Valentine's Dessert Recipes

Red Velvet and Strawberry Trifle
Via Taste and Tell Blog

Valentine's Day is just around the corner!  Whether you are going out to dinner or having a nice romantic dinner at home, you can't forget about dessert!  Valentine's Day is all about the sweets!  We've got you covered with three delicious and festive dessert recipes to choose from.  Enjoy!


Red Velvet & Strawberry Trifle
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:  
1 box Red Velvet cake mix, plus ingredients to make cake
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 pounds fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cake batter as directed. Pour batter into a greased 13×9-inch pan.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 1 minute or until creamy. Add yogurt, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Beat 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Cover and chill.

Remove cake from oven. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Invert cake onto a cutting board. Cut rounded top off of cake. Trim and discard edges of cake. Cut cake into 32 pieces. (If making individual trifles, you’ll want to cut the cake into smaller squares.)

Arrange about one-third of cake pieces in a 3-qt. trifle dish. Carefully spread one-third of chilled cream cheese mixture over cake. Add a layer of strawberries. Repeat layers 2 times, smoothing top layer of cream cheese mixture over cake pieces. Top with strawberries. Cover and chill 1 hour before serving. Garnish, if desired.


Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
Via Baked Perfection


Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes (recipe adapted from All Recipes)
Ingredients:
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water 
2 cups chocolate chips (dark chocolate or semi-sweet), dusted in 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso dissolved in water.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.


Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (recipe from Baked Perfection)
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry jam
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in strawberry jam and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.




Raspberry Swirled Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Via The Baker Chick


Raspberry Swirled Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Yield: 12 bars

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4T butter

For the Cheesecake:
16 ounces cream cheese- room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of a lemon
4 tablespoons milk
2 eggs- room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Raspberry Swirl
4 oz. of fresh raspberries (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, criss-crossing two rectangular pieces so there is an overhang on either side for easy lifting. Set aside.

For the crust
In a medium sized bowl mix together the crumbs and butter with a spoon until moist. Press into the prepared pan and bake for about 10 minutes or until crust is set around the edges.

Meanwhile make the filling:
Beat together the white sugar, and cream cheese until smooth.
Add the egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread filling mixture over baked crust.

For the Raspberry Purée:
In a food processor or blender, purée the raspberries until smooth. Press through a fine mesh sieve, getting as much liquid out as possible. Discard the solids. Stir in the sugar.
Dot the raspberry mixture over the filling and use a toothpick or skewer to swirl together.

Bake for 30 minutes or until set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center. Cool completely on a wire rack and then chill until cold before serving.

Notes:  Recipe adapted from: All Recipes