Retro Foodie: An '80s Valentine's Day Dessert Buffet!

Sprinkles instantly evoke ’80s style

It’s hard to imagine a holiday that’s more ’80s-worthy than Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re single or coupled, this is a time to revel in the myriad of dessert-themed visuals that can’t help but conjure the decadence of the 1980s. If you’ve been reading Mirror80 this month, you know that we created two mood boards in preparation for this Retro Foodie photo shoot. The first celebrates the glam side of ’80s Valentine’s Day style. The second emphasizes everything cute and candy-colored in the realm of ’80s sweets. After much thought and consideration, we decided to go cute. After all, we can veer into glam territory for a range of foodie adventures. But how often can you have a full-on ’80s-style sweet fest?! Read on for more details…

An ’80s-style Valentine’s Day dessert buffet

We created a simple ’80s-style dessert buffet for 1-4 people to enjoy. Red tulips in a metallic vase set a clearly ’80s tone, while cupcakes and frosted cookies are an easy way to celebrate our favorite decade. Having more guests? Take it to the next level by featuring more sweets!

You can’t go wrong with whipped cream!

Let’s talk cupcakes… Whether you’re featuring a few or an entire platter full, add some ’80s style by sprinkling candy-coated licorice in red, white and pink on the display tray, as shown below. We then added store-bought cupcakes, which we decorated with whipped cream, sprinkles, cherry sours and and gummy candy. We also drizzled strawberry sauce on the buttercream frosting-topped red velvet cupcake below:

Strawberry sauce adds color to buttercream frosting

Colorful teacups in vintage hues are the perfect receptacles for icing-topped cookies with sprinkles. Since this spread is about creating a look (and that takes time!), don’t hesitate to use store-bought goodies, especially if they are high quality.

Frosted heart cookies in colorful teacups

Expecting more guests? Put several cookies in each teacup. Yes, your cups will runneth over. These delicious cookies come from the beloved Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery in Austin, Texas.

Sprinkles on frosted cookies

Side note: the tulips ended up lasting a full week! While they were partially opened in the image below, they continued to morph into an exotic display that eventually looked more tropical than ’80s. As a rule, the more closed the tulips, the more they reference the 1980s. Good thing we photographed them early in the week..