SWEETS
AND TREATS FOR YOUR PASSOVER PLEASURE
From Mosaic Law Scroll April 2011
– Article © Evie Lieb
It is often a challenge to find something
new and delicious to serve for dessert during Pesach. This month I am sharing a
cake that wasn’t even developed for the holiday but fits all the requirements
and restrictions.
Chocolate Orbit cake has been featured on
the blog and in the cookbooks of its creator, David Lebovitz, former pastry
chef at the famed Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley.
I tested the brown sugar meringues during
a period of rainy days last month and inadvertently left one out on the counter
after packing the rest into an air-tight box. The counter orphan was a very
sticky cookie the next morning—serving as a lesson about keeping moisture from
crisp meringues! My husband Larry aptly described the taste of these cookies as
that of toasted marshmallows.
The crumble dessert is one that I taught
many years ago in a class for Mosaic Law Sisterhood members. It is a nice homey
dessert that is good warm or cold, parve or dairy.
Finally I am sharing again this year the
substitutions for bottled vanilla extract and powdered sugar, two ingredients
that are often missing in Passover desserts and which truly enhance the look
and flavor of sweets during the holiday. It goes without saying that all the
recipes should be prepared with ingredients that indicate that they are kosher
for Passover.
Chocolate
Orbit cake
1
C unsalted butter or margarine (2 sticks), cut
into small cubes
12
oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6
large eggs, at room temperature
1 C sugar
Place rack in center of oven and preheat
to 350°. Butter or oil a 9” round pan which is at least 2” deep. Place a
parchment round in the bottom. If you have a 9” springform pan or one with a
removable bottom from which you can serve the cake, you won’t need the
parchment, but you must wrap the pan well with a big piece of aluminum foil to
make it watertight. Place the prepared pan in a large roasting pan.
Melt the butter or margarine with the
chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of
simmering water. Stir occasionally and remove from heat when mixture is melted
and smooth. Set aside.
In another medium bowl whisk the eggs with
the sugar. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until thoroughly
incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface
gently. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. (DON’T FORGET THIS STEP!) Place the
roasting pan (with the cake pan in it) on the oven rack and add very warm water
to reach half-way up the sides of the cake pan.
Bake until cake appears set (not very jiggly)
and your finger comes away almost clean when the center of the cake is touched
very gently, about 45 minutes to l hour. Remove cake from water bath and cool
completely on a rack.
The cake will keep in the refrigerator for
up to 5 days and also freezes well.
Thaw
before serving, and if refrigerated, take out 30 minutes ahead of time to take
off the chill.
To serve, run a knife around the perimeter
of the pan. Remove sides from springform. For cake in a solid bottom pan,
invert onto a plate, peel off the paper and re-invert onto a serving plate. Depending
on the kind of meal you are offering, serve with crème anglaise*, ice cream,
whipped cream, berries, chocolate curls or any combination of these that your
sweet tooth can handle!
This is an adaptation of a recipe taught by
Charlotte Combe at cooking classes in Redwood City in the 1980s. It was
reprinted in the San Francisco Chronicle in the baking column of my dear friend
Flo Braker. It has a rich, velvety texture and is easy to make.
1 ½ C
whole milk
¾ C
heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized, if possible)
6 large
egg yolks
2/3 cup
granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp
vanilla wine (see below)
Place
a mesh sieve on top of a 1-quart bowl and set aside for straining the custard
after cooking.
In
a heavy 1 ½ quart saucepan, over medium heat, combine the milk and cream and
bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat and set nearby. In a medium bowl,
whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla wine until the mixture is pale yellow
and has a creamy consistency. Slowly pour about half of the hot milk mixture
into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Pour the combined mixtures
back into the saucepan and stir to combine with a wooden spoon or heatproof
spatula. Cook gently over low heat for a minute or two just until the custard
thickens slightly (don't boil mixture or it will curdle). The custard should be
thick enough to coat the spoon and leave a clear path when your finger is drawn
down its center (and an instant-read thermometer registers 170° to 175°).
Immediately pour the mixture through the sieve to strain. Set aside to cool for
15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then cover loosely and refrigerate. The
sauce thickens slightly as it cools. Serve within 2 to 3 days. To hasten
chilling the custard, set the bowl of custard over a larger bowl half filled
with ice water and stir to cool.
Brown-Sugar Meringues
I found this
recipe by Carrie Pillar in an old issue of Food & Wine magazine. Be sure to
store the cookies in an airtight container to avoid their turning sticky after
all the time it took to dry them! A drizzle of melted bittersweet chocolate will
cut the sweetness and also make them look pretty.you can prepare these cookies
with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
4 large
egg whites at room temperature
1 C lightly
packed light brown sugar
Pinch of
salt
Melted
bittersweet chocolate for drizzling, optional
Position 2 racks in the center section of the
oven and preheat the oven to 250°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
In
a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in the brown
sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the salt and beat until the meringue is
thick and glossy, about 2 minutes longer.
APPLE
OR PEAR CRUMBLE
This recipe is so old that it is stored in
our computer as a scanned version of its typewritten original! Our family has
always liked this kind of fruit dessert and we’re so glad this is adaptable for
Pesach!
1
½ lb apples or pears
(any variety that you like!)
Juice
and grated zest of ½ lemon
¾
C sugar, white or light brown
¾
C matzah meal
1
tsp cinnamon
Pinch
of salt
4
oz (1 stick) butter or margarine,
preferably unsalted
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 1-auart
baking dish (a deep ovenproof glass pie plate will work well).
Peel, quarter and core the fruit. Slice
the quarters into the prepared dish. Toss the slices with the lemon juice and
zest and 2 TBSP of the sugar.
Mix the remaining sugar with the matzah
meal, cinnamon and salt, then cut in the butter or margarine until the mixture
is crumbly. (This can be done in a food processor.) Distribute the crumbs over
the fruit and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the
fruit is soft and the top is crisp and brown.
You might want to place a cookie sheet or
a piece of foil beneath the baking dish to avoid cleaning up any juices than
may bubble over towards the end of the baking time. Serve warm, or cool on a
rack and serve at room temperature or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers.
Regular vanilla
extract isn’t kosher for Passover. Prepare vanilla wine, a fine substitute, by
placing a couple of split vanilla beans in a bottle of sweet white Concord
grape Passover wine. Allow to sit for at least a few days. It will keep on the
shelf literally for years.
Regular confectioners’ sugar is
not kosher for Passover because it contains cornstarch, but you can make a good
substitute by using a food processor or blender to process 1 cup of sugar with
1 tablespoon of potato starch until powdery. Passover confectioners’ sugar is
sometimes available, but it is quite costly
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