AH, love! We celebrate this one true, pure and beautiful emotion once again on Valentine’s Day, 14 February. Nothing can beat the feeling of being in love and being loved back with equal intensity. So we celebrate it with the sweetest treats we can find — cakes, bakes, chocolates, ice cream… These are just some of sweetest expressions of love the World of Flavors found this year, and we are sharing them with you…

HEART OF MINE

What better way to express your love than with a heart-shaped Caramel Cake by Shirley Santos-Yanga. She started offering it when she got based in Singapore from 2016 to 2022. For someone living abroad, she missed eating this nostalgic cake with caramel frosting, and so she offers her own take on it for Valentine’s Day now that she’s back in town. Inspired by an heirloom recipe, she put together her own eight-inch, heart-shaped Caramel Cake, which she custom-bakes for customers.

Orders may be placed through her website, www.shirleyyangacakes.com.

HER NAME IS LINDA

Master baker Dorothy Ferreria re-introduces her Linda Cake in time for Valentine’s Day this year. It is a two-layer chiffon cake — a choice of mocha or chocolate, with a dulce de leche filling — completely covered with marshmallow icing and topped with a playful bouquet of flowers executed with the same fluffy icing. Now, this, she does play around with according to customers’ preference of color or color combination.

While some people initially thought that she named the cake after her mother, Chef Dorothy actually named it after her best friend. Eight inches in diameter, the cake is done the old-fashioned way, with no preservatives or emulsifiers, and priced at P1,750.

To order, send her a message on her FB or Instagram accounts.

PRETTY IN PINK

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Honeybon has brought back its much-loved Strawberry Matcha Mousse Cake. It is a dessert that beautifully balances the sweetness of ripe strawberries with the earthy richness of matcha, layered into a light and creamy mousse cake, with the matcha layer at the bottom and the strawberry layer on top.

This simple but beautiful cake reflects Honeybon’s signature “just the right sweetness” that makes it the perfect romantic gift for people who like their desserts balanced and refined.

To add a personal touch to it, Honeybon’s Dedication Hearts allow customers to include heartfelt messages on the Strawberry Matcha Mousse Cake or any of Honeybon’s other well-loved cake offerings.

Other cake choices include Tres Leches Cheesecake (known for its rich yet delicate milky flavor), the classic Red Velvet Cake (with moist cocoa layers and tangy cream cheese frosting) and the Ultimate Chocolate Cake (generously layered with luscious chocolate ganache). Then there’s the Mango Royale as well as the timeless Tiramisu with its espresso-soaked layers and creamy mascarpone.

Honeybon is located at SM North EDSA (2nd Floor, Main Mall), SM Megamall (3rd Floor, Building B), Festival Mall (2nd Level), and all Tokyo Bubble Tea branches. Online shopping and delivery options are available via https://honeybon.ph.

CHIFFON CAKES AND CHEESECAKES

If you like chiffon cakes and cheesecakes, Susan Ong of Le Delicieux Patisserie & Café suggests their roster of cakes, which includes Almond Crème Brulee (layered chiffon cake filled and frosted with crème brulee, garnished with sliced almonds), Blueberry Crème Brulee (layered chiffon cake filled and frosted with crème brulee, and topped with blueberry filling, garnished with almonds), Baked New York Cheesecake (with plump strawberry topping), and Baked New York Cheesecake (spread with Biscoff and garnished with Biscoff biscuits).