Passover Lemon Chiffon Cake

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Regular non-Passover recipes will resume next week.

Passover Lemon Chiffon CakeIt’s always hard to find Passover desserts that people will take more than one bite of. So when a dessert elicits a YUM response, you know it’s a keeper. This cake is light and airy (it has NINE eggs in it, so it had better be light and airy!) and the flavor is not overly lemony.

The cake came together easily and getting it out of the pan was not a problem. I made this for the first seder, and when we nibbled on it the following day, it tasted even better. I think next year I may add a lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze for the top.

I apologize for the ugly photo, but I was crazy busy making most of this:
Passover Desserts 2010
and photos were the last thing on my mind.

Ingredients
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2/3 cup matzo cake meal
2/3 cup potato starch
8 egg yolks
1 egg
1 2/3 cups superfine sugar, divided
1/3 cup oil
8 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the lemon juice and grated zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a slow boil. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes. (There should be 6 tablespoons of liquid. If not, add water.) Set aside to cool.

Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift together the matzo cake meal and potato starch 4 times. Set aside.

Place the egg yolks and whole egg in the small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until the mixture begins to thicken, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until the mixture turns pale yellow and is very thick. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream.

Reduce the speed to medium-low. Add the cooled lemon juice and zest and beat until blended. Reduce the speed to low. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Place the egg whites in the large bowl of a mixer. Using clean beaters or the whip attachment, beat the whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the salt. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar at the side of the bowl, beating until soft peaks form.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whites.

Gently pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch angel food pan with a removable bottom. Smooth the top. Bake in the lower 1/3 of the oven until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch, 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack. Cool the cake completely in the pan. Turn the cake upright and run a thin, sharp knife around the sides of the pan, then around the center tube. Lift the cake by the center tube and remove the ring. Run a knife under the cake to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert the cake and remove the tube section.

Transfer the cake to a platter. Store the cake at room temperature under a glass dome or cover with foil up to 1 week.

Recipe from the LA Times.

March 31, 2010 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 4 Comments 

Passover Recipes

Passover is coming up soon, so if you’re looking for some tried and true Passover dessert recipes here are some of our seder attendees’ faves: Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

If you have a Passover recipe that you think I should try, please share!

March 10, 2010 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 12 Comments 

Passover Apricot Bars

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Passover Apricot Bars Because the Passover Mandelbrot recipe was such a hit, I decided to try another Passover treat from the same cookbook. And since we already had so many chocolate desserts, I was happy to find this apricot one. (If you don’t like apricot, substitute with any flavor preserves.)

The bar has a buttery cookie base with a chewy fruit center and crumbly top. It got rave reviews at the seder, and I think it will definitely become part of the Passover dessert rotation for years to come.

Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted nondairy margarine or butter, at room temperature plus extra for greasing the baking pan
1 cup sugar
Yolks of 2 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups matzoh cake meal
1 jar (12 ounces) apricot preserves
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch glass (I used aluminum) baking pan.
  2. Cream the margarine (or butter) and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and continue beating until well combined, scraping the bowl as necessary. Then add the lemon zest, vanilla, and salt. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the cake meal, beating until combined.
  3. Press about two-thirds of the mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking pan and bake on the center oven rack for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and spread the preserves evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the walnuts over the preserves, and crumble the remaining dough over the top. Bake until the topping feels set and is beginning to turn golden, 30-35 minutes (mine was done in about 20). (Check the bottoms. They should be just beginning to turn golden too.) Cool in the baking pan set on a wire rack. Then cut into squares and serve.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Jewish.

April 8, 2009 | Filed Under Passover | 3 Comments 

Passover Mandelbrot

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Passover MandelbrotPassover mandelbrot is usually something my mom makes, but this year I decided to give a new recipe a whirl. Unlike Aunt Helen’s (non-Passover) Mandelbrot, this one is made using a mixer rather than a bowl and wooden spoon, but let’s just not tell her that, OK? Thanks!

This recipe was easy to make and work with, and the end result is crispy, chocolately, and pretty damn good! (Of course, the real test will be when we taste test them against my mom’s recipe. Stay tuned.) I left mine in the oven for about an hour once it was turned off, but if you don’t want yours so crispy, just take them out earlier.

Ingredients
1/2 pound unsalted butter or nondairy margarine, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups matzoh cake meal
3/4 cup potato starch
4 cups (two 12-ounce bags) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl several times. Then beat in the vanilla Reduce the speed to low, and add the cake meal and potato starch. Scrape the bowl, and blend just until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. (If the dough feels too sticky to handle even with floured hands, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is stiff, 30 minutes to several hours.)
  3. Divide the dough into four portions. Flour your hands with cake meal, and form each portion into a log the length of the baking sheet. Space the logs evenly on the prepared baking sheet, and bake on the center oven rack until they are golden and the tops are firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
  4. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the logs cool for three minutes. Then, using a serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices. Place the slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet and bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 10 minutes. Turn the cookies onto the unbaked side. Turn the oven off and put the baking sheet back in the oven. Leave it there for 15 to 30 minutes for softer mandelbrot, longer for crisper ones. Let the mandelbrot cool completely on the sheet set on a wire rack before serving.

Recipe from Cooking Jewish.

April 5, 2009 | Filed Under Passover | 8 Comments 

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

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Quick note: Tuesdays With Dorie will resume in a couple weeks, once Passover has ended!

It used to be that if I were to show up to a Passover seder without chocolate chips meringues, I would be forced to sing the Four Questions, in Hebrew, by myself. OK not really, but trust me, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. Then a few years ago I brought matzo brittle (in addition to the meringues and other Passover desserts), and that too, became a holiday must-have. Well, this year I do believe I have found a third recipe that will now be included in every Passover seder, thanks to Deb!

Flourless Chocolate Walnut CookiesHmm, I suppose I should have begun this post by explaining that many Passover desserts elicit the following response: It’s good (for a Passover cookie/brownie/cake). Well, I’m happy to report that with these cookies, I heard, These are sooo good! Everyone who tasted them went back for seconds, and said they were oh so yummy! Then again, I guess that’s what happens when you take a regular, flourless recipe and just make it for Passover, go figure.

This cookie is thick, chewy, and slightly crunchy, thanks to the nuts. We made three batches–two with pecans and one with walnuts, and they were all a huge hit. I should note I used regular cocoa powder, not Dutch-process.

Update: For those of you having problems with the cookies being too thin and runny, I noticed this comment from someone in Payard’s test kitchen. The suggestion is to not add all the egg whites at once–begin with two egg whites and check the consistency, it should be brownie batter like, and scoop-able. If it’s still too thick, then add more egg whites.

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar*
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

*Passover Confectioner’s Sugar
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon potato starch

Pulse in a food processor or blender. Makes 1 cup Passover confectioners’ sugar.

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant.
  2. Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
  4. Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe from New York Magazine via Deb.

April 21, 2008 | Filed Under Cookies and Bars, Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 9 Comments 

Passover Recipes

In case you’re on the lookout for some good Passover dessert recipes (sorry not all of them have pictures), I can help you out:

Also, I’m going to try a recipe for chocolate brownies topped with toffee, then topped with chocolate chips, then sprinkled with almonds, then sprinkled with sea salt. If it’s a success I’ll add it to this list.

Now, to answer questions that I always get: Yes, you can use margarine rather than butter to keep the recipe pareve. Yes, you can make the brownies in advance and freeze them. Yes, you should keep the matzo brittle in the fridge because the chocolate isn’t tempered and it tends to melt a little. And yes, you can use imitation vanilla instead of real vanilla.

Stayed tuned for a cookbook giveaway in the next couple of weeks!

March 24, 2008 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 11 Comments 

Chocolate Chip Meringues

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Another Passover favorite. I believe this recipe is from my mom’s old Hadassah cookbook.

Chocolate Chip Meringues

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation
Combine eggs whites, vanilla, and salt. Beat until stiff but not dry.

Beat in sugar until mixture is stiff and satiny.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Makes three to four dozen.

Notes:

  1. I use mini chocolate chips.
  2. Instead of greasing a cookie sheet, I use parchment paper. After taking them out of the oven, I slide the parchment off the cookie sheet and let the meringues cool completely.
  3. Store in an airtight container.

April 12, 2006 | Filed Under Cookies and Bars, Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 5 Comments 

Matzo Brittle

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So easy. So good. Make extra, because these are always a huge hit!

Matzo Brittle

Ingredients
Matzo (about three sheets)
2 sticks of margarine or butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 small bag of chocolate chips

Preparation
Cover a cookie sheet with foil to make cleanup easier.

Line the cookie sheet with matzos — it is okay if they overlap a little.

Melt the margarine with the brown sugar until it starts to boil. Pour the mixture over the matzos and bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven and pour the chocolate bits over the matzos.

After they melt let cool in the fridge for one hour.

Break up in small pieces.

Notes:

  1. After adding the chocolate chips, I put the cookie sheet back in the oven for a very short time (about a minute or so)–the extra heat helps the chocolate melt.
  2. I use a spatula to gently spread the chocolate after taking it out of the oven.
  3. Mini chocolate chips are a great option as they melt a lot faster.

April 11, 2006 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 12 Comments 

Passover Brownies

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These brownies are slightly moister and not quite as dense as most Passover brownies. One of the reviewers on Epicurious said they would use this recipe all year round, not just for Passover. And well, they’re good … for Passover brownies. Read: I wouldn’t make them any other time.

Passover brownies with chocolate chips

Ingredients
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 cup Passover cake meal
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. and butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Chop unsweetened chocolate and in a small heavy saucepan melt with butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool mixture 10 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together cocoa powder and cake meal.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs and sugar until thick and pale and beat in sour cream and melted chocolate mixture. Add cocoa powder mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts with a wooden spoon and spread batter evenly in baking pan.

Bake brownies in middle of oven 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack before cutting into 16 squares. Brownies keep layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature 5 days.

Makes 16 brownies.

Notes: I omitted the nuts and added extra chocolate chips. I also doubled the recipe. If I make these again, I would probably add an extra tablespoon of sour cream to make them even moister.

Recipe from Epicurious.

April 8, 2006 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | Leave a Comment 

Passover Apple Crisp

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1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup mandelbread crumbs, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup soft margarine or butter
butter or spray to grease baking dish
2 1/2 cups apples, peeled & thinly sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, crumbs, cinnamon, and margarine or butter. Mix until crumbly.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.

Arrange apples in dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Spread crumbly mixture over the apples.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until apples are tender.

We enjoyed this with vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!

March 28, 2006 | Filed Under Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | Leave a Comment 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Flourless Chocolate CupcakesI found this recipe (don’t know where I got it, but I would love to give props to the appropriate person) and made it for my mom’s birthday (which was during Passover). It was surprisingly good, and I will be making it again this year. The recipe calls for whipped cream and raspberries to top it, but we did a slight variation–ate the cake warm with ice cream and hot fudge…how can you go wrong? I think this year I may try a chocolate or raspberry glaze for the top, we shall see. Here it is:

Flourless Chocolate Cake
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
7 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups sweetened whipped cream or whipped cream substitute (optional)
1 pint raspberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9 inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Heavily grease the parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl for three minutes, or until the mixture thickens and turns a pale yellow.

Fold the chocolate mixture and vanilla into the egg yolk mixture and set aside. Using very clean beaters and a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat until medium-stiff peaks form.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture a quarter at a time, until all of the egg whites have been added and the batter is uniform in color. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs rather than batter.

Cool the cake thoroughly in the pan (the cake will fall dramatically).

Remove the cake from the springform pan and place on a serving plate.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Beat the heavy cream with the sugar and then spoon into the center of the cake. Top with the raspberries and refrigerate for up to 12 hours, or serve immediately.

Makes 12 servings.

March 28, 2006 | Filed Under Cakes and Cupcakes, Jewish/Jewish Holiday, Passover | 2 Comments