It’s all gone heart-shaped, and thankfully not pear-shaped, at bakeries across the country as they embrace the Valentine’s season this year with themed NPD.
Limited-edition creations include a raft of heart-shaped doughnuts plus some cakes and biscuits, along with lashings of lovely chocolate on the likes of cupcakes, buns, and cheesecakes. There are also some fruity flavour combinations looking to stir the passions of consumers such as raspberry & white chocolate, cherry & chocolate, lemon, rose, & pistachio, and even the classic rhubarb & custard.
We’ve invited a baker’s dozen of brands to our Valentine’s NPD party – read on for more details on each of their ranges:
Asda
The retailer has added new cupcakes and buns to its romantic repertoire this year, which join the Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie returning from the 2025 Valentine’s Day.
A pair of lovers can share the new Vanilla Flavour Cupcakes with Strawberry and Vanilla Flavour Frosting (£1.47, two-pack) or divide up the nine-pack of Mini Cupcakes versions (rsp: £2.97). More cute decorations come with the new Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Flavoured Iced Buns (£1.47, two-pack).
Birds Bakery
Midlands bakery chain Birds continues its strong product pipeline from 2025 with a trio of limited-edition baked goodies for amorous customers. Products rolling out at its stores include:
- Billionaire Shortbread (rsp: £2.05) – salted caramel encased in all-butter shortbread, topped with a Belgian milk chocolate heart and finished with white chocolate spinning
- Heart Cupcake (rsp: £2.50) – chocolate sponge topped with plain or chocolate flavoured icing, a milk or white Belgian chocolate heart, and finished with red hundreds and thousands
- Choc Cherry Sponge (rsp: £2.35) – cream and cherry filling sandwiched between rich chocolate sponge and finished with icing sugar (available on Valentine’s weekend only).
Biscuiteers
Hand-iced biscuit specialist Biscuiteers has unveiled a charming collection to help celebrate love in every form this year.
The star of the show is the brand-new Rom-Com Biscuit Tin (rsp: £39.95), containing an assortment of nine vanilla biscuits inspired by beloved tropes of classic flicks – can you guess them all? The tin also includes a mini crossword, helping couples match each biscuit to its corresponding film.
There’s also new designs such as the Heart Throbs Letterbox Biscuits (£25) and the Personalised Perfect Match Biscuit Card (£14.95), as well as the Love Hearts Letterbox DIY Kit (£18) for those wanting to get creative. All biscuits can be purchased online or at Biscuiteers’ boutique in Notting Hill (there’s a clue!).
Borough 22
Free-from doughnut specialist Borough 22 has created a limited-edition Love Yours Box (rsp: £34) containing six fried doughnuts – two red hearts filled with jam, two chocolate hearts filled with chocolate cream, and two white ring doughnuts with heart sprinkles. Like the rest of the brand’s range they are halal, kosher, plant-based, gluten-free and nut-free. Available for nationwide delivery or via Deliveroo within the London catchment, as well as at its Selfridges London concession.
For an indulgent treat, the XL Heartbreaker (£16.95) is three times the size of a standard doughnut. The heart-shaped item is filled with jam, glazed in vibrant red icing, and finished with edible gold leaf. There’s also the XL Black Gold (£16.95) which has a rich chocolate filling and glaze along with gold leaf. Both products are available from 12 to 16 February and for collection only, either at Selfridges or from the company’s production space in Brockley.
Cakesmiths
Bristol-based coffee shop cake supplier Cakesmiths has rolled out three new sweet treats to provide love at first bite.
A passionate twist on its white chocolate blondie base is the Raspberry Red Velvet, which is infused with an all-natural beetroot food colouring, packed with whole raspberries and white chocolate chunks, and topped with white chocolate flicks and freeze-dried raspberry crumbs.
The Ruby & Rose, meanwhile, has dark chocolate sponge smothered in ruby chocolate ganache, a layer of homemade raspberry jam, and decorated with hand-piped ruby chocolate ganache hearts, flaked pistachio, dried rose petals, and cherry crumbs.
Lastly, the Raspberry Cruffin features buttery, flaky laminated dough filled with a silky but tart raspberry curd.
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Dum Dum Donuts
Having recently opened a new 6,000 sq ft innovation facility in Brentford, the doughnut brand has put its new pastry chefs to good use on a Valentine’s range. This sees all new doughnuts, and some favourites, become heart-shaped and made with pink dough (they’ll be changed back on 16 February).
Newcomers to the Dum Dum doughnut line-up – which are baked with olive oil instead of deep fried – include Lemon Berry Glaze and Classic Berry Jam (rsp: £3.50 each). There’s also a new Eton Mess Cronut (£4.50) to add to the existing croissant/doughnut hybrid varieties.
Gail’s
Showing love through food is second nature to Gail’s, it says. For Valentine’s Day 2026, it has launched a heart-shaped reimaging of its Lemon, Rose, and Pistachio Cake (rsp: £3.95 each, £15.50 for box of four). The pistachio cake is brushed with lemon syrup and dipped in raspberry & rose icing, and adorned with rose petals.
The high street bakery chain has also come out with a Rhubarb & Vanilla Custard Brioche (£4.50) featuring batons of candyfloss-pink Yorkshire Forced rhubarb (grown in the dark and harvested by candlelight) paired with Madagascan crème pâtissière and shortbread crumble.
Just Desserts Yorkshire
Shipley-based handmade dessert specialist has extended its range of individual cheesecakes for foodservice operators with a limited-edition Dark Chocolate & Raspberry version. Sold in cases of 16, it comprises a dark chocolate biscuit base topped with a rich dark chocolate cheesecake and sweet raspberry filling, sprinkled with dried raspberry pieces.
It has also unveiled new individual Raspberry Ripple Cookie Cups (available in cases of nine) that are filled with raspberry flavoured white chocolate spread and topped with freeze dried raspberries, white chocolate curls, and sugar hearts.
Little Sourdough Kitchen
NPD crafted by new lead bakers Anna Konig and Ben Costello has been enabled by the Fulham-based business entering a fresh next chapter under the stewardship of chef Phil Howard and restauranteur Julian Dyer.
This includes limited-edition bakes for Valentine’s weekend like the heart-shaped Iced Vanilla & Einkorn Shortbread (rsp: £2) and the Chocolate Choux Bun (£4.70), which is filled with buckwheat Crème Diplomat, chocolate ganache, and salted butter caramel.
M&S
The retailer has followed up on its recent gluten-free Colin the Caterpillar cake innovation with a limited-edition gifting box of double chocolate mini rolls. The Box of Love (rsp: £5) features a cute Connie caterpillar and a smitten Colin – with cartoonish hearts for eyes – plus some white chocolate boots and love hearts. It even includes a love poem penned by Colin himself.
In addition M&S has extended the Lamingtons range it launched last year, with new individual I Love You A Laming-ton boxes (£2.75) made up of soft Madeira sponge covered in pink icing, rolled in coconut and topped with raspberry jam and a buttercream heart.
Oliphants & Pomeroy
The Buckinghamshire-based bakery and ice cream specialist, which recently opened a new shop inside Covent Garden Market Building, is selling heart-shaped brioche doughnuts during Valentine’s week (9 to 15 February). These are baked in-house and freshly filled to order with raspberry jam or white chocolate crème pâtissière.
Oliphants & Pomeroy is also running a £28 bundle offer on a half bottle of Nyetimber English Sparkling Wine with two heart-shaped doughnuts.
Paul’s UK
French bakery chain Paul’s is suggesting that customers skip flowers and say it with pâtisserie this Valentine’s Day.
Available in its 32 stores across London, Oxford and Reading from 9 to 15 February, new items include the Chocolate & Cherry Éclair (rsp: £5.75) made with cherry compote, chocolate crème pâtissiere, and finished with a dusting of gold and raspberry crunch.
The company has also created two heart-shaped individual cakes: the Valentine’s Fraisier (£6.50), a classic strawberry Fraisier topped with blush-pink marzipan, and the Valentine’s Craquant (£6.50), crowned with a crunchy raspberry topping. They can be purchased as a pair for £12.
For Galentine’s gatherings, Paul is selling a full-size Pink Fraisier Cake (£46) that serves six to eight people. And it has a Macaron Box packed with 12 macarons in assorted flavours.
Starbucks
The coffee brand has unveiled its latest seasonal update to cake pops range, the new Valentine Bear Cake Pop (rsp: £3.05). This bite‑sized vanilla‑flavour cake is blended with digestive biscuit crumb, dipped in white chocolate and finished with chocolate ears and a heart‑shaped nose. Available till 15 February, or until stocks last.
Starbucks has also jumped on the pistachio trend with the new Pistachio Scroll (£4.45), made with buttery, flaky pastry filled with pistachio sauce, finished with an extra layer of green coloured white chocolate and topped with crushed pistachio nuts. The item accompanies new Pistachio Hot Chocolate and Pistachio Iced Chocolate launches at participating UK stores.
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