Cakes and cookies during Passover, which begins Friday evening, April 15, are different.
For baked goods to be kosher for Passover, flour made from wheat cannot be used except as matzo meal or matzo cake meal, which are forms of ground matzo. The other main “flour” used for Passover is potato starch. For the Seder my mother made desserts that were also dairy-free so that they could be served after a kosher meal containing meat or chicken.
In spite of these restrictions, cooks have developed a variety of tasty Passover desserts. In many households, Passover desserts are much anticipated as once-a-year treats.
Cakes and cookies made from ground nuts are perfect for the holiday. A favorite of ours is flourless hazelnut cake moistened with orange syrup. Another is homemade almond macaroons that I learned to make at cooking school in Paris.
Pieces of matzos are also used to make Passover sweets, and chocolate-coated matzo is one of the most popular. Often the matzos are covered with a mixture containing large amounts of sugar and butter before being spread with chocolate. We prefer a more intense chocolate flavor, so I bake the matzos with only a small amount of sweet coating using coconut oil — just enough to stick the chocolate chips on the hot matzos.
The following treats are guaranteed to sweeten your holiday.
Chocolate-Coated Matzos
When preparing these easy-to-make treats, sprinkle the amount of nuts you like over the melted chocolate. Halve walnuts or pecans lengthwise; large pieces tend to fall off. Other options are pistachios, slivered almonds or flaked coconut.
Yield: 12 to 15 portions
INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 to 4 matzos
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
Pinch of salt
2 cups chocolate chips — dark, bittersweet or semisweet
Nuts and seeds such as halved walnuts, halved toasted or seasoned pecans, pine nuts and pepitas (for garnish)
PROCEDURE
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cover with a layer of matzos. Break matzos as necessary so they fit tightly.
2. Combine sugar, coconut oil, olive oil, water and salt in a very small heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and coconut oil melts. Bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat, without stirring, for 7 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly and smells nutty.
3. Pour syrup evenly over matzos.
4. Bake matzos for 15 minutes to toast them lightly.
5. Remove matzos from oven, leaving them on hot baking sheet. Immediately cover evenly with chocolate chips. Let stand about 2 minutes or until they begin to melt; then spread them evenly over matzos using a spatula until they have completely melted.
6. Sprinkle nuts over chocolate right away, while chocolate is still soft. Let stand until set, about 2 or 3 hours. Break into portions to serve.
Almond Macaroons
Peeling and grinding your own almonds gives these cookies a delicious flavor.
Yield: About 20 cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 2/3 cups whole almonds
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
Whites of 2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 whole almonds (optional, for garnish)
PROCEDURE
1. Peel almonds: In a small saucepan boil enough water to generously cover almonds. Add 1 2/3 cups almonds. Return to a boil; boil about 10 seconds. Remove an almond with a slotted spoon. Press on one end of almond with your thumb and index finger; almond will come out of its skin. If it doesn’t, boil them a few seconds more and try again. When almonds can be peeled easily, drain and peel them.
2. Spread peeled almonds in one layer on a dish lined with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Let stand about 30 minutes. Pat almonds dry. (Almonds should be thoroughly dried before being ground.)
3. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper; oil paper.
4. Set aside 20 peeled almonds; reserve for garnish. In a food processor grind remaining peeled almonds with 1/4 cup sugar to fine, even crumbs; scrape mixture towards center once or twice. Add egg whites and vanilla and process until mixture is smooth. Add remaining sugar in two batches, processing about 10 seconds after each addition or until smooth; scrape sides down once or twice. Transfer mixture to a bowl.
5. With moistened hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the dough between your palms into a smooth ball; put it on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart.
6. With moistened fingers, press to flatten each cookie slightly so it is about 1/2 inch high. Brush entire surface of each cookie lightly with water. Set a blanched almond on center of cookie and press lightly so it adheres. If you have more than 20 cookies, garnish remaining cookies with whole unblanched almonds.
7. Bake cookies until they brown very lightly but evenly and their centers are still soft, about 15 minutes; after about 8 minutes rotate baking sheet so cookies bake evenly. Meanwhile, prepare 2 small cups with 2 to 3 tablespoons water in each.
8. When macaroons are done, remove baking sheet from oven. To help remove cookies easily, immediately lift one end of the paper and pour about 2 or 3 tablespoons water under it, onto the baking sheet; water will boil on contact with hot baking sheet. Lift other end of paper and quickly pour about 2 or 3 tablespoons water under it. Tilt baking sheet slightly so water reaches entire surface of pan. When water stops boiling, gently remove macaroons from the paper, using a metal spatula if necessary. Cool cookies on a rack.
Flourless Hazelnut Cake
This Passover nut cake is made with a small amount of potato starch. After being baked, the cake is moistened with orange syrup and needs no frosting.
Yield: About 20 servings
Hazelnut cake:
1 1/4 cups hazelnuts
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons potato starch
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
Orange syrup and garnish:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup water
Zest of 1/2 orange, peeled in strips
2 tablespoons orange juice, strained
1 teaspoon lemon juice, strained
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons finely chopped raw pistachios (for garnish)
About 20 strawberries, hulled, halved lengthwise (optional, for serving)
PROCEDURE
1. Hazelnut cake: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Toast hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan in oven until fragrant and their skins become slightly darker, about 12 minutes; shake pan half way through roasting time. It is better to underbake hazelnuts than to overbake; if overbaked, they taste burnt. Wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes. Rub hot hazelnuts vigorously with towel to remove some of skins. Put hazelnuts in a sieve and continue rubbing them with towel against sides of sieve; not all skins will come off. Cool nuts completely.
2. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Oil a 9-inch square cake pan. Line base with parchment paper or foil; oil paper or foil.
3. Grind hazelnuts with sugar in a food processor to a fine powder but not to a paste. Scrape down sides once or twice. Transfer mixture to mixer bowl or to another large bowl.
4. Add one egg to hazelnut mixture. Beat with mixer at low speed until blended. Add another egg and beat at low speed until blended, then at high speed for 2 minutes or until batter is pale, thick and smooth. Add remaining eggs one by one, blending each one into batter briefly on low speed, then at high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape batter down occasionally. Stir in orange and lemon zests.
5. Sift potato starch with salt over the batter and fold in gently but thoroughly. Gently fold in oil in a fine stream until completely blended into batter.
6. Transfer batter to cake pan. Bake until cake pulls away slightly from pan’s edges, and a cake tester inserted into cake’s center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
7. Let cake cool for 3 minutes. Run a metal spatula around edges of cake. Carefully turn cake out onto a rack. Gently remove paper. Let cool to room temperature.
8. For syrup: In a small saucepan combine sugar, water and orange zest strips. Heat over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stop stirring, raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly; its temperature will be about 215 degrees. Add orange juice and lemon juice and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool syrup for 10 minutes until warm (about 130 degrees). Discard orange zest strips.
9. Turn cake over onto another rack. Invert onto a serving plate, so that straight side of cake (side that faced bottom of pan) faces up. Make 20 to 30 holes in cake with a cake tester, spacing them evenly.
10. Slowly and evenly ladle syrup, a few tablespoons at a time, over cake, moistening it all over. Let cake stand for 1 hour before serving, occasionally dipping a brush in the extra syrup on the plate and dabbing it gently on cake.
11. To cut cake in diamond-shaped pieces: Make 4 or 5 crosswise cuts in cake. Then cut diagonally from one corner to the opposite one, and cut three parallel lines on each side of this central cut, forming diamonds; at the edges, cake will be cut in triangles. If some pieces are too large, cut them in half. If you prefer equal size pieces, cut cake in squares like brownies.
12. Garnish center of each piece with a generous pinch of minced pistachios. Pat them gently so they adhere to cake. Serve with strawberry halves.
Faye Levy is the author of 1,000 Jewish Recipes