valentines day baking

Our really easy chocolate cake recipe is perfect for birthdays. It’s so moist and fudgy and will keep well for 4–5 days. For buttercream quantities, instead of ganache, use our <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/sponge_cake_calculator">cake calculator</a>.

Each serving provides 477 kcal, 6.5g protein, 56g carbohydrates (of which 40g sugars), 25g fat (of which 10.5g saturates), 2.5g fibre and 0.6g salt.

Easy chocolate cake

flour

350 grams/12½oz caster sugar

cocoa powder

1½ tsp baking powder

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

free-range eggs

250 milliliters/9fl oz milk

125 milliliters/4½fl oz vegetable oil

tsp vanilla extract

250 milliliters/9fl oz boiling water

chocolate

200 milliliters/7fl oz double cream

Make these light-as-a-feather cupcakes with their pretty pink decoration for someone you love.

Valentine cupcakes

125 grams/4 ounces unsalted butter,

caster sugar

raspberries

passion fruit, sieved pulp only

500 grams/1lb 1½oz icing sugar

butter

vanilla pod, seeds only

pink liquid food colouring

milliliters/1¾oz milk

hundreds and thousands

Exotic, fragrant, beautiful – what’s not to love about this luxurious cake? Topped with icing and baked in a bundt tin, it's a cake for when you're out to impress.

For this recipe you will need a 23–25cm/9–10in bundt tin and a freestanding mixer or a hand-held electric mixer. 

Persian love cake 

golden caster sugar

eggs,

½ unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest and juice

½ orange, finely grated zest and juice

tsp rosewater or orange blossom water

150 grams/5½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon

100 grams/3½oz ground almonds

grams/3½oz pistachios

tbsp soured cream

icing sugar

½ lemon, juice only

orange juice

rosewater

tbsp edible dried rose petals,

grams/1 ounces nibbed pistachios (see tip)

We made this as a birthday cake for Italy, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of its unification in 2011. Gianduia is a speciality of the Piedmont region and it’s a mixture of ground hazelnuts and chocolate.

Chocolate hazelnut cake 

hazelnuts

200 grams/7 ounces butter, cubed,

dark chocolate,

caster sugar,

tbsp hazelnut liqueur or amaretto liqueur (or fresh orange juice)

grams/5½oz

These delicious raspberry and white chocolate muffins couldn’t be simpler to make and use frozen raspberries for ease. For really light, well-risen muffins, it’s important not to over-mix. Don't worry about any tiny smears of flour in the batter.

Raspberry and white chocolate muffins 

300 grams/10½oz plain flour

salt

100 milliliters/3½fl oz milk

100 milliliters/3½fl oz soured cream

sunflower oil

vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

grams/5½oz raspberries

grams/3½oz white chocolate chips

Mary Berry's scones are the perfect easy tea-time treat, whether jam-and-cream-topped (in whichever order you like), plain or packed with sultanas. 
 
Equipment: You will need a fluted 5cm/2in cutter.


Mary Berry's scones

450 grams/1lb self-raising flour

level tsp baking powder

grams/1¾oz caster sugar

grams/3½oz butter, softened,

milk

(optional)

strawberry jam

clotted cream

Nadiya's chewy, almond and raspberry amaretti have a fresh raspberry hidden in the middle. They make a lovely gift, but are best eaten straight away. 

Raspberry amaretti biscuits

butter,

340 grams/11¾oz caster sugar

340 grams/11¾oz ground almonds

grams/¾oz freeze-dried raspberries, blitzed to a powder

almond extract

Wow your loved ones with this fun hidden heart cake. This gluten-free sponge cake is surprisingly easy to make. 

Hidden heart loaf cake

175 grams/6 ounces unsalted butter,

gluten-free self-raising flour

gluten-free baking powder

¼ tsp xanthan gum

bright pink food colouring gel

grams/4½oz unsalted butter, softened

90 grams/3¼oz icing sugar

gluten-free chocolate sprinkles

pink heart cake scraps

This is my go-to recipe when I want to make a classic chocolate chip cookie, but feel free to swap the chocolate for any other fillings you fancy. Treat this recipe like a master cookie dough and experiment with your favourite flavours. Ideally make the dough the night before you want to eat the cookies.
Each serving provides 248 kcal, 2.9g protein, 34.6g carbohydrate (of which 23g sugars), 10.6g fat (of which 6.4g saturates), 1.7g fibre and 0.33g salt.


Perfect chocolate chip cookies

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt flakes,

110 grams/3¾oz unsalted butter,

110 grams/3¾oz light brown sugar

110 grams/3¾oz caster sugar

vanilla extract

chocolate (see tip)

Edd Kimber's go-to recipe when he wants to make a classic chocolate chip cookie.

This simple lemon drizzle cake recipe is super-quick to bake and perfect with an afternoon cup of tea. It's made in a food processor, so in 10 minutes you'll have it in the oven! 

This recipe makes a lemon drizzle loaf, but if you want to make a cake in a different shape, try our <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/sponge_cake_calculator">cake calculator</a>.
Each serving provides 401 kcal, 5.3g protein, 47.5g carbohydrate (of which 31.3g sugars), 20.9g fat (of which 12.4g saturates), 0.9g fibre and 0.29g salt.


Easy lemon drizzle cake

225 grams/8 ounces unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

lemon,

icing sugar sugar

Top 10 valentines day baking recipes from across the web

The most viewed valentines day baking recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy chocolate cake

Valentine cupcakes

Persian love cake

Chocolate hazelnut cake

Raspberry and white chocolate muffi...

Mary Berry's scones

Raspberry amaretti biscuits

Hidden heart loaf cake

Perfect chocolate chip cookies

Easy lemon drizzle cake

Top 10 valentines day baking recipes from across the web

The most viewed valentines day baking recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy chocolate cake

Valentine cupcakes

Persian love cake

Chocolate hazelnut cake

Raspberry and white chocolate muffi...

Mary Berry's scones

Raspberry amaretti biscuits

Hidden heart loaf cake

Perfect chocolate chip cookies

Easy lemon drizzle cake

The most viewed valentines day baking recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine