Treat your honey with a decadent dessert that’s as good in the mouth as it is in the tummy

It’s Valentine’s Day and the perfect opportunity to treat someone you love with this heavenly dessert. Raw cardamom cream atop a pistachio crust, with hand whipped cream, garnished with mint and edible rose dust. Need I say more?

Even better, this divine dessert that promises to transport your palate to a Mediterranean inspired paradise, is both healthy and quick & easy to make! I know, you would have liked to have this recipe on hand a few days ago for this Valentine’s Day, but it’s so easy and basic you could still make it for tonight.

The main ingredients are so common you might very well have them on hand: avocado, cardamom, cinnamon, cream, raw pistachios, dates and honey. The only special ingredients to note are lemon extract, mint and optional edible crushed rose (usually sold as rose tea).

Cooking Notes

There’s no cooking involved, but there are a few important tips to mind which will make this dessert easy as pie.

Serve

• Serve it cold, or even freeze for an hour before serving.
• Best to top with whipped cream and garnishes, just before serving.
• Be sure to garnish with mint!
• If you don’t have edible rose petals at your disposal, try dusting half the tart with raw cacao, or just serve with finely chopped mint.

Tart Crust

The main thing to keep in mind here is to keep the crust thin. A thick crust will overpower the delicate cream top.

If you don’t have any pistachios on hand, substitute with almonds, walnuts or pecans. Pistachios or almonds being best for this recipe.

Look for high grade Medjool dates. Lesser date varieties will yield less moisture, sweetness, flavor and sticking power.

Cardamom Cream

For a vegan tart you can skip the heavy cream, but if you’re not dairy free, the addition of cream helps to create a more luxurious flavor and texture. Just don’t add more than 1 tablespoon per avocado.

Use perfect avocados, for a perfect mousse:

• Make sure to use perfectly ripe, soft avocados.
• Avoid avocados that are too liquified and riddled with brown spot.
• Best to use super ripe Fuerte! But if Hass is all that’s available, just mind the tips above.

Although I don’t recommend it, if you’re in a pinch you may omit the Lemon Extract if you don’t have any on hand. Substitute with 1/2 teaspoon lemon or lime juice. Aside form the wonderful tart flavor, it helps to preserve the color of the avocado if you’re making the dessert in advance. The tangy flavor creates some bright/ open space for all flavors to coexist in a more harmonious way.

Place the cream over your tart crust while still in the form and fan out with flat edged spoon or knife. Place the whole thing in the freezer for an hour or refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. If using a tart pan with rippled edges, after you’ve removed the sides, use the tip of a dinner knife to push the cream up at each indentation. This creates the pretty overlapping edge design.

Whipped Cream

Remember to place a deep bowl and your whisk in the freezer before you get started on making this dessert. Super cold tools will make beating your cream into peaks a much easier job.

To make this extra healthy, use RAW cream! If you live in California you can buy Organic Pastures Raw Milk at most farmer’s markets and some health food stores. If you’re in another part of the country check the Real Milk website for local sources.

I opted not add any sweetener to my whipped cream, as the flavor of good cream is a lovely contrast to the sweet and fragrant components in the tart.

Tools & Pantry Shopping List

You’ll need a few tools to make this desert happen with ease. If you’re a raw foodist, or a foodie, you’ll surely already have these on hand. If you don’t have a hand blender or food processor, or perhaps you’re looking for an upgrade, consider these:

• Food Processor: If you don’t have one, I recommend investing in something larger than the 7 cup. That size is very limiting and if you go with Cuisinart they make thicker blades for easy veggie slicing for their larger models.
• Immersion Blender: Be sure to buy a model with a 100% stainless steel shaft so that you can safely use it with hot foods, try Waring or All-Clad.
• Stainless Steel Pitcher & Milk Frother: I use this pitcher daily to blend single portion smoothies and avocado mousses, while the frother is simply the best for making micro-foam style foamed milk for lattes & teas. It’s a must have! I’ve had this little gadget for several years now and still going strong! The entire set is 100% stainless steel.
• Coiled Whisk: This Norpro Krona Sauce Master Whisk is the best. I tried both this one and my standard balloon whisk for this small job and the Norpro did a much better job.
• Tart Pan: Last but certainly not least, you need a tart pan with removable bottom or Mousse Pastry Ring. The pastry ring would be much easier to work with for this recipe than the tart pan with detachable base. You can place the ring directly on your serving plate and eliminate messing around with transferring and sticky tart bottoms!

Stock up on these goodies for many a delectable dessert and tea:

• Organic Eible Rose Buds: This is the most heavenly herb to have at your finger tips. Steep the petals for tea, top your smoothies and of course desserts with this sensually aromatic flower. Rose will elevate your spirit and be a catalyst for improved health. Read more about the energetic properties of the Rose here >
• Organic Lemon Extract : A few drops of this extract will brighten up any dessert or smoothie!