A beautiful Valentine’s Day Dessert Board is a sure way to make your loved ones feel special this Valentine’s Day! It is just like a cheese or charcuterie board, but filled with treats and desserts instead. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just treating a special someone, this tutorial will help you put together a fun and romantic board to impress! I confess I wasn’t feeling too inspired for Valentine’s Day this year… Until I assembled this board! The combination of bright pink and red colors awoke my cold, uninspired heart and I now feel like a teenager in love. 😍 I highly recommend the feeling! Even if you’re not hosting a party, go ahead and put together a romantic board for your partner! Or even for yourself, if you’re flying solo these days. Because who doesn’t love to indulge on some candies and treats on Valentine’s Day?
What to put on a Valentine’s Day Dessert Board?
Like with a cheese board, you will want to choose a variety of items that will please your guests’ tastebuds. What good is opening that fancy dark chocolate that you got on your trip to Switzerland if the people you are serving only like the milk variety? I recommend choosing a few showstoppers, like cupcakes and/or chocolate covered strawberries, and filling the rest of the board with classics – a combination of chocolate, candy, cookies, fruit and nuts. Here are some suggestions:
CHOCOLATE – Can’t have Valentine’s Day without chocolate, amirite? You can go as simple or as extravagant as you want! Truffles, bonbons, or just your favorite chocolate bar, cut into smaller squares or rows.FRUIT – Fresh berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), grapes, bananas, you name it. Just don’t forget to add some chocolate covered strawberries! 😋 CANDY – Gotta have some classics, like pink and red M&Ms, jelly beans, marshmallows, peanut butter hearts, cinnamon jelly hearts and/or conversation hearts.NUTS – Nuts and chocolate pair great together! Choose 1 to 3 of your favorite nuts.COOKIES – So many tasty options to choose from! Biscotti, shortbread, Oreos, or – my favorite – cute heart shaped cookies from the bakery at ACME Markets.BAKED GOODS – Like cupcakes, muffins, brownies and/or dessert bars. I’m especially fond of Red Velvet Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day.PRETZELS – Because who can resist that sweet and salty combination? You can add them plain or covered in chocolate or yogurt.FLOWERS – Fresh flowers give a little pop of color and make your dessert board extra romantic! ♥️ ♥️ ♥️
You might think you have to make everything from scratch, but that is not the case! A quick trip to your local ACME and you will find all the items you need to put together this delicious dessert board! A week or two before Valentine’s Day, they will have chocolate covered strawberries, Red Velvet cupcakes, heart shaped cakes and cookies, cake pops and lots of other yummy goodies. I also love their flower selection, especially the gorgeous debi lilly design™ arrangements (like the Unforgettable Dozen Roses pictured above)! Every time I grab one, every other shopper in the store comments on the flowers when they see it in my cart. Products from debi lilly design™ are sold exclusively at ACME and at the Albertsons Companies family of stores across the country. I shop at ACME Markets in my local area, but you can also find debi lilly design™ at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market and Tom Thumb. ACME Markets also offers Grocery Delivery and DriveUp & Go™ for convenient ways to shop!
How to Assemble a Valentine’s Day Dessert Board
Assembling a dessert board should be fun, especially if it’s a Valentine’s Day themed one. Think lots of red and pink, and a variety of texture and shapes. Chocolate (and chocolate covered treats) is a must, as it is strongly linked with Valentine’s Day! And while I created this board for this romantic holiday, you can customize it to fit any theme you’d like! St Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, game day or for a girl’s night. Just swap the heart shaped treats for treats that match whichever occasion you are celebrating!
Step 1: Choose a beautiful board.
Pick the right size board to display your treats. If you’re hosting a party, you will want something big enough to feed a crowd. But if you’re just treating a special someone, a small board or platter is the way to go!Wood boards are pretty and something most people have at home, but you can also use a piece of slate, a cute platter or a tray. I especially love this elegant Marble and Gold Tray.
Step 2: Arrange the ingredients.
Start by arranging the bigger items and items that go in a bowl (like M&Ms and other small candies) first.Fill the remaining space with the smaller elements, like the nuts and berries. Be generous! You want to present an abundance of treats instead of a sad looking tray that reads “I needed to empty my pantry of old and stale products”.
Step 3: Decorate with flowers!
It’s okay if you still have a little bit of empty space, as it is now time to decorate the board with some fresh flowers! Roses are my favorite – and very Valentine’s Day appropriate – but you can use whatever flowers you have on hand.
Pairing a dessert board with wine!
Pairing wine with a dessert board will depend on what flavors you are serving. A wine that pairs well with dark chocolate won’t work with milk chocolate, for example! To keep things simple, you can serve a wine that is slightly sweeter than the desserts, preferably with similar intensities (style and weight). That doesn’t mean you are stuck to dessert wines alone. The term “sweet” in the wine world is used to identify ripe, fruity flavors. Here are a few suggestions, based on what chocolate is predominantly on your board:
Dark Chocolate: Pair with wines like Port, Pedro Ximinez, Chinato or Vin Santo.Milk Chocolate: Pair with Brachetto D’Acqui, Ruby Port, Rutherglen Muscat, Lambrusco, Banyuls or Maury, Recioto della Valpolicella or Late-Harvest Red Wines.White Chocolate: Goes well with Pinot Noir, Moscato d’Asti, Rosé Port, Beaujolais, Riesling and Brachetto D’Acqui.
More Valentine’s Day Desserts
Molten Chocolate CakesMolten Dulce de Leche CakesMousse au ChocolatStrawberry TartletsHomemade Fudgy BrowniesDulce de Leche Linzer CookiesBrazilian Honey CakesBem Casados
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing from you! Please comment and leave a 5-star rating below. You can also take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #oliviascuisine.
