This delicious date dessert recipe, made with Medjool dates, requires only a few simple ingredients and 15 minutes of cooking. Served chilled, this is an excellent dessert for all your summer entertaining.
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If you like Medjool dates, you'll love this easy, no-bake dessert recipe. Soaking and cooking the dates with sugar, salt, lime juice, and zest enhances their inherent caramel flavor.
The smooth, slightly dense date mixture is layered with lightly sweetened heavy whipping cream and garnished with salted pistachios and rose petals. The result is a dessert that's both luxurious and refreshingly light.
If you're a fan of easy, chilled, make-ahead desserts like this one, you'll love my lemon posset, vanilla custard sauce, and quick kulfi recipe.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy recipe - It doesn't get easier than this easy date dessert recipe. A few simple ingredients that you likely have at home and 15 minutes of active cooking time are all you need for this effortless recipe.
- Guilt-free dessert - This date dessert recipe has far less processed sugar than the average dessert, which is always a win!
- Make-ahead dessert - Who doesn't love a make-ahead dessert? Make this up to two days ahead of any event and assemble it a day before or on the day of your special occasion.
- Perfect for a dessert table - This is a beautiful addition to a dessert table at a summer barbecue, graduation, or wedding.
Ingredient notes
- Medjool dates - With their caramel taste, soft texture, and accessibility, these are the best dates for this recipe.
- Granulated sugar - Adding granulated sugar to the dates as they cook enhances the caramel taste, improves the texture, and acts as a preservative. This prolongs the fridge life of this date dessert recipe.
- Lime - I'm not too fond of desserts that are too sweet. A little lime juice and zest help neutralize this dessert, so it's not too sweet. The juice also contains pectin, which helps thicken the mixture and preserve it.
- Salt - I always add a pinch of salt to my desserts to create a balanced flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream - Heavy whipping cream is the perfect way to balance the sweetness and dense texture of the dates.
- Powdered sugar - This adds just a touch of sweetness and structure to the cream.
- Pistachios - I always use salted pistachios for my desserts, like my pumpkin halwa,
- mango kulfi, and sheer khurma.
- Rose petals - A traditional garnish for all Pakistani desserts, like gulab jamun, rose petals are optional but add a beautiful finish to this dessert.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- Try different nuts - Almonds, walnuts, and pecans all pair well with dates. Swap any one of these out for the pistachios.
- Add a flavoring - Cardamom, orange blossom, and even rose water can be added to the date mixture for added aroma and flavor.
- Swap out the rose petals - Not a fan of rose petals? Add chocolate or coconut flakes along with the nuts as a garnish instead.
- Don't add sugar to the cream - If you want your dessert to be less sweet, whip the cream with a tablespoon of plain cornstarch and omit the powdered sugar.
Step-by-step instructions
First step - Remove the pits from the dates and soak them in hot water for an hour.
Second step - While the dates are soaking, zest, juice the lime, and set aside.
Third step - Whip the cream with the sugar and place it in the fridge to keep cool.
Fourth step- After the one-hour soaking period, add the dates, the water they've been soaking in, the sugar, lime zest, and juice, and bring to a boil.
Cook the dates until the mixture thickens, then cool to room temperature. Chill the mixture in the fridge for a few hours before assembling the dessert.
Expert Tips
- Don't overcook the dates - Cook until you have a cohesive mixture with some texture. The dates should be smooth and soft but not a paste.
- Don't skip the salt - The salt is essential to this dessert, preventing it from tasting too sweet.
- Don't overwhip the cream - The cream needs to be light and slightly thickened but not too stiff. This will help balance the cooked dates' sweet taste and dense texture.
Recipe FAQS
In this recipe, I recommend substituting Medjool dates for any dark variety, such as Ajwa or Sawafi.
This dessert can be made using brown sugar with perfect results. Honey is also a possibility, but it will alter the texture slightly.
The cooked and prepped date dessert can be stored in the fridge for up to two days. If you want to store it longer, freeze the cooked date mixture, defrost it in the fridge overnight, and then assemble it using freshly whipped cream to serve.
Other recipes you may like
For more Pakistani recipes like this, check out 20 popular Pakistani recipes. If you decide to try this recipe, Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture, tag me on Instagram! Thank You!
Date Dessert Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 zested lime
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ¼ cup chopped salted pistachios
- 2 tablespoon dried rose petals
Instructions
- Slice open the dates and remove and discard the pits.
- Soak these dates in 2 cups of boiled water for 1 hour.
- Zest and juice the lime and set it aside for later.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and set it in the fridge.
- Chop the pistachios and save them to use as a garnish.
- After soaking, boil the dates in the water they've been soaking in on high heat.
- Add the sugar, lime zest and lime juice and continue to cook the dates.
- Cook for around 15 minutes, till all the water has evaporated and you have a dense mixture.
- Chill completely before assembling the dessert in small glasses.
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