Valentine's Day History, Romance & Ice Cream

Valentine's Day is celebrated in numerous countries around the world - the United States, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and France for example. Despite its popularity, however, if you ask anyone about the history of Valentine's Day, few people will be able to give you an answer. An interesting fact really, especially given the fact that it's the second largest card-sending day of the year (after Christmas). Yes, around 1 billion cards will be sent for Valentine's Day this year with a staggering 85% being sent by women!

So what is the history? Well, as with many things that have been handed down over centuries, there is a degree of mystery about the subject, so rather than delve into that I'll give you a link to a great web page that goes into serious and fascinating detail on the history of Valentine's Day.

Let's move on to what Valentine's Day is all about - romance. This photo was kindly furnished by Sarah who works in an English castle, popular for romantic weddings. It's a special cheesecake dessert made for a wedding breakfast. She told me that many people choose Valentine's Day not only to offer/accept a marriage proposal but as their actual wedding day and the castle has seen many happy couples 'tie the knot' within its walls on February 14. Who said romance was dead?!

So what about a special dessert for Valentine's Day? Well, having talked about cheesecake it seems appropriate to suggest a cheesecake ice cream recipe. Smooth, rich and toally indulgent ... it sounds the perfect dessert to end a romantic dinner for two. (The grated chocolate in the recipe is optional by the way - it's just a topping for the ice cream)

My Valentine's Day ice cream blog post in 2009
My Valentine's Day ice cream blog post in 2008