A Last-Minute Guide to Valentine’s Day Desserts
Don't get stuck buying another heart-shaped chocolate box from the drugstore. Here's where to find the best sweets in Philly for your sweetheart.
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen’s Valentine’s Day treats / Photograph by Eleni Sterious courtesy of PUNCH Media
Look, we get it. You don’t have to love Valentine’s Day. You don’t even have to like it. But if you’re in a relationship, you kind of have to acknowledge it. It might be commercialized and slightly crass, but everyone wants to feel like their beloved is eager to celebrate with them. I’m of the opinion that the best Valentine’s Day gifts are small, with a very heartfelt note. That’s why we put together this list of sweet treats that are perfect for gifting to your boo, your family, your friends, or yourselves.
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen, Queen Village
The heart-shaped Linzer cookies, mini strawberry shortcakes, and cheesecakes at Famous 4th Street are the pastry equivalent to those vintage Valentine’s Day cards with cherub-like children exchanging tokens of affection. They’ve got an old-timey charm reminiscent of a time when couples were “going steady” instead of “dating.” Sweeten your courtship by picking these up at the bakery counter or by ordering online. 700 South 4th Street.
Dreamworld Bakes, Kensington
Are we heartbroken that preorders on Dreamworld Bakes’s naked red velvet cakes ended yesterday? Yes. Will we still buy whatever Ashley Huston has available? Also yes. This Best of Philly-winning bakery goes big and bold with flavor and floral designs that are guaranteed to wow your sweetheart. 2400 Coral Street.
New June Bakery, Brewerytown
New June has the market cornered on super romantic cakes, so let them do their thing for the holiday of romance. They’re doing adorable pink and red cakes that would be perfect for a dinner party or Galentine’s celebration, but if you’re looking for something a little smaller, they’re also making intricately decorated sugar cookies that would be a nice treat to slip into the lunchbox of a child (or grown-up). 2623 West Girard Avenue.
Cake Life’s Sweet, Spicy, and Asa Akira Conversation Heart cookie / Photograph by Milton Lindsay
Cake Life Bake Shop, Fishtown
Cake Life always strikes the right balance between delicious desserts and kitsch, because what’s the point of Valentine’s Day without a little kitsch? They’ve still got a few boxes of extra-spicy, super-suggestive conversation heart cookies available for pre-order if sugar cookies with “anal” and “cow girl” written on them are your love language. For the more vanilla folks looking for a Valentine’s Day treat, Cake Life’s rose petal and pistachio hearts cookies will make your partner swoon. 1306 Frankford Avenue.
Second Daughter, East Passyunk
If you or your partner aren’t really into Valentine’s Day, a box of brownies is a really nice gift, because you really don’t need an occasion for a brownie, do you? Second Daughter’s remains our very favorite in the city for their intense chocolate flavor and fudgy texture. 1901 South 9th Street.
Éclat Chocolate,West Chester
Éclat has a broad selection of Valentine’s Day treats, including some very cute heart-shaped bonbons filled with flavors like raspberry and rose, orange caramel, green tea and mint, and more. It’s also not too late to order for ground shipping if you don’t want to visit their retail location. 24 South High Street.
Fiore Fine Foods, Kensington
Justine MacNeil’s confections are some of the very best in the city, and they’re only available around particular holidays. For $25, you can get a confectionery box with hand-painted bonbons and more. Add a “passion of lover’s” cake, if only for the excellent name. 2413 Frankford Avenue.
Vernick Coffee Bar, Center City
Vernick Coffee Bar has a surprisingly excellent pastry program for a coffee shop in a hotel, and for Valentine’s Day, they’re doing a couple of specials, including a red velvet whoopie pie. It will certainly taste delicious, and you can make some jokes about making whoopee. A true win-win. 1800 Arch Street, 2nd floor.
Good Good’s Carmellow heart / Photograph by Mike Prince
Good Good Chocolates, Queen Village
Good Good Chocolates has a few caramellow hearts still available on their website, but you can walk into their new retail store to browse handmade bonbons, caramels, chocolate bars, and more. 746 South 4th Street.
Bake Bake, Fishtown
Bake Bake Philly has a broad menu of Valentine’s Day treats, including cheesecake, a heart-shaped mini-cake, iced sugar cookies, and petit fleurs, their take on the French buttercream and jam-filled tea cakes. These are perfect for sharing or eating for breakfast. Place your preorder online by February 12th and pick on Valentine’s Day at the Riverwards in Fishtown. Riverwards Fishtown, 2200 East Norris Street, #1906.
Crust Vegan Bakery, Manayunk
If you or your sweetie are vegan or gluten-free, we believe you still deserve a sweet treat! Crust Vegan Bakery is our go-to for allergen-friendly baking. It’s a little late for preorders, but swing by their shop this week for strawberry-matcha pop tarts, red currant cookies, and cake cups. 4409 Main Street.
