Happy New Year! To celebrate the new year I wanted to share my new favorite dessert with you. After spending the last month celebrating and eating lots of decadent and delicious food it was time to get back to normal. Does this mean giving up sweet treats and living on carrot sticks? No way! I am a BIG fan of something sweet especially if I know it is adding nutrition to my diet not taking it away. Enter my favorite ingredient for desserts.... avocados.
I know a lot of people might be turned off by this idea but trust me. Avocados are a fruit that has featured in a lot of Asian desserts for years and years but us westerners tend to limit our avocados to the savory section. There is nothing wrong with avocados in your Mexican or smashed on toast but why limit them when they can be so much more? I equally love my avocado turned into chocolate mousse or in this case a fresh and fruity lime tart. Yum.
So why are avocados a great idea for desserts? well firstly they are naturally creamy so you can skip the dairy and fake dairy and get the same creamy mouth feel and taste. Avocados are fairly neutral in flavor which means we can add pretty much whatever we like to them, in this case lime and honey. In terms of your health, for people who don't eat a lot of fatty foods e.g. vegans avocados can be an important source of good quality fats to make you hair and skin look pretty. Another win! To learn more about the avocado and its healthy fat (and to score another avocado dessert recipe) have a read here.
Lets get down to tart making business. This tart comes together in about 10mins of "work time" and about half an hour of waiting. It keeps beautifully in the freezer for a couple of days making it a great option to make the day before an event or dinner party. You can get creative and make mini tarts or one larger one. This recipe will only give you a medium sized tart but it isn't rocket science to double the mix and make a jumbo tart for a crowd.
Like with any cooking, stop and taste the mix as you go and add more lime/ honey if you require it. Some people may want to mask the avocado flavor completely and others may be happy for it to be there in the background.
Happy tart making and happy New Year!
I know a lot of people might be turned off by this idea but trust me. Avocados are a fruit that has featured in a lot of Asian desserts for years and years but us westerners tend to limit our avocados to the savory section. There is nothing wrong with avocados in your Mexican or smashed on toast but why limit them when they can be so much more? I equally love my avocado turned into chocolate mousse or in this case a fresh and fruity lime tart. Yum.
So why are avocados a great idea for desserts? well firstly they are naturally creamy so you can skip the dairy and fake dairy and get the same creamy mouth feel and taste. Avocados are fairly neutral in flavor which means we can add pretty much whatever we like to them, in this case lime and honey. In terms of your health, for people who don't eat a lot of fatty foods e.g. vegans avocados can be an important source of good quality fats to make you hair and skin look pretty. Another win! To learn more about the avocado and its healthy fat (and to score another avocado dessert recipe) have a read here.
Lets get down to tart making business. This tart comes together in about 10mins of "work time" and about half an hour of waiting. It keeps beautifully in the freezer for a couple of days making it a great option to make the day before an event or dinner party. You can get creative and make mini tarts or one larger one. This recipe will only give you a medium sized tart but it isn't rocket science to double the mix and make a jumbo tart for a crowd.
Like with any cooking, stop and taste the mix as you go and add more lime/ honey if you require it. Some people may want to mask the avocado flavor completely and others may be happy for it to be there in the background.
Happy tart making and happy New Year!
Makes 2 small tarts or 1 medium
Base
3/4 cup raw nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)
1/4 cup of prunes or dates
pinch of sea salt
Filling
2 small avocados
zest and juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp raw honey
Place all the base ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Press into a small tart tin or tray and place in the freezer.
Clean your food processor and throw in all the filling ingredients in and blend until smooth and silky, taste test and add more honey/ lime as you desire. Scoop the filling out on top of the crust and put back in the freezer for at least an hour or over night. Enjoy straight from the freezer, or give it a few minutes to thaw slightly (but not too much). The tart will soften as it warms up, so cut into slices when really cold.
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