South Americans celebrate Valentines Day (Día de San Valentín, or Día de Los Enamorados) with candy, chocolate, flowers and cards. Traditional Latin American sweets are elaborate and beautiful - an art form that the Spaniards brought with them to the New World.
Branch out from the conventional box of chocolates and give your Valentine one of these delicious Latin confections - they're sure to melt both hearts and taste buds.
1. Valentines Alfajor Cookies - Alfajores para San Valentin
Marian Blazes
These little heart-shaped alfajores are shortbread cookies filled with caramel dulce de leche.
Recipe for Heart-shaped Alfajores
Recipe for Homemade Dulce de Leche
2. Heart-shaped Valentines Flan - Caramel Custard Flan Recipe
Marian Blazes
Flan's spectacular presentation and creamy texture make it seem difficult to make, but it's actually very easy. Flan is a perfect Valentines dessert when prepared in a heart-shaped pan. You could also make individual heart-shaped flans by cutting a chilled flan with a heart-shaped cooke cookie cutters (see how to make bite-size flans).
3. Chocolate Passionfruit Truffles - Trufas de Maracuya
Marian Blazes
These heart-shaped chocolates are filled with ganache that's infused with tart, exotic passionfruit. A perfect combination of flavors for Valentines Day.
Recipe for Chocolate Passionfruit Truffles4. Peruvian Tejas - Dulce de Leche Candy with Macademia Nuts and White Chocolate
Marian Blazes
Tejas are a traditional confection from the Ica region of Peru (also well know for its pisco and the Nazca lines). Tejas have a candy center made with manjar blanco (dulce de leche) and dried fruit or nuts. They are typically dipped in fondant. These tejas are dipped in white chocolate, a faster and equally delicious option.
If you love chocolate, try chocotejas, which are dipped in chocolate rather than fondant or white chocolate.
5. Dulce de Leche Cake Truffles
Marian Blazes
Cake truffles, or cake balls, are delicious bite-size treats made by mixing crumbled cake with frosting (or in this case, dulce de leche). The mixture is shaped into balls and dipped in chocolate, white chocolate, or more frosting, then rolled in nuts, coconut, or sprinkles.
6. Heart-shaped Spinach and Cheese Empanadas - Empanadas de Espinaca
Marian Blazes
These delicious empanadas are filled with sauteed garlic spinach and a creamy cheese sauce, but you could use any empanada filling.
Recipe for Heart-shaped Empanadas
Everything About Empanadas
Tips and Techniques for Beautiful Empanadas
7. Passionfruit Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Marian Blazes
This cake is the perfect ending for a romantic Valentines dinner.
Recipe for Passionfruit Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache