That’s not to say you can’t cook something savoury to eat first, if you fancy, but what better way to sweet talk someone than with a homemade sweet?
Find the sweet spot
Who says you have to serve dessert at night. If your loved one likes breakfast in bed, why not start the day as sweet as you’d like it to be? Made with coconut milk and coconut flour, these dairy-free coconut crepes will win anyone’s heart, particularly the lactose or gluten-intolerant. Serve with orange sauce and slices of fresh orange (Moora Citrus), or make a raspberry coulis. If you’re running short on time, a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon works, too.
Cover with goodness
This buttermilk and almond tray cake is not only delicious, the topping can be adapted to suit the intended’s personal taste. Layer with slices of fresh peach or yellow nectarine and sprinkle with almonds. Or blend icing sugar and cream cheese until smooth, smear over the cake and drizzle with fresh passionfruit pulp. If they’re berry lovers, you could also top with a mix of raspberries and strawberries (look for Berry Sweet).
Savour summer fruit
We’d be happy with a bowl of freshly sliced WA Stonefruit – mango, peach, apricot, you name it – finished with a dollop of Brownes Dairy cream at any time of day. But if you’re upping the ante for Valentine’s, this lovely strawberry and stonefruit galette gives them a starring role, too. When you leave the pastry to the experts (keep some Empire Pastry sheets in the freezer), it takes no time to prepare and even less time to gobble up. Maybe make double.
Make it berry nice
The whizzes at Empire Pastry also lend a helping hand for this tempting tart, where beautiful blueberries (look for Smart Berries or Mountain Blue) are encased in a vanilla bean shell and baked to heavenly perfection. Be sure to keep some fresh ones aside to sprinkle over the top and serve with premium Mundella yoghurt or a scoop of Cheeky Cow ice-cream.
Choose light and lovely
If you are serving a dose of sweetness after a main, it might be wise to make something lighter than a cake. After all, you don’t want them saying they are too full for dessert. Panna cotta ticks so many boxes – the traditional Italian set custard (literally ‘cooked cream’) is light, luscious and sublime. Made from Bannister Downs Dairy milk and double cream and laden with passionfruit, this passionfruit panna cotta is bound to hit the spot. There are so many other ways to flavour panna cotta, too. Try adding 50g white chocolate to the hot milk and cream and stir to melt, or scrape the seeds out of a split vanilla bean and add both to the dairy mix as it’s simmering.
Spread the love
Dessert doesn’t have to be just for a significant other. Show your love for your family and friends, even your colleagues, with a home-made cake. The chocolate potato cake not only feeds a crowd, it’s also bound to raise a few eyebrows when you tell them something so sweet has been made with mashed WA Potatoes.
Whatever you choose to sweeten your favourite person’s palette, make it with local, fresh produce. They will love you even more for it. Happy Valentine’s Day!
