Rich, decadent and totally moreish, this Middle Eastern inspired Chocolate Tart with Cardamom, Apricots and Rose Petals is perfect when you want a showstopping dessert without the hassle!
OK, I must admit to having a total obsession with this chocolate tart – it first came into being as my contribution to the Cadbury’s creme egg madness last year in the run up to Easter (you know the one where every blogger, instagramer and tweeter in the land tries to come up with a different way of baking with creme eggs). Then it got reinvented and turned into this gorgeous Christmas version featuring cranberries, pistachios and orange. There was even a summer berries version that I totally failed to photograph, so didn’t make the blog…and now I have reinvented it again into this pretty Valentine’s Day tart complete with rose petals – aaah.
But there is a good reason for my obsession – this chocolate tart is utterly easy peasy, totally foolproof and yet looks and tastes amazing. Meaning you can have elegance and sophistication without the stress! It is perfect for whipping up when you have guests to dinner, taking to a party or just making on a random Tuesday evening, if you so wish!
So when I made my Christmas version, I knew I wanted to do a Valentine’s Day version – partly because I knew it would work really well for Valentine’s Day (after all who wants to spend hours in the kitchen on Valentine’s Day?). And partly because I had some rose petals in the cupboard left over from my Moroccan Lamb Traybake, and I wanted to use them up – and what better excuse for rose petals than Valentine’s Day?
So I got to thinking – what else can I pair with rose petals? Now to me, rose petals take me to the Middle East – last year I was totally inspired by Sabrina Ghayour’s gorgeous book, Persiana – in it she uses rose petals in several of her desserts and they work so well.
So I decided to create a delicious Middle Eastern take on my chocolate tart by adding rose water, cardamom, pistachios and apricots into the dark chocolate ganache, before pouring it into the pre-made pastry case (shhh don’t tell!) and then sprinkling over more pistachios, apricots and those all-important rose petals…
The result is as delicious as it looks – a veritable feast for the taste buds – think Turkish delight, but less cloying and more grown up, and you’ve got it! And best of all it takes literally minutes to prepare! Leaving you more time to spend with your loved one on Valentine’s Day.
Of course this tart is not just for Valentine’s Day – it would be perfect for date night or another romantic occasion or else it would work brilliantly for a Middle Eastern themed dinner party – or just any day when you fancy these flavours! And if you don’t have a significant other for Valentine’s Day – make it anyway and revel in the fact you don’t have to share it!! 😉
Chocolate tart with Cardamom, Apricots and Rose Petals
Ingredients
- 300 ml double cream (50% fat)
- 50 g butter
- 200 g 70% dark chocolate (I used Lindt), broken up into squares (ish)
- 75 g dried apricots chopped
- 75 g pistachio kernels
- 2 teaspoons rose water (I used Nielsen-Massey)
- Seeds from 6 cardamom pods bashed and green pods removed
- 1 all-butter sweet pastry case (I used Tesco Finest)
- A small handful of dried rose petals to decorate (mine are from Waitrose)
Instructions
- Put the butter and cream in a pan and heat on a very low heat until the butter has just melted. (Don’t allow the cream to boil).
- As soon as the butter has melted, remove the cream and butter mix from the heat and add in the broken up chocolate pieces. Stir vigorously until it is smooth and glossy and all the chocolate has melted.
- Add 50g (2oz) each of the dried apricots and pistachios, 2 teaspoons of rosewater and all of the cardamom seeds, and stir to mix thoroughly.
- Pour the chocolate filling into the pre-made pastry case and smooth over with the back of a spoon.
- Decorate with the remaining apricots, pistachios and all the rose petals.
- Once you’ve decorated your chocolate tart, you need to leave it for about an hour to set. If you are going to eat this relatively soon (within an hour or two), you can leave it to set at room temperature. If you are making this ahead of time, I would pop it in the fridge. (It does lose its shine a bit when refrigerated, but still tastes delicious!)
Notes
Pin Chocolate Tart with Cardamom, Apricots and Rose Petals for later
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Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
It clearly does taste as good as it looks Eb with all of those delicious versions – and who can blame you when it’s as easy peasy as that! it looks so pretty, and lovely pics too 🙂
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Angela – it really is such a fabulously easy little dessert to whip up – a lifesaver when you have to do something last minute. Thanks for your lovely kind comments about my photography – I do admit to getting a little bit carried away in this photoshoot, but it’s so much fun to play with things like rose petals and pistachios!! Eb x
Vicki Montague says
OK my mouth is watering. Beautiful photos!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Vicki!! I had A LOT of fun taking these photos – who doesn’t want to spend their morning throwing rose petals all over the table? And then eating chocolate tart for lunch? 😉 Eb x
Just Jo says
This looks so so beautiful Eb – I saw it on IG and came to find the recipe. Problem is, I can’t stand rose but I think freeze dried and fresh raspberries would be a fab sub for me. Gorgeous recipe
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Jo 🙂 I understand the rose thing – it’s a bit of a Marmite flavour!! Raspberry sounds an excellent substitute 🙂 Eb x
Nico @ yumsome says
This looks amazing, Eb – I love that you’ve used cardamom, which is one of my favourite spices (have you used it in rice pudding? It’s gorgeous!). Are the rose petals edible? (I love rose flavour too!)
By the way, I wanted to leave a comment on your porridge and compote recipe but commenting seems to be turned off!
I just wanted to say how lovely it looks and sounds, and to thank you for letting me share it on my Vegan Valentine round-up!
The post is live now, if you want to check it out (and share it!). http://www.yumsome.com/your-perfect-vegan-valentine-25-fantastic-plant-based-recipes/
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Nico! I LOVE cardamon – actually I am pretty in love with most spices, but cardamom is definitely one of my favourites. Yep the rose petals are the edible kind – courtesy of Tesco! Thanks for the heads up about my comments – I checked and somehow commenting was turned off for posts over 28 days old – I have turned it back on again! Not sure how that happened – I probably thought it was a good idea at some point in the past!! I will be popping over to check out your Vegan Valentine Roundup up shortly and OF COURSE I will share it on my social media 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Ooooh Eb this tart looks and sounds amazing! I would quite happily put the diet on hold for a good slice of it! Thank you for sharing and hosting #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kirsty 🙂 Yeah sorry about that – not very diet friendly is it? How many syns would it be??? I dread to think – but it would be worth it as a treat 🙂 Eb x
Chonnie Johnston says
This look FANTASTIC. I can understand why you want to make it all year round, the glossy chocolate is just calling to me. I love love love pistachios but not a fan of rose so I would probably opt out of that flavour and add raspberries or something else to give it a splash of colour. Also pre-made pasty cases are the way forward .. I am finding out the hard way! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Chonnie 🙂 I love how foolproof this is – the chocolate goes glossy like that every time without me having to try! Oh I totally agree about the pre-made bases. There are some really good ones out there and it turns this dessert from something that would take me all morning to something I can turn out in 10 minutes AND it looks much better than my homemade ones (I am really not a pastry maker – it usually tastes ok but looks terrible!!) Rasperries sound like a lovely alternative to rose – I rather think pomegranate would work rather well too. Eb x
Louise Fairweather says
This looks absolutely beautiful. I would leave the recipe up for my OH to make – but I am pretty sure it wouldn’t look so good! #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Honestly, Louise – I am not artistic at all. This tart is absolutely foolproof. It is so easy to make look and taste good! You should definitely leave the recipe up for your hubby to treat you!! 🙂 Eb x
Honest Mum says
These look like works of art not tarts. So, so beautiful x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, you say the nicest things, Vicki, especially as I am so NOT artistic!! Honestly, my 8 year old daughter is already much better at drawing than me!! I usually go for the more ‘rustic’ style of food (you know, tastes good, but looks kind of…brown!), but every now and again a girl likes to play with rose petals, right??!!! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Oh I love all your versions this one and the Christmas one sound the best of all. How did I miss the Christmas one. Your pictures are beautiful too. Wondering how you are going to top these this Easter:)
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Jacqui. I’m not sure if I will do another Easter version – last year’s creme egg version would take some beating! I might do something totally different instead for Easter – I’m up for a new challenge!! Thanks for your lovely comments 🙂 Eb x
Mandy says
Oh my goodness Eb, this sounds divine and these are some of the best photos you’ve ever taken! Just gorgeous #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Mandy!! I must say – I was rather chuffed with how my photos came out – but then somethings are just that much easier to photograph…nothing made of chocolate with rose petals thrown all over it is ever going to look THAT bad, right? 😀 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Beautiful Tart Eb. Looks so pretty and sounds divine! Lovely lovely photos too! You just get better and better xx
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Kate – it does taste pretty good. And thanks so much for your lovely comments on my photos – I do try really hard, so it’s lovely to hear that it’s working and I am improving…it’s so hard to not just be super critical of my own photos, I can so often just see all the flaws and none of the good points!! Eb x
Joyce says
Hi Eb, I have to say these photos are gorgeous! Although I haven’t try this recipe yet, I’m pretty sure it tastes amazing just by reading all the ingredients. I’m gluten-free so I will definitely make a gluten-free version. Thanks for sharing.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Joyce! Haha – yes I agree it would be difficult to make these ingredients taste bad, wouldn’t it? I assure you it tastes even better than it sounds! I keep thinking I should create a gluten free version of this chocolate tart for all my gluten free readers. I will get my thinking cap on! Do let me know what you think if you try this – I would love to know how you get on 🙂 Eb x
Choclette says
This tart is epic. I’m totally in love with Middle Eastern flavours. Cardamom is one of my favourite spices and rose is just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing with We Should Cocoa. Hoping to get the post out later today.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Choclette 🙂 There are certainly some fab flavours in there – cardamom is one of my favourite spices too! Eb x
Melinda says
I tried this out today with a homemade shortbread crust. The tart was deliciously flavoured and absolutely stunning. However, I now realize that I should have been mindful of the country of the recipe’s authorship; my tart didn’t set properly, even after significant time spent in the freezer, and I’m 99.9% sure that the culprit was the lower milk fat in standard Canadian cream (10% mf). What kind/percentage of cream did you use? You might consider clarifying this on the recipe for those of us who stumble upon your blog from abroad. I’d love to try the recipe again sometime and get it right. (I would also probably halve the rose water and cardamom seeds for a more delicate flavour, but that’s totally just personal preference.)
Eb Gargano says
Hi Melinda, thanks for this feedback. I’m delighted you liked my tart, but sorry to hear you had problems with it setting. When I do it, it firms up nicely even if I don’t put it in the fridge, so I think you might have put your finger on the nail about the cream. I used what we Brits call ‘double cream’ which is 50% fat. Thank you for your suggestion to make this clear in the recipe – I have done just that. The only other possible culprit is the chocolate, which needs to be 70% cocoa or above – but I am guessing from your comment that you did use the correct chocolate, so in which case it must be the cream. I’d love to know how it goes, if you try this again with thicker cream! And thanks again for this helpful feedback. I love hearing that my recipes are being made all over the world and comments like these help me make my recipes better for everyone! Eb 🙂