MANILA, Philippines — Of course, you cannot let Valentine’s Day pass without saying "I love you" to your loved one.
Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated every February 14, is also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. Although it originated as a Christian feast day that honors an early Christian martyr named Saint Valentine, it has in modern times been designated as a day of celebration of love and romance. Couples usually go on dinner dates, and gifts — chocolates, bouquets of flowers, cakes and other sweet treats in heart shapes — are often given by men to their wives, girlfriends, or loved ones.
Here are some options:
Fruity Cheesecake
Inspired by a fresh summer vibe, Ollie Isidro creates a Baked New York Style Cheesecake. It has a graham cracker crust, topped with blueberry compote and fresh assorted summer berries, such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. A one-of-a-kind six-inch cheesecake that tastes as good as it looks, it sells for P650 per cake. Orders may be placed through ollieskitchenph.com.
Tequila and chili croissants
Masa Madre Bakehouse’s Valentine’s offerings consist of three bread variants Tequila Rose Croissant (Tequila Rose custard and strawberry puree with raspberry vinaigrette reduction, topped with rose syrup), Ruby Chili Croissant (pink croissant with spicy almond cream filling, dipped in Ruby Chocolate, topped with almond nuts and candied sili, sprinkled with powdered sugar on the side, and Bae’s Praline (toasted walnut praline, filled with Baileys ganache, finished with a heart-shaped scoring). They come assorted in a box priced at P850, all handcrafted by the talented chefs behind the brand, led by Chef Kris Edison Tan.
To order, message Masa Madre Bakehouse’s Facebook and/or Instagram pages.
Coffee with me?
For the season of love, Honeybon has created everyone’s favorite coffee-based dessert, Tiramisu in a regular round-cake form. Honeybon’s take on the classic Italian dessert is layers of cream cheese filling and coffee liqueur-soaked chiffon, topped with soft whipped cream, and dusted with cocoa powder. Not too sweet, with a kick of coffee, and classically delicious, Honeybon's Tiramisu is available in whole cakes at P980 per cake and in slices at P175 per slice.
It is available at Honeybon stores at SM Megamall and Festival Mall and at select Tokyo Bubble Tea branches.
Heart-shaped breads
Bagels are originally round in shape, but just for the Valentine season, Pan de Mya Bakery offers them in heart shapes for the entire month of February.
For the whole month, Pan de Mya's signature Bagels come in six flavors, namely, Plain, Sesame Seed, Poppy Seed, Onion and Garlic, Everything, and Cinnamon Raisin, in packs of threes and sixes and in boxes of fives. Another signature bread is American Southern Style Biscuits. The bite-sized biscuits are packed in boxes of 12.
Cooked in Binmaley, Pangasinan, and dispatched in Taguig, the bagels and biscuits can now be enjoyed with yet another new product called schmears, which are actually flavored cream cheese spreads.
To order, message @pandemyabakery’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, or mobile number 0919-8875488.
Two special cakes
Rachel Puno of Chelly Belly Bakes and Casa Victoria has created two beautiful and delicious heart-shaped cakes for Valentine’s Day. They are Lemon Blueberry Pillow Cake in Lemon Buttercream Frosting (5-inch heart-shaped cake for P300) and Red Velvet Cake in Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting at P330.
Hearts, hearts and more hearts
This is a unique entry because the heart-shaped cakes, cookies and cake pops are not for sale on their own. They are part of the buffet at The Alley by Vikings. Couples who choose to dine at The Alley from February 13 to 15 (lunch or dinner service) may have as much of these Valentine treats as they want, and they will even be given a small cake per couple. Those who are celebrating their birthdays on the said dates will also receive a small heart-shaped cake.
The Alley by Vikings can be found at Ayala Malls Manila Bay and at Capitol Commons.
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