Michele StuevenAccording to The National Retail Association, consumers plan to increase their Valentine’s Day spending to $26 billion this year, with 57% of that to be spent on sweets. Whether it’s a Galantine’s celebration or a romantic evening for two, here are some sentimental ideas to celebrate Tuesday, Feb. 14.
TOUS les JOURS, the French-Asian bakery café chain that offers more than 300 artisan pastries, gourmet cakes, and desserts baked in-store daily, is excited to roll out some specialty cakes in honor of Valentine’s Day. Available today through Feb. 14. The “Bee My Valentine” collection features:
- Bee Mine Cake – Sweet mango buttercream, white sponge cake, and acacia honey glaze layers topped with buttercream flowers
- Black Sugar Cake – Mocha sponge cake layered with Earl Grey buttercream and finished with black sugar glaze
- Pink Velvet Cake – A riff on the classic red velvet, this strawberry velvet ombre cake with cream cheese icing is finished with pink heart chocolates
- Valentine’s Day Cloud Cake – TOUS Les JOURS signature, white sponge cake with mango cloud cream finished with fresh berries
- Blueberry Mini Cloud Cake – Mini blueberry cake with signature cloud cream — perfect Valentine’s Day dessert for one
Bee My Valentine (Courtesy TOUS les JOURS)
Valerie Confections founder Valerie Gordon will offer her signature chocolates, petits fours, chocolate-dipped toffees, and more, all made at the company’s new bakery and chocolate shop in Glendale. The Valentine’s Day collection includes V-Day favorites like the rose petal and dehydrated raspberry-topped Valentine Bar, and the Arrow Box of bittersweet chocolate truffles decorated with a modern arrow pattern reminiscent of Cupid’s bow. There also are assortments that range from elegant to extravagant, like the Grand Valentine set with gilded truffles, caramelia hearts, liquid caramel hearts, red hearts made of bittersweet chocolate and almond toffee bits, golden hearts, and champagne truffles.
Tea for two: Lilly Rose, the whimsical underground bar located inside The Wayfarer DTLA, will set the mood for Valentine’s Day with a Lovers’ Lane High Tea and Highball experience. Available every Wednesday through Sunday in February from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The experience includes a tea selection paired with a savory and sweet tea tower featuring chef-selected pastries and house-made specialty bites and elevated tea infusions. Reservations are required and can be made here.
Romantic mochi (Courtesy Sweety)
Sweety, the family owned and operated mochi ice cream company founded in 1978 in Monterey Park, has eight refreshing flavors that make for a fun gift, including Vietnamese coffee, strawberry, mango, chocolate, red bean and ube purple yam. When the Sweety’s founding family couldn’t find any of the traditional Asian-flavored ice creams they loved in Monterey Park 45 years ago, they decided to make it themselves and opened a mom-and-pop ice cream parlor serving flavors such as red bean, taro, and durian.
Trejo’s Coffee and Donuts will offer seven seasonal lovey-dovey doughnuts like the Sweetie (a raised donut covered in strawberry sugar with strawberry cream filling) and the Love You to Pieces (a raised donut topped with white chocolate ganache glaze and crumbled Reese’s Pieces). The Flower of Love Bouquet is only available for purchase the weekend before Valentine’s Day (Feb. 11 and Feb. 12), and includes six mini, raised heart-shaped donuts topped with red and pink traditional buttermilk glaze, white chocolate ganache, and dusted with sprinkles. All other Valentine’s Day doughnuts are available through Sunday, Feb. 19 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Triple Rose Lemonade (Courtesy Malfy Rosa)
Malfy Rosa, a pink-colored Italian gin inspired by the Amalfi Coast, is the perfect addition to your bestie’s bar cart. Malfy is distilled with botanicals including hand-picked juniper, Italian lemons, pink grapefruits, oranges and married with Italian water. Nothing says lovin like a cocktail from the heart and a taste of La Dolce Vita – the sweet art of doing nothing:
Malfy Rosa – Triple Rose Lemonade (Batched Recipe serves approximately 6)
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon pink peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 1/4 cups pink lemonade, chilled
- 3/4 cup Malfy Rosa
- 1 750ml bottle sparkling rosé, chilled
Instructions:
Combine the peppercorns, sugar and lemon zest in a shallow bowl. Smash with the back of a wooden spoon until the peppercorns are crushed. Moisten the rims of tall glasses with a little lemonade, then dip in the peppercorn mixture. Combine the lemonade, Malfy Rosa, and sparkling rosé in a pitcher. Serve.
Valentine Day Bar (Courtesy Valerie Confections)
Courtesy Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts
At SusieCakes the popular Vanilla Celebration Cake, Southern Red Velvet Cake or Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake come with V-Day themed sprinkles and your choice of a “Be Mine,” “XOXO” or “Happy Valentine’s Day!” inscription.
Pre-orders for this cake are now being taken and will be available for shipping and pickup starting Wednesday, Feb. 1. Select the delivery date of 2/10 (or earlier) during checkout to ensure it arrives and is ready to serve for Valentine’s Day.
Courtesy SusieCakes
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