Sweet on sweets for Valentine's Day

The next week will be a frenzy of whipping, dipping and baking for Eastern Iowa's sweet makers.

Valentine's Day, the holiday to celebrate your loved ones, is also the holiday for sweets. From the conversation hearts stuffed in shoe boxes at elementary schools to heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, the scent of sugar may very well overpower that of roses.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

“Sweets give us pleasures, so we want to express that by giving sweets,” says Kathy McCauley, owner of Kathy's Pies, 616 Fifth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids.

It doesn't hurt that everyone enjoys food.

“Food is definitely something that bring us all together,” says Adam Kopfman, owner of Tip Top Cakes in Coralville. “It's something everybody can relate to. Think of parties you've attended. Sooner or later, everyone ends up in the kitchen.”

So what sweets should you give to the sweetheart in your life?

“I've read chocolate is an aphrodisiac, so you might as well give them the good chocolate,” says Gae Sharp Richardson, owner of The Chocolate Shop (formerly Temptations), 1277 Seventh Ave. in Marion.

Don't know their favorite candy? You can always go with a sample box, and luck out with a few pieces of the chocolates your loved on doesn't care for. Melanie “Pete” Primasing, owner of Simply Divine Candy, 129 Third Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, has gone so far as to do reconaissance for her customers.

“We ask men where their girlfriends work, then call and talk to their co-workers,” she says. “Somehow we find out their favorite.”

Kopfman's Valentine's Day offerings could lead to a new favorite. The cake decorator launched his new venture - Itty Bitty Tip Top Cakes - with a Valentine's Day sampler of cupcakes in six flavors, including white chocolate raspberry, pink Champagne and sexy chocolate with cayenne pepper butter cream.

“Chocolate is a Valentine's Day must,” Kopfman says. “You think of Valentine's Day, you think of chocolate, you think of roses.”

Kopfman is no longer taking orders for his Valentine's Day sampler, but plans to offer six more flavors in March.

McCauley says chocolate pies are her most popular Valentine's Day treat.

Richardson's new favorite candy is a new creation - a “plop” of caramel on toasted coconut, covered in dark chocolate.

“It's the Mr. Richardson, named after my husband,” she says.

The Mr. Richardson candies are in The Chocolate Shop's display case near the coconut cream and almond candies named after the chocolatier herself - Almond Gae.

Since this is their busy season, both The Chocolate Shop and Simply Divine are open extended hours this week. They'll need them.

“We will dip 200 pounds of strawberries,” Primasing says.

She'll eat a few for breakfast, but that's not what she wants for the holiday.

“I want jewelry in a box of our cheesecake truffles with a rose attached to it, delivered by a young Adonis,” she says. “I don't need to know his name.”

Just remember, you don't have to have a significant other to celebrate the holiday.

“Valentine's Day is supposed to be a time of expressing your love to others,” Kopfman says. “This can be your parents, your siblings, yourself. Why not?”

“Everybody has a Valentine,” Primasing adds. “They have a mom, a stepmom, a teacher. If your dog is your Valentine, we dip dog biscuits.”

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Sweetheart scones

Yield: 8 to 10 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

1 teaspoon grated or finely minced orange zest

3/4 cup currants

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well blended. Using the large holes of a grater, grate butter into the flour mixture. With a pastry cutter, two knives, or fingertips, work the pieces into the flour for 30 seconds to one minute, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The butter should still be cool to the touch. Toss in zest and the currants. Combine egg and half-and-half; stir into flour mixture until the dough holds together.

Dust your hands with flour and loosely gather the dough into a ball. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently two or three times. Lightly pat or roll the dough 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Dip a 2 and a 1/2-inch heart or muffin cutter into flour, and cut out the scones. Place on the baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

From “Valentine Treats: Recipes and crafts for the whole family” by Sara Pretty.