As Valentine’s Day draws near, our thoughts turn to love, romance and flowers. The Two of Cups is the tarot card that represents an ideal relationship between two people where there is balance, respect and genuine love.

Parfait Amour (“perfect love” in French) is a violet-hued liqueur that tastes like a Victorian love potion combining the essences of orange, vanilla, roses and violets, among others. Here we will use it to create a cocktail with pink sparkling wine and to infuse chocolate truffles for a potent love spell to draw you and your lover closer and encourage a deepening bond of love.

The history of purple Parfait Amour liqueur is somewhat murky. Like so many things, the Dutch lay claim to its origin, but it clearly has French ties in its name, and the French have long been the popular authorities on love.

It can be found under several different brands today, each with a slightly different character, though it always has a vivid shade of violet, lavender or plum. I’ve gone with the French-produced Marie Brizard brand for this recipe as I believe the French do know a thing or two when it comes to matters of the heart.

The violet has long been associated with love and romance and especially faithfulness. According to a St. Valentine legend, violets grew outside the persecuted priest’s prison cell and he crushed them and used them as ink to continue to spread messages of love and faith.

While the violet has strong associations with St. Valentine, the rose usually overshadows it, with good reason, since the holiday has become devoted to lovers and the rose is the flower of passion and true love and is sacred to Aphrodite.

Together, these two flowers make for a powerful love spell alone, but Parfait Amour also combines oranges (love, health, happiness) & vanilla (love, beauty, trust). We will mix this with Pisco, a clear Peruvian brandy (warmth) and pink sparkling wine (romance)for an irresistible effervescent elixir to toast your love with.

My special thanks to the talented cocktail charmers over at Grade “A” Fancy for their help in developing this particular potion.

The Two of Cups

2.5 oz pisco

2 oz Parfait Amour

2 oz pink sparkling wine

Orange peel for garnish

Combine the pisco and the Parfait Amour in a cocktail shaker filled one-third full with ice and stir clockwise while concentrating on your Valentine, intoning the following incantation:

“Roses red, violets blue

You are me, and I am you,

Drink of brandy, drink of wine

I am yours and you are mine”

Next strain the contents into two cocktail glasses and top each with an ounce of the pink sparkling wine. I chose to cut my orange peel in the shape of a heart with a small cookie cutter. The matches in the photo are to flame the orange peel. I was unable to get a photo of this, but if you click the blue text in the previous sentence there’s a nice little video that shows you how.

Adding this extra element of fire to your drink is very sexy, but a little tricky, so if you don’t get the hang of it just squeeze the peel to release the oils across the surface of the drink. Next take a cocktail pick and pierce the orange peel and garnish the drink, symbolizing cupid’s arrows piercing your heart and that of your beloved.

It really wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without chocolate, and Parfait Amour, roses and violets can be incorporated into a simple but elegant truffle recipe to further cement your affection.

Parfait Amour Truffles

4 oz good quality dark chocolate

.25 cup heavy cream

1-2 Tablespoons Parfait Amour

unsweetened cocoa to coat

crystallized rose & violet petals to decorate

Chop the chocolate into small pieces in a bowl. Reserve a small amount, about 1/2 a teaspoon in a separate ramekin for later. In a saucepan heat the cream until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let this sit a few minutes until the chocolate has softened and then stir to combine.

Into this ganache, add a tablespoon of Parfait Amour and taste to decide if it needs more. The potency of these truffles is firmly in your control! Refrigerate for and hour or two and once firmed up, use a teaspoon to scoop out the size you want and roll into a ball and drop into a small bowl that you have partially filled with cocoa powder and shake the bowl to roll the truffle in the cocoa.

I used another secret ingredient in my cocoa, Disco Dust, from my local cake supply store to give my truffles a magic sparkle. After you’ve got them all coated with cocoa, melt he teaspoon of reserved chocolate in the microwave to 30-60 seconds and use a toothpick to paint some chocolate on the crystallized rose & violet petals and affix them to the tops of your truffles. Voila!

Now you have a pair of aphrodisiacs to celebrate your love on Valentine’s Day or any day!

Vive l’amour!