I’ve been told I’m a sweet sort of person, but when it comes to Valentine’s Day… Boy, am I bitter! And as hard as I try to ignore this cursed date, hearts suddenly appear everywhere and make it impossible to bury my head in the sand. The Daring Bakers were no exception this month, with a heart shaped chocolate Valentino cake.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

In tone with my anti-valentine attitude, I went for bitter flavours in individual portions. Dark chocolate Valentino in ramekins, topped with lemon cheesecake ice-cream.

The original Valentino recipe can be found here.

Bitter Valentino

Bitter Valentino

Lemon cheesecake ice-cream

1 can of evaporated milk
260g full fat cream cheese (like Philadephia)
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice, strained

In a large bowl, whip the evaporated milk with a hand held mixer and then slowly add the sugar and the cream cheese. Finally add the lemon juice.

If you have an ice-cream maker, just follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t, pour the mixture in a shallow container and place it in the freezer. Every half an hour, bring it out and beat it to make it smoother.

Bitter Valentino