What kind of Valentine’s Day dessert do you make for the guy who has dutifully eaten all of the desserts for two over the past 10 years? The guy who’s offered recipe ideas, helpful critique, and taste-tested with the best of them–the guy who deserves the best of the best? You make a dessert charcuterie board, of course! When I asked my husband which dessert he wanted for Valentine’s Day this year, his eyes widened and he said he couldn’t pick ‘just one.’ He knows his answer must be something I’ve never made before, because yes, I’m going to make a blog post out of this. Life as a dessert blogger’s husband isn’t as glamorous as you might imagine. There is lots of delicious food involved, but hardly ever the same thing will be made twice! I settled on a dessert charcuterie board for the man who has eaten all of my desserts over the years! This way, we each get a little bit of what we like, and there is still plenty of sugar to go around! So, I made us a dessert board with all of his favorites. It leans heavily on chocolate, because it is Valentine’s Day after all. I have a few surprises tucked into this dessert board, and I can’t wait to share them with you.
How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board
Our dessert boards are a loving mix of our favorite store-bought treats and some homemade items, too. When you’re making a big dessert charcuterie board, it’s best to plan on buying some stuff and making only a few items. This is a small dessert board that is meant to serve two people, but you can absolutely scale it up for a girl’s night or a Valentine’s Day party! Read on for my method and check out the two boards I made as examples.
The Ingredients:
Fresh Fruit: We can go classic with chocolate-dipped strawberries, or take a slightly different turn with pears dipped in salted caramel. It’s definitely your choice, but we are partial to the pears! We save our strawberries for our Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes. Sweet Dip: I love to serve the fresh fruit with a sweet dip. You can make my small-batch chocolate fondue or my homemade salted small batch caramel sauce for dipping the fruit. You can absolutely buy a jar of your favorite caramel sauce instead, or again, chocolate-covered strawberries are very welcome here, too. Store-Bought Candy. I opted for a big box of truffles from the store, because it has the best mix of flavors. But really, buy your favorite store-bought chocolate for the dessert charcuterie board of your dreams. You can also make my Oreo balls recipe for Oreo truffles! I also like to sneak in his favorite store-bought candy (like chocolate-covered caramels or peanut butter cups). Chocolate-Dipped Things. You can look at the grocery store or make a few other things dipped in melted chocolate. We suggest: chocolate-dipped pretzels, orange slices dipped in chocolate, chocolate-covered graham crackers, caramel corn, or yogurt-covered pretzels. Nuts: Honey roasted peanuts are very welcome on this board, since they’re sweet. Or, chocolate covered almonds or chocolate covered cashews, too. One Homemade Item: I’m not sure that a dessert charcuterie board without one special homemade thing is complete. So, I made my Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies for one board. Instead of chocolate kisses, I studded a few cookies with extra truffles. In the other dessert charcuterie board at the top of this post, I decided to make my Blackberry Cupcakes.
How to Assemble a Dessert Charcuterie Board:
No matter your plans, I hope you’re inspired to make your very own dessert board for Valentine’s Day. Use my recipe index to find your favorite homemade items, and add luxury treats as you go! I have a collection of easy romantic Valentine’s Day desserts for two here, and I also have a list of romantic meals for two at home for the big day.
Fresh Fruit: Anything you like: fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pears.Sweet Dip: For dipping the fresh fruit, you can make small-batch chocolate fondue or my homemade salted small batch caramel sauce. Or, buy jars of it.Store-Bought Candy: Pick your favorites: truffles, caramels, and candies.Chocolate-Dipped Things: I suggest: chocolate-dipped pretzels, orange slices dipped in chocolate, chocolate-covered graham crackers, caramel corn, or yogurt-covered pretzels.Nuts: Any kind you like, especially ones covered in chocolate.Cookies or Cupcakes: One special homemade thing is really nice on a board. So, I made my Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies for one board. Instead of chocolate kisses, I studded a few cookies with extra truffles. In the other dessert charcuterie board at the top of this post, I decided to make my Blackberry Cupcakes.
