There are certain times of the year that are synonymous with sugary treats aplenty, and few are more famous or beloved in this respect than Valentine's Day. February 14th, the day of amore and fabulously lovely things to eat, be it a glass of bubbly or a heart shaped box of chocolates.
By and large, I don't eat a lot of sugar, so holidays feel like an extra big treat for me, and I rarely pass up the chance to indulge for just one festive day. This year, as much as I love chocolate (the darker the better!), I feel like I'm in much more of a cake mood, so I went hunting for a vintage dessert that would fit that bill and today's absolutely darling 1950s vintage recipes does the job splendidly.
It's enrobed in a hefty layer of pink coconut, boasts a cute heart made, fittingly, from red gumdrop candies (you could easily use cinnamon hearts, Red Hots, or jelly beans instead, if you preferred), and sounds just as sweet as sweet can be. You could also - and I think that this is precisely what I'll do - bake it in a heart shaped cake pan for an extra dose of seasonal flare.
{Perfect to send youngsters off to school, share with your honey bunny, or have star as the main attraction at a February 14th party, this wonderfully easy, budget friendly 1950s cake is bound to ensure you'll have folks lining up around the block to ask you to be their Valentine this year. Image source.}
By all means, if you'd prefer, swap in your favourite white (or golden, cherry chip, or even chocolate, the latter being especially fitting for St. Valentine's) cake recipe instead, and should you, like me, need to keep things strictly gluten-free, I recommend using two boxes of Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix (it, and the chocolate version, really are the best GF cake mixes I've found on the market so far) for this fun recipe.
You could also whip up a batch of pink coconut and red candy heart topped cupcakes instead, or as well. Perhaps using pink, red, gold or otherwise festively hued or patterned cupcake wrappers (liners). A cute little conversation heart candy, instead of the red sweets, would be an endlessly February 14th appropriate touch, too.
Whether you leap for the nearest chocolate truffle, swoon for caramels, or have a hankering for cake as well, I hope that you get a chance to satisfy your own cravings for something beautifully sweet, special and busting with the spirit of this deeply lovely time of the year at least once this week. I know that as soon as I grab the heart shaped cake pan from the basement and whip up this great vintage Valentine's Day recipe, I'll be doing just that!
And remember, my darling friends...
{Image source}