Homemade Treats for Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day, don't worry about buying flowers or making dinner reservations — show your love with these thoughtful homemade (and delicious) gift ideas from Carla Emery.

Kisses: Beat 2 egg whites stiff. Add a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and 1/2 t. vanilla. Drop from a teaspoon onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake in a 300 degree F oven about 30 minutes until firm and dry. Variation: Add 1/4 cup coconut, or 1 square chocolate, melted and mixed in.

Brandied Cherries: Boil 5 cups sugar with 2 cups water for 12 minutes, or until you have a clear syrup. Pour that syrup over 5 lb. cherries (the small sour kind) and let stand over night. Drain off the syrup and boil it again. Add cherries and boil about 5 more minutes. Take out cherries with a skimmer (the kind with holes to let the juice drain away) and put the cherries into canning jars. Boil the syrup down 15 more minutes. It should be getting pretty thick. Add 2 cups brandy. Remove from heat. Pour over cherries and seal.

Rose Geranium Cake: Sift together 2 cups flour, 1/2 t. salt, and 1 t. baking powder. Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar. Add alternately the flour and 2/3 cup water. Finally, add the unbeaten whites of 4 eggs. Whip hard for 5 minutes. Line a loaf pan with buttered paper and rose geranium leaves. Pour in batter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Pull the leaves off with the paper when the cake is done. 

Mocha Mixes

Flavored coffee drinks may not be the healthiest morning beverages, but they sure do make the day seem much brighter. I prefer to drink vanilla lattes, but on the rare occasion I crave chocolate I get a hot chocolate or mocha.

Hot chocolate originated many years ago when the ancient Native Americans steeped crushed cocoa beans in hot water. The Spanish later added sugar to this treasured drink to sweeten the bitter flavor. Eventually, a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa beans was combined with coffee granules to create a mocha. "Mocha" means flavored with a mixture of chocolate and coffee. In The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery explains the process of creating cocoa powder, coffee grounds, and the eventual combination of the two if you are interested in the entire story.

For those who cannot wait to make their own mocha mix, here you go!

BASIC MOCHA

Combine 2 cups strong black coffee (instant is okay), 3 cups hot milk, 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, and 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar. (If cocoa powder is already sweetened, skip the sugar.) Beat until foamy.

SPICED MOCHA MIX

Combine 1-cup dry nondairy creamer, 1 cup cocoa powder, 2/3 cup instant coffee, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Keep it in a jar in a cool place. To serve, add 3-4 teaspoons to 1 cup of very hot water. Also can be served with a dollop of whipped cream on top, or cold with ice chunks in it, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

Hot Fudge Sauce

To go with my last post on homemade vanilla ice cream...

It's hard to beat an ice cream sundae on a hot, summer day. If you love to indulge in ice cream smothered in chocolate, nuts, whipped cream, coconut, fruit or candy, this hot fudge sauce will make your sundae even more delicious and satisfy your chocolate craving. I recommend using vanilla, chocolate, or coffee ice cream with this sauce only because they are my favorite ice cream flavors!

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Mix 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of cocoa, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and cook over medium heat in a heavy pan until thick. Stir constantly (it will stick). When cool, store in a jar in a cool place. To reheat, place jar in hot water until it is heated. If you want it thicker, add just a bit more cornstarch. 

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

A few years ago I began to teach myself how to bake. I was inspired by the rising popularity of cupcakes and boutique bakeries in Seattle, such as Trophy Cupcakes and Cupcake Royale. I prefer to bake from scratch using an array of cookbooks and recipes from the web. I have found that I no longer like to use boxed cake mixes or store bought frostings. They tend to be very sugary, which can overpower the taste of a great cake.

When I make frosting, the texture needs to form peaks on its own yet remain soft enough to flow smoothly through a pastry bag. I am always looking for a frosting recipe that does not use an excessive amount of confectioner's sugar or butter. I tend to make butter-cream frosting more than any other type of frosting. However, this recipe for "Quick, Creamy Chocolate Frosting" from Carla Emery's The Encyclopedia of Country Living looks too tempting not to try.

Whipping cream is a very flexible ingredient. The longer you whip or whisk the whipping cream, the thicker and denser it becomes. This recipe includes only two ingredients: fresh whipping cream and cocoa powder. If you can avoid butter in your frosting, I suggest you do so. In my experience, frostings with a butter base do not have as long a shelf life as other frostings. They typically have a lifespan of 2-3 days depending on the room temperature before the butter begins to separate from the rest of the ingredients. They may continue to taste amazing, but the overall aesthetic of the cupcake is ruined.

Quick, Creamy Chocolate Frosting:

1. Whip 1 cup of cream.

2. Gently stir in 1/4 cup of cocoa powder or chocolate milk drink power.