After years of languishing in the shadow of fashionable cheese plates, desserts seem to be getting more inventive again—and this little beauty is leading the way. Simply put, the pine nut tart at Av and Dav’s deluxe Italian restaurant Mistura is a revelation. The flaky pastry seems too delicate to bear the weight of that unctuous butter tart goo; on top, the lightly toasted Italian pine nuts are softer and sweeter than pecans, with a flavour approaching sesame. Former pastry chef Elia Herrera created it last winter, giving the traditional Ligurian pine-nut-and-pastry-cream treat, pinolata, a richer, moister Ontario butter tart filling. Herrera has since moved on to Ultra Supper Club, but her masterpiece remains on Mistura’s menu—there’d be mayhem if chef and co-owner Massimo Capra ever tried to replace it. A perfect Italian-Canadian marriage, this is the most delectable thing I’ve tasted all year. $12. Mistura, 265 Davenport Rd. (at Avenue Rd.), 416-515-0009.

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