The first time I cut into this tart I half expected the filling to taste green. It does not. What you get instead is something closer to a dark chocolate mousse that has been set just firm enough to hold a clean edge, with a soft almond-and-date base underneath that yields to the spoon. The avocado does all the heavy lifting here, and you would never pick it in a blind taste. That is the small magic of it.
I came back to this one after losing the original write-up, and remaking it reminded me why it earned a spot in the Golden Door Living kitchen. There is no oven, no setting agent, no fuss. You blitz a base, blitz a filling, press, smooth, freeze. The whole thing comes together in the time it takes to clean the food processor twice. When you slice it cold, the cacao deepens and the berries on top cut through with a bright, slightly tart snap.
The colour alone is worth a mention. Once the cacao goes in, the filling turns a deep, glossy brown that looks every bit as indulgent as a baked chocolate tart, and the surface sets to a smooth sheen as it firms in the tin. Against that dark base, a handful of raspberries and blueberries reads almost jewel-like. I serve it in a shallow ring of berries so the red bleeds a little into the plate, and it always draws a second glance before anyone has tasted a thing.
Ingredients
Base
- 2/3 cup raw almonds
- 8 fresh medjool dates, pitted
- Finley grated zest and juice of 1/2 mandarin
Filling
- 2 avocados
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3-4 drops natural vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maca powder
To serve
- 250 g fresh berries such as raspberries, blueberries and strawberries
Method
- Line a 25 cm spring-form cake tin with cling wrap. To make the base, grind the almonds and dates together in a food processor until well combined, almost to a paste. Add mandarin zest and juice and process until it forms a soft dough. Place mixture into lined tin and press to cover base.
- To make the filling, place all filling ingredients in a food processor and blend until silky smooth. Spoon on top of the base and smooth out.
- Freeze for 2 hours, then serve with fresh berries.
Serves 8-10.
Getting the textures right
A few things I have learned from making this more times than I can count. Use ripe avocados that give a little when you press the skin; firm ones leave you with a grainy filling and a flatter colour. Ripe medjool dates matter just as much, because they are what bind the base without anything else added. If your dates feel dry, soak them in warm water for ten minutes and pat them off before they go in. The mandarin is doing more than flavour here. That hit of zest and juice lifts the whole base and stops it tasting heavy, so don’t skip it.
Texture is the whole game with a tart like this. Process the almonds and dates until the mix just clumps when you pinch it, then stop; go too far and the base turns oily and dense rather than soft. For the filling, give it longer than feels necessary, scraping the bowl down once or twice, until there is not a single fleck of avocado left and it ribbons off the spatula like ganache. That extra minute is the difference between silky and merely smooth. A pinch of fine salt in the filling, if you like, makes the cacao taste rounder, though the recipe stands well without it.
Serving, storing and a note on raw desserts
I like to pull the tart from the freezer about ten minutes before slicing so the filling softens to a mousse-like cut rather than shattering. A warm knife, wiped between slices, gives you the cleanest edge. It keeps beautifully in the freezer for up to two weeks, wrapped well, which makes it a good one to have tucked away for when people drop in. Scatter the berries on just before it goes to the table so they stay glossy and fresh, and if you want to gild it, a light dusting of extra cacao over the top looks lovely.
This sits happily in the raw dessert camp, leaning on whole ingredients like nuts, fruit and avocado rather than refined flour or butter. It is rich, so a thin slice goes a long way, and the berries keep each plate feeling light and fresh. None of that makes it a health food, and I would never sell it as one; it is a treat, and a generous one at that. But it is a treat built from real ingredients you can pronounce, which is the spirit we cook in here. If you want to read more about putting everyday meals together around whole foods, Nutrition Australia has plenty of sensible, no-nonsense guidance. We keep our own kitchen notes loose and practical over in nailing nutrition if you fancy a read.
If this style of dessert is your thing, you will be in good company across the recipe shelf. The macadamia and strawberry cheesecake works on the same no-bake, nut-based logic and slices just as cleanly from cold. The chia and carob cake is another rich, fridge-set slice that keeps for days. And for something smaller to have alongside a cup of tea, the date and lime balls roll up in minutes from much the same pantry shelf.
One small confession from me. I almost always sneak a spoonful of the filling straight from the processor before it ever reaches the base, and I have made peace with that. It is too good to wait for.
– Mei Lin, Golden Door Living kitchen
