This dessert was actually inspired by an ice cream sandwich I had recently. It had honey lavender ice cream in between two lemon cookies. I loved the flavor combination! The tart cookie contrasted perfectly with the sweet honey and floral lavender flavor. I’d been itching to try making something with lavender, so I went for it!
I couldn’t find ground lavender or lavender extract at my local store. I ended up getting dried lavender flowers instead and ground it myself with our spice grinder. If you don’t have a spice grinder, I highly recommend it. It’s especially great for autumn, the season of spices! Grinding your own herbs really makes a difference in the flavor.
This is not a normal tart or cheesecake crust. Since I based this crust on a cookie recipe, it means the dough can’t be rolled out like a traditional tart. You need to press the dough into the crust pan.
I’m not going to lie, this turned out quite a bit differently than I had imagined. But different isn’t a bad thing!
My cookie crust was a little thicker than I wanted (truly like a layer of cookie!), but Chef K liked the flavor so much he said we had to post it. Chef K is quite the perfectionist, so it must be pretty darn good. I recommend taking the time to really press down your cookie because the crust does rise a little bit.
Keep your lavender in your cake, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Honey Lavender “Cheesecake” with a Lemon Cookie Crust
Ingredients
Lemon Cookie Crust
- 1½ tbsp warm water
- 1½ tsp flaxseed meal
- ¼ cup unsalted butter or vegan butter
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ cups gluten free all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp xanthum gum if your flour doesn’t have any
- ¼ tsp baking powder
Filling
- 2 tbsp blueberries
- 1¾ cups cashews soaked in water overnight
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp dried ground lavender or grind dried lavender with a spice grinder*
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
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In a small bowl, combine warm water with flaxseed meal and set aside for at least 10 minutes until it thickens.
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Cream together butter and coconut sugar until well combined.
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Add flaxseed mixture, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the butter mixture. Mix until well combined.
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In a separate medium sized bowl, mix together flour, xanthum gum, and baking powder.
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Slowly pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture, until all the flour is well incorporated.
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Cover mixing bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes.
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In a 9-inch tart pan, evenly distribute batter along the bottom and edge of tart pan.
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Bake for 30 minutes or until tart shell is cooked through. Let cool completely.
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While baking the tart shell, start prepping your filling.
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In a high speed blender, place all filling ingredients, and blend until smooth.
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Pour filling into cooled tart shell.
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Place tart in freezer for 3 – 4 hours until firm.
Recipe Notes
*We couldn’t find ground lavender, so we bought dried lavender and ground it in our spice grinder