A Rose Tart For Valentine’s Day

Amidst the omnipresent sea of chocolate treats on Valentine's Day, I find myself hankering for a lighter, more beautiful dessert to catch my eye — not to mention that of my Valentine's. In lieu of my usual molten chocolate cakes, this year I'll be serving a tart of my own invention, whose appearance from above is meant to resemble that most loving flower, the rose. Anchored on a tender, buttery pistachio shortcrust, the tart is filled with a creamy and bright white chocolate-orange ganache, accented with a few drops of rose water to lend a floral note (both literally and figuratively). It's topped off with an almost unreasonable amount of fluffy pink pomegranate meringue, swirled and spiked with a spatula and then browned with a torch to highlight the peaks and folds that form the petals of the "rose." (It's just as easy — though way more impressive — than picking up a long-stemmed bloom at the corner florist.) The combined flavors of pistachio, rose water, pomegranate, and orange make this dessert decidedly influenced by the palate of the Middle East, a sensual and slightly unexpected way to finish (or start) a romantic evening.