Plum Blossom Flourless

I interrupt this series of virtually sinless desserts to bring you something deliciously naughty: Plum Blossom Flourless Chocolate Torte.

As the last weeks of winter burst into a riot of blooms and perfumes – daffodil, daphne, flowering quince, magnolia, forsythia – my intentions are focused on the spring ahead.  Garden planning, seed sowing, landscaping, lambing, and so much foraging…  If I am not careful, I find myself so overly focused on the months ahead that I don’t appreciate the gifts of the moment.  And at this very moment the finest gift from Mother Nature just might be the plum blossoms.  Sometimes white and sometimes pink, these blooms send off the softest floral and sweet almond notes into the ether.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, plums are everywhere – wild, cultivated, Asian, Italian, ornamental…  I suppose they like it here.  Good thing too, because I like plums.  But before the fruits hang heavy on the branches, the first offering of the year is her delicate flowers.  I have a couple cultivated, albeit ancient, plum trees on the farm, but this year I was inspired by Jennifer and Danielle at Gather (check out their plum blossom truffles here) to harvest the blooms of my ornamental purple leaved plum.  As the tree burst into bloom the weekend before my Nitty Gritty Man’s birthday and his request was for a flourless chocolate torte – plum blossom flourless chocolate torte it is!

Harvesting a few branches to bring inside was an easy task.  Send me with a pair of sharp garden nippers to stand in the froth and perfume of a flowering tree any day.  Inside the kitchen, I set about removing enough flowers to infuse into cream and butter.  What a delight!  The subtle floral and almond notes that wafted while the cream simmered were heavily!  As for the finished torte?  If springtime and bittersweet chocolate had a torrid love affair that resulted in a love child, it would taste like this plum blossom chocolate torte.  The papery thin outer layer of the torte cradles a silky and unbelievably soft inside.  The torte is not dense; rather it is light, moist and fine.  The bittersweet chocolate is deftly accented by the almost exotic floral and almond flavors.  The flavor is as intangible as a soft breeze – real and present but ethereal none-the-less.  Cooled and dusted with unsweetened cocoa and garnished with a smattering of blooms, this plum blossom chocolate torte is the perfect way to send winter off with a gentle kiss.