Whip up some romance with these Valentine’s Day treats

Easy recipes from top chefs to make your day of love special

Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to show off your culinary prowess to your partner. Since V-Day falls on a Monday this year, and if eating out does not seem like a possibility, do the next best thing and treat your love to a special meal at home. We’ve got you covered with these amazing recipes from talented chefs.

Crispy Calamari

Ho Chi Ming, Chef De Cuisine, The Westin Pune

Ingredients

• Tempura flour 1 cup
• Calamari rings 100g
• Cornflour for dusting
• Refined oil 2 - 3 tbsp
• Garlic (chopped) 3 cloves
• Jalapeno (fresh, sliced) 1
• Chilli flakes 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper (crushed) to taste

Method

Make a batter with tempura flour using ice water. Dust the calamari rings with cornflour. Dip the calamari in batter and fry till crisp. Remove on a paper napkin to absorb excess oil. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté chopped garlic, sliced jalapeno, chilli flakes. Add the crisp fried calamari to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a lemon wedge on the side.

Calamari can be substituted with prawns, chicken or tofu

Pizza Pepperoni

Maanveer Singh Chauhan, Sous Chef, The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa

Ingredients

For dough

• Farina flour 180g
• Fresh yeast 2g
• Water 80ml
• Olive oil 5ml
• Salt 5g

For sauce

• San Marzano peeled tomatoes 250g
• Mozzarella cheese 100g
• Oregano 2g
• Basil 5g
• Pepperoni 8 slices

Method

Take fresh yeast in a bowl, add water and mix well. Take farina flour (used for making pizza) and add the fermented yeast to it. Add salt to taste, water and knead it till smooth. Add a little olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for at least 30 minutes. Make 200 g balls and refrigerate for 2 hours. Stretch out the dough and spread sauce on it. Arrange the pepperoni on the pizza and top with cheese. Bake at 250- 300*C for 3 minutes or until it gets a good crust. Garnish with fresh basil and cheese.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

Chef Rahul Chahar, Bakery Chef, Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi

Ingredients

• Milk 250g
• Egg yolk 6
• Whipped cream 450g
• Sugar 40g
• Gelatin 20g
• Raspberry puree 80g
• White chocolate 60g

For Raspberry Jelly

• Raspberry puree 125g
• Sugar 25g
• Gelatin 2g
• Liquid Glucose 15g

Method

To make the jelly, dissolve gelatin in cold water and set it aside. Boil raspberry puree and glucose together. Add sugar and soaked gelatin. Pour the mix into a Silpat mould. Keep it in a deep freezer to set.

For the mousse, mix sugar and milk on top of a double boiler and heat over simmering water until steaming. Mix a little bit of the hot mixture with egg yolks and return it to the double boiler and cook. Stir until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon. Add soaked gelatin. Add the chocolate, raspberry puree and stir until melted. Take whipped cream and fold it into the custard mixture. Now pour the mixture into a heart-shaped Silpat mould, add the jelly, put the mixture again and cover with vanilla sponge. Set in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours. Take it out, unmould it and spray with red spray. Place it on a cake base and serve.

Fomage Blanc and Framboise parfait on Brown Butter Cake

Chef Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Director, South Asia, Marriott International

Ingredients

For Yogurt Mousse

• Whipped cream 300g
• Plain yoghurt 240 ml
• Caster sugar 75g
• Vanilla bean 5g
• Gelatin 10g

For Pistachio Cake

• Pistachio paste 90g
• Unsalted browned butter 70g
• Caster sugar 100g
• Egg yolk 35g
• Refined flour 150g
• Sea salt 2g
• Pistachio powder 130g

For Raspberry Cream

• Raspberry puree 250g
• Icing sugar 60g
• Gelatin sheets 10g
• Whipped cream 250g

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients for the Pistachio cake and keep it aside. Heat the butter in a pan till golden brown. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolk and add all the dry ingredients. Add brown butter to the mix and bake in a tray for 10 min. Take it out of the oven and keep it in a chiller. Next, soak gelatin in cold water for the yoghurt mousse. Mix yoghurt and sugar, add cream and gelatin and set in the freezer. Boil raspberry puree, add icing sugar and add gelatin for the raspberry cream. Fold in whipped cream and pipe it inside the yoghurt mousse. Set in a deep freezer for a day serve on top of pistachio cake the next day.