Desserts That Say "I Love You"

Chocolate Covered Ice Cream Hearts & Bing Cherry Cheesecake Parfait

Jan 29, 2009 Vicki F. Chavis

Two delicious desserts promise to make a loved one feel special. Simple yet dramatic, these romantic recipes are as beautiful as they are tasty.

Whether it's Valentine's Day, a birthday or anniversary, these desserts say, "I love you". For the chocolate-covered ice cream hearts, you'll need a nice sized (3-inch) heart-shaped cookie cutter. Sometimes these can be found in antique stores or in family kitchens. If you don't have one, now's the time to acquire one.

Try both of these desserts. The Chocolate-covered ice cream hearts are spectacular at the end of a romantic dinner. The Cherry Cheesecake Parfait only has around 200 calories, 25 carbs, and 10 grams of fat, so you can have your parfait and eat it, too!

Chocolate-Covered Ice Cream Hearts

Ingredients:

2 slices (3/4 inches thick) of strawberry ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 container of Hershey's chocolate shell coating
1 tube of gel or decorative icing
heart-shaped candies (with appropriate messages)
fresh strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, or your personal favorite

Directions:

Line a plastic rectangular tub with wax paper. Cut out two hearts (with 3-inch large heart cookie cutters) and place on wax paper. Cover with plastic lid and freeze.
When ready to serve, place ice cream hearts on dessert plates, cover with chocolate shell coating. Let the coating harden and then decorate with icing, gel and candies.
Slice fresh strawberries (or personal favorite fruit), arrange on plate.

Bing Cherry Cheesecake Parfait

Ingredients:

4 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened*
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4-6 gingersnaps, crushed
1-1/2 cups of pitted Bing cherries

Directions:

Combine cheese and sour cream in bowl. Beat with mixer on high until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat until well blended. Set aside four teaspoons in a small bowl for topping.
Fill four small parfait glasses (or wine glasses) with layers of ingredients. Start with 2 Tblsp on cheese mixture. Next, add cookie crumbs, then fruit. Finish with 1 tsp of reserved cheese mixture on top. Garnish with ginger snap crumbs and a Bing Cherry on top.
Chill for half hour before serving.

*French Neufchatel Cheese

This is a soft, slightly crumbly cheese often sold in heart shapes or logs which can be substituted with American Neufchatel. According to legend, a New York dairyman created cream cheese in a botched attempt to make Neufchatel. If the French or American Neufchatel can't be located, use low-fat cream cheese instead for a perfectly creamy parfait.

While this parfait recipe sounds rich and over-the-top, it holds its own at 200 calories per person. Substitutions for ingredients include non-fat cream cheese instead of low-fat, Oreo cookies or other chocolate cookies instead of the ginger snaps, and any other fruit in season instead of cherries. The fun part of making this dish is the variety of fruits and cookies that can be used to make it original each and every time.

For more fun recipes using hearts, check here.

The copyright of the article Desserts That Say "I Love You" in Party Food is owned by Vicki F. Chavis. Permission to republish Desserts That Say "I Love You" in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.