shop (a.k.a. our after-dinner destination almost every day) had both malted vanilla and a chocolate ice cream with pretzel pieces. I had a scoop of each together, but what I really wanted was to have them combined into one flavor (plus the pretzel bits weren&#39;t coated in anything to keep them from getting soggy, and something definitely needed to be done about that!). So, ta-da! This is basically a malted version of Cook&#39;s Illustrated&#39;s vanilla ice cream with homemade chocolate covered pretzel nubbins swirled in. I usually don&#39;t use corn syrup in anything, but I&#39;ve got to say, it does a nice job of keeping the ice cream from freezing too hard.

Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

dark chocolate

milk

corn syrup

salt

malt powder

vanilla extract

Chocolate-covered pretzel bits

Line a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper. Gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir in the butter until the mixture is smooth and the butter has completely disappeared.

Drop the pretzel bits into the chocolate and stir until all the pretzel pieces are coated. Then, using a fork, lift the pretzel bits out of the chocolate several at a time and push them onto the lined baking sheet, trying to make sure the individual pieces are separated from each other, for the most part. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until the chocolate has hardened. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Combine the cream, milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat to a bare simmer, then turn the heat down. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, malt powder, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

When the cream mixture is hot, whisk a ladleful of the hot cream into the egg yolks (whisk vigorously!) to temper them. Repeat with one or two more ladlefuls. Then, pour the egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the cream mixture.  

Cook the custard mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it has thickened to a custard texture and coats the back of a spoon (it will be around 180 F). Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a large metal bowl, then stir in the vanilla.

You can chill your custard over an ice bath, but I have hated ice baths ever since organic chemistry (I don't like bain-maries much either for the same reason). I just stick mine, covered, into the fridge and leave it overnight or until it is completely chilled.

Transfer your custard to your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions until it reaches the consistency of soft serve, adding the pretzel bits in the last minute or so of churning.   

Eat immediately (mmmm, soft serve), or transfer to an airtight container and chill for a couple hours until firm.

Malted vanilla ice cream

This delicious dairy-free, gluten-free, and whole-food tart is perfect to make for Valentine&#39;s Day. With a bit of advanced planning, you can have a special treat.

Raspberry &amp;amp; White Chocolate Tart With Cocoa Crust

(¾ oz. / 24 grams) gluten-free rolled oats

(⅔ oz. / 20 grams) dried unsweetened shredded coconut

(3 ½ oz. / 100 grams) almond flour

cocoa powder

flour

sea salt

(60 milliliters) maple syrup

(5 milliliters) pure vanilla extract

(355 milliliters) unsweetened almond milk, preferably homemade

agar agar flakes

(8 oz.) raw cacao butter, roughly chopped

raspberries

(45 milliliters) maple syrup

(15 milliliters) vanilla extract

freeze-dried raspberries,

Thoroughly oil a fluted 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom and set aside.

To the bowl of a food processor, add oats and coconut and process until finely ground. Add almond flour, cocoa powder, oat flour, brown rice flour, and salt and process to combine thoroughly. Drizzle in melted coconut oil and process until the coconut oil is evenly distributed. Add maple syrup and vanilla and process until mixture forms a ball. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flours to absorb the moisture. Remove dough from food processor and squeeze together into a ball. 

With clean, dry hands, press crust evenly into prepared tart pan about ¼-inch thick. Prick bottom of the crust a few times with a fork and bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until fragrant and edges are just starting to pull away from the sides. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Gluten-Free Cocoa Crust

To a small pot, add almond milk and agar flakes and whisk to combine. Bring up to a simmer over high heat, whisking constantly. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until agar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in cacao butter, cover again, and set aside for 10 minutes or until all the cacao butter has melted. Whisk well and set aside uncovered to cool for 5 minutes. 

Spread raspberry preserves evenly over the bottom of the baked crust and set aside.

Pour milk and cacao butter mixture into an upright blender. Add raspberries, maple syrup, and vanilla and blend until completely smooth, scraping sides of the blender as necessary. Pour this mixture into the baked crust and allow to cool for 15 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours or until completely cold and set—you can also leave it in the fridge overnight. 

To serve, remove the sides of the tart pan and place the tart on a plate. Add a few freeze-dried raspberries to a fine strainer. Holding the strainer over the chilled tart, rub the raspberries back and forth to create a fine dust. Repeat until the surface is covered in a light coating of raspberry dust. Slice with a clean, sharp knife and serve. Any remaining tart will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Filling

This irresistible pound cake is so easy and so luscious, everyone who meets it falls in love. I think I’ll be remembered for this recipe whether or not I want to be. It has become my favorite cake, and it’s most requested by my favorite person to cook for.

OMG! Coconut Pound Cake

unsalted butter

organic cane sugar

organic unbleached all-purpose flour

eggs

shredded, unsweetened coconut (I get it at the health food store)

vanilla extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)

fine sea salt

water

pure vanilla or almond extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (I use a bundt pan. You can also use two 9x5 loaf pans.)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (“as a shampooed cat”).

Meanwhile, add the vanilla to the eggs (in a separate bowl). Then add eggs one at a time to batter, beating well after each addition.

Now mix the coconut with the remaining one cup flour and the sea salt. Add to batter, using a wooden spoon to incorporate. Pour into pan(s).

Bake about 45 minutes to one hour. Test with a cake tester or long toothpick to be sure it comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. (If it doesn’t come out clean, leave it in a few minutes longer!)

Cake

Combine sugar and water and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add extract. Your glaze is now ready.

When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes through cake with skewers and pour on glaze while cake is warm. Don’t remove the cake from the pan until it is completely cool.

Teacher’s Tip: This cake is best 24 hours after baking. But it generally can't make it until then, so bake two and eat one warm and hold the other until the magic 24 hours are up! 

Glaze

Skyr, the Icelandic wonder dairy, has a lovely tangy flavor which gives the caramel a slight sour taste. The blueberries add freshness, the white chocolate some sweetness, and the sprinkle of salt magically brings everything together. A different kind of a tart, for sure, but absolutely delicious and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. This recipe comes from my book ‘From the North’ and is reprinted by permission of Page Street Publishing Co., 2018.

Chocolate-Caramel Tart With Skyr &amp;amp; Blueberries

cocoa

skyr

baking soda

white chocolate chips

coconut oil

freeze-dried blueberries,

blueberries,

Kahlúa

In a food processor, pulse the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse a few more times.

Add the flour, cocoa and salt and pulse until just incorporated. With your hands, press the dough evenly into a 8-9 inch pie pan (I use tart pan with loose bottom) then chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prick the tart shell a few times with a fork and if you have them, add pie weights on top of a piece of parchment paper to keep the crust from rising. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool completely before adding filling.

For the tart shell

Whisk the milk, skyr, sugar and baking soda in a large pot. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, then lower heat to low and let simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until you have a smooth amber-colored caramel. While making the caramel, it will foam, so use a large pot or divide the mixture into two pots to make it easier and to avoid the caramel from boiling over. Don't let the foam scare you, just keep an eye on the caramel and make sure it doesn't burn. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every 3-5 minutes.

Add salt to the caramel before pouring it through a strainer and let cool to room temp. before pouring it into the pre-baked tart shell. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Melt the chocolate over a warm water bath or in a double boiler, then stir in few drops of coconut oil. Using a fork or a pastry brush drip a Jackson Pollack inspired pattern of dribbles and drops on the tart. Decorate with crushed freeze-dried berries and fresh blueberries.

Whip the cream with the Kahlua until soft peaks form; serve on the side.

For the caramel filling and toppings

A winning formula for salad that will energize—and not bore—you will be a boon year-round. But during holiday feasts (and when in recovery mode from holiday feasts) it’s an especially welcome invigorator—perhaps most of all because it won’t taste like any green salad anyone’s had before. Recipe adapted slightly from Small Oven in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Small Oven&#39;s Green Salad With Preserved Lemon &amp;amp; Candied Ginger

lemon rind

ginger

basil leaves, chiffonaded

Thyme Vinaigrette from below,

Thick-cut, salted olive oil toast

white wine vinegar

apple cider vinegar

neutral oil (like grapeseed)

lemon

thyme

parsley (optional)

Combine the greens with the preserved lemon, candied ginger, basil, and grana padano. Dress right before serving with thyme vinaigrette, to taste. Serve as a side, or with avocado toast for a complete meal.

Preserved Lemon & Candied Ginger Salad

Combine all ingredients and use a blender or immersion blender to emulsify fully. Store leftovers in the fridge and use within a week.

Thyme Vinaigrette

This cake is only very lightly adapted from Molly Wizenberg&#39;s Winning-Hearts-and-Minds Cake -- and it gets better as it ages (or is stashed in the freezer for a bit). Serve it with powdered sugar, whipped cream, this lemon whipped cream, or nothing at all. 

Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake with Meyer Lemon Whipped Cream 

chocolate

unsalted European-style butter,

all-purpose flour

heavy whipping cream

Meyer lemon, peels only

Heat the oven to 375º F, and butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, and butter that, too. 

Chop the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler (I use a metal bowl over a simmering pan of water), stirring continuously. Once it begins to melt, add the butter, and keep stirring until both are fully melted. Add the sugar, stir to combine, and set aside to cool slightly. 

Add the eggs one at time, mixing very well after each. Mix in the flour. At this point your batter should be super smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 25 minutes -- or, as Molly says, until the center of the cake looks set and the top is shiny and a bit crackly-looking. 

Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 10 minutes; then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and revert it, so that the crackly side is facing upward. (The cake will deflate slightly as it cools.) Allow to cool completely before you serve.

Serve in wedges at room temperature with whipped cream -- or nothing at all. 


Combine the lemon peels and the cream in a heavy saucepan, and bring to just under a boil. 

Before it comes to a boil, take the cream off the heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. 

Cool completely, strain, chill, and then whip to soft peaks. Alternatively, if you don't have much time, you can grate lemon peel into cold cream before you whip it. 

Meyer Lemon Whipped Cream 

Think vegan desserts are out of your reach? Think again. While this recipe is a little time intensive, it feels much easier if you make the creamy chocolate filling a day or two ahead of time. You can also make the cake a day ahead of time, and then simply assemble it and make the ganache the day you&#39;ll be serving. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Creamy Chocolate Filling

almond, rice, or soy milk (I used soy)

organic sugar

pumpkin puree

maple syrup

almond butter

bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

coconut milk

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Place these dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 

Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk and beat until it's frothy. Whisk in the oil, vanilla, and sugar. 

Add about a third of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them together (you can use a spatula, whisk, or a hand mixer on the lowest setting). Add another third, keep mixing for a few moments, and then add the final third. When ingredients are just fully incorporated, stop mixing. 

Pour the cake batter into two round, 8 or 9-inch springform cake pans that have been greased with coconut oil. Bake for twenty-five minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake is clean. Allow the cakes to cook completely.

Vegan chocolate layer cake

To make the creamy chocolate filling: Use a food processor to process the pumpkin, cocoa, maple syrup, and almond or cashew butter till smooth. Set aside.

To make the ganache: Stir the milk and syrup together in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Pour this mixture over the chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.

To assemble the cake: remove the cakes from their pans. Place one onto your cake stand and gently shave the rounded top off of it with a sharp knife. Spread the creamy filling over this layer. Gently place the other cake over it. Pour the ganache over the cake. Transfer to a refrigerator to set for an hour. Serve. 

Creamy Chocolate Filling and Ganache 

This is the easiest, moistest bundt cake recipe I have ever made and, despite its simplicity, I have received the most compliments for it.

Sweet Cream Bundt Cake

baking powder

butter, melted

maple extract

milk, plus more as needed to yield a thin icing

Preheat oven to 350° F and grease your bundt pan.


Into a batter bowl, add the 1 1/4 cups sugar, flour and baking powder and give it a quick stir with a fork to mix. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and water until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. 

Pour batter into the greased bundt pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick tests done. 

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the heavy cream into a glass measure and add the butter and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat this in the microwave until it is very hot but not boiling. Stir cream mixture and slowly pour it over the hot bundt cake. (It will seem like a lot, but it will all absorb!). Let sit for 15 minutes. 

After the cream has absorbed but before the cake cools completely gently loosen the edges by sliding a small spatula between the cake and the pan in a few spots. Invert the pan onto a serving plate and release the cake.

Let cool completely. At this point you can serve the cake as it is (you won't believe how moist it is!) or you can drizzle with a but of icing, below. 

The cake

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding milk a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cake. 



Maple drizzle

This banana cake recipe a simple seeming cake. It&#39;s like your favorite banana bread, only lighter and fluffier, and the penuche frosting truly makes this cake.

Banana Cake with Penuche Frosting

eggs, separated

bananas, crushed

sour milk

pastry flour

chopped nuts (optional)

brown sugar

powdered sugar (up to 2 cups)

Cream together the butter and sugar, then one at a time, mix in the egg yolks, bananas, and sour milk, stirring after each addition until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients (and the nuts if using) to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, and fold into the batter.

Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans, divide the batter evenly between the pans, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Banana Cake

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the milk, raise the heat, and cook until the mixture boils. Remove from heat, and let it cool until the mixture is lukewarm.

Gradually stir in the powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Penuche Frosting

Inspired by a visit to Frank Pepe&#39;s in New Haven a couple years ago, I recreated their magically delicious pie at home with amazing results. Get yourself some really fresh littleneck clams and shuck them yourself, or ask your nice fishmonger to shuck &#39;em. I yanked a handful of the remaining oregano from the back deck herb boxes, but I think dried would work just as well. If you like clams, and you like pizza, you just might enjoy this combo. The pizza dough recipe is adapted from The Silver Spoon, one of my favorite cookbooks. Here&#39;s how my mom and dad taught me to prepare clams: the day before you plan on eating them, cover the scrubbed clams in salted water and sprinkle in a few spoonfuls of cornmeal. Stash in the fridge. The clams will eat the cornmeal and expel any sand.

Top 22 valentineand39s day recipes from across the web

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Top 22 valentineand39s day recipes from across the web

The most viewed valentineand39s day recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Milk Chocolate Nutmeg Tart with Haz...

Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Choco...

Raspberry &amp;amp; White Chocolate...

OMG! Coconut Pound Cake

Chocolate-Caramel Tart With Skyr &a...

Small Oven&#39;s Green Salad With P...

Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake wit...

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Creamy Ch...

Sweet Cream Bundt Cake

Banana Cake with Penuche Frosting

White Clam Pizza

Von Diaz’s Pork Tenderloin Pernil S...

Strawberry-Balsamic Flank Steak

Andy Bennett&#39;s Creamy Cauliflow...

A Healthy Snack – Roasted Lentils

Tahini Mousse Pie

Andrea Nguyen&#39;s Vegan &quot;Chi...

Dorie Greenspan&#39;s 3-Ingredient ...

Canal House&#39;s Chicken Thighs Wi...

Dan Leader&#39;s 4-Hour Baguette

America’s Test Kitchen’s Instant Ag...

Meera Sodha’s Cardamom &amp;amp; Ro...

The most viewed valentineand39s day recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Raspberry & White Chocolate...

Small Oven's Green Salad With P...

Andy Bennett's Creamy Cauliflow...

Andrea Nguyen's Vegan "Chi...

Dorie Greenspan's 3-Ingredient ...

Canal House's Chicken Thighs Wi...

Dan Leader's 4-Hour Baguette

Meera Sodha’s Cardamom & Ro...