Lori Stern’s Pistachio Rose Tart

Learn how to make a delicious pistachio rose tart and more about the baker behind the famous flower-pressed treats. This dessert is as delicious as it is beautiful and is the perfect way to savor the last days of summer.

You might know Lori Stern for the picturesque, botanical shortbread cookies she’s become famous for on social media. Inspired by her childhood in Ojai, Stern uses the wild edible flowers and medicinal herbs she grew up surrounded by to make sublime treats and recipes. As eye-catching as her creations are, I really value her commitment to using the highest quality, local ingredients in all of her baking and catering. I recently had Lori over to make a pistachio rose tart and a beautifying tea with herbs from her Montecito garden. This dessert is as delicious as it is beautiful and is the perfect way to savor the last days of summer.

I have been drinking beautifying teas since my twenties and know they have helped my hair, bones and skin. We are all lacking from essential minerals since our soil is depleted therefore our food is as well, so by drinking herbal infusions of nettle, red clover, oat straw and lemon balm, we are adding minerals for glowing skin and shiny hair. They also balance the endocrine system and hormones. I now start craving these infusions if I miss a day. There is a whole chapter in my book Whole Beauty on these blends and how to create infusions at home. Become an alchemist with a mason jar and organic herbs…

 

Shiva and Lori both wearing DOEN. 

 What makes your heart sing? 

Making things with my hands, feeding people and being outside.

 

 How do you feel growing up in Ojai has influenced your work? 

A large part of my childhood was spent being outside in the Ojai Valley.  Spending time outside and learning about nature instilled an appreciation and curiosity of nature that I think is reflected in my work.

 

 

I feel like you paint with the beautiful flowers and plants you use in your cooking. How has art impacted your culinary skills?

Aww thank you!  I grew up taking art classes and my parents encouraged art as I grew up.  Perhaps those theories of color, light and composition have influenced my cooking.

 

Do you have a motto or mantra you live by?

I have many, but right now, it’s not to take anything too seriously.

 

 Do you have a beauty food secret?

Yes, I do! I make a sugar wax out of lime juice, cane sugar and water, and use this to wax unwanted hair. It really works!

 

 What are your favorite flowers and plants to bake with?

That is a difficult question to answer because I love experimenting with all edible flowers and herbs!  Although I always go back to loving pomegranate petals, they drop to the ground once they’re pollinated and they bake extremely bright red and impart a delicate, angelic flavor.

 

 

Are you a sea mermaid or a forest fairy? 

Definitely a forest fairy, no contest.

 

Do you have any inspiring projects coming up?

Yes!  I will be launching online cooking classes as well as expanding my baking business.

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

Hopefully I’ll be successful enough to live in between Montecito and a chateau in Provence with my much younger tennis coach, Jacque 🙂  Seriously though, I hope to be selling my treats all over the country as well as teaching everyone all the recipes and baking tricks I’ve taught myself.

 

 

Pistachio Rose Tart Recipe 

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups gluten free flour

1/4 cups chopped pistachios

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon Spirulina powder

1 1/2 Tablespoon rose water

2 eggs

1 1/2 sticks melted butter

Handful of chopped pistachios and dried rose petals

Method:

Combine first 5 ingredients (flour, pistachios, sugar, salt, spirulina powder) in a bowl and stir until evenly distributed. Make a well in the center and add the last 3 ingredients (rose water, eggs, melted butter), mix until combined. Then put into a prepared 9 in. round pan. Scatter chopped pistachios and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes until the center is semi-firm and the edges are golden. Take out of oven and then scatter with dried rose petals.

 

Photography by: Morgan Pansing. 

Tags:dessert, natural, recipe, tea, treats