Kosher for Passover: Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free, too!)

Happy Easter/Happy Passover/Happy spring holiday of your choosing!  I'm just happy that the sun is finally out and the temperature is warming up - I've got the window open a tiny bit as I write this and it feels wonderful!

Our family Passover Seder was on Friday.  Naturally, mom asked me to bring a dessert.  I was originally going to go with my old Passover-standby of Apple Matzah Kugel, but decided I really wanted to step outside the box.

Joe's mom is gluten free, and I vaguely remembered making a chocolate cake for her birthday back in September.  I knew the cake itself was gluten free, but I couldn't quite remember if it had any leavening agents in it (baking soda/powder, etc). though I do remember thinking that it was delicious.  I managed to dig up the recipe from my stash, and, lo and behold, it's kosher for Passover!

 

It's actually the perfect recipe if you know someone who has any type of wheat allergies.  There is no flour whatsoever called for in the recipe, so you don't have to try and switch it out to something that can be eaten.  Since it doesn't call for any flour, you also don't have to try and sub it out for any kind of matzah meal, which means it doesn't end up tasting faintly of matzah like most homemade Passover desserts do.

This is a mousse style cake, so it's really super light and fluffy.  I served it topped with a little bit of homemade whipped cream, but a light dusting of powdered sugar would be sufficient, too.  This came out slightly different than the way I originally made it, but I liked it better this way, I think.  When I made it the first time, it was really dark chocolately and super rich.  This time, I used two different kinds of chocolate, which gave it a more well-rounded flavor.  When I made it for Joe's mom's birthday, the cake sunk a little, but it was the whole cake that sunk - this time around, the middle sunk more and the edges stayed where they were.  That probably has more to do with the temperature in my apartment than with anything else. 

As you can see from the photos, I had a hard time slicing and serving the cake in the way I wanted to.  I melted the butter and chocolate in the microwave instead of using the double boiler method, so that may have changed the consistency just enough to make my cake a little less stable.  I had left this on the counter overnight, but next time, I'll probably try putting it in the fridge or freezer to see if that makes serving it any easier.

If your family is anything like mine, they won't care what it actually looks like - they'll just be thrilled to be eating a dessert that tastes like "regular food"!

Kosher for Passover (and Gluten Free) Chocolate Cake


8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks butter
8 egg yolks
1 1/4 c. sugar
5 egg whites

Preheat oven to 250°F.  Grease an 8" springform pan and set aside.

Using the double boiler method, combine butter and chocolate and stir until melted.

In a large bowl, combine the egg yolk and sugar.  Mix until the eggs are a light yellow color.

Slowly add in the chocolate sauce and stir to blend thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Add half of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and beat until combined.  Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour batter into the pan and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes (75 minutes).  Remove cake from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.

Coffee Cake

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite parts about the weekend is the laziness that comes along with the free time.  Even if you have plans - and I know this time of year, we ALL have weekend plans - it seems like everything's a lot more fluid than it is during the week.

During the week, my mornings aren't rushed per se - I intentionally wake up super early to give myself plenty of time to prevent that - but they're definitely regimented.  I wake up at the same time, my workouts are always between 30-50 minutes.  I have breakfast at just about the same time every morning and leave the house at the same time, too.  Like I said, not rushed, but definitely structured.

Morning breakfast is usually fairly quick - a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, sometimes a bagel, always a cup of coffee.  If I'm lucky, I get to read 10-15 pages of whatever book I'm currently reading; sometimes, I do some light housework - a quick load of dishes, or sweeping; sometimes, I have to sit down and pay some bills.

On weekends, I love having a long, leisurely breakfast, where I can relax with my book and soak up two (!) cups of coffee.  Every since I was a kid, coffee cake has been one of my favorite treats.  For me, it's pretty much everything I want in a "treat" style breakfast.  The topping is cinnamon-y and full of flavor; the cake is fluffy but flavorful, it's filling and delicious.

I don't even know where I found this recipe, but I was so excited when I stumbled on it.  I did have to make a few changes, which you'll see below.  I didn't have cake flour, so I had to do some substituting with all-purpose flour and cornstarch.  I've never use cake flour before and never had homemade coffee cake, so while I can't speak for how this compares, I know that both Joe and I were thrilled with how this came out.  Joe's already asked me to make it again and he told me it's better than the store bought stuff, so I'm counting this one as a total win.

The streusel topping that the original recipe called gave me a TON left over.  The recipe below is the halved version so you won't end up with leftovers.  I stuck mine in the freezer and I'm thinking that it'll go perfectly on some muffins or an apple crumb pie.

If you're looking for something special to bring to a holiday potluck or you want to make something special but quick for breakfast on Christmas morning, I think this is precisely what you're looking for.  If you want to save time, you can definitely make this head of time, too.  It's delicious straight out of the pan, but you can also pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it back up, which will also give your kitchen that freshly-baked smell.

Coffee Cake

For the Cake:
1 1/4 c. cake flour*
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp butter, divided, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. buttermilk

*If you don't have cake flour, this is a substitution:

For 1 cup cake flour:
1 c. all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp flour
+ 2 Tbsp cornstarch

For 1/4 c. cake flour:
Using a standard 1/4 size measuring cup, add 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch.  Fill the remaining amount with all purpose flour.

For the topping:
2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp melted butter, melted and still warm
3/4 c. cake flour*

*If you don't have cake flour, this is a substitution:

For 1/4 c. cake flour:
Using a standard 1/4 size measuring cup, add 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch.  Fill the remaining amount with all purpose flour.


To make the topping:
In a medium sized bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon and butter.  Add flour and stir until mixture is crumbly with a thickness like cookie dough.  Set aside to cool to room temperature while you make the cake.

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Grease an 8" square cake pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and baking soda.  Add the butter, one piece at a time.  Continue beating until the mixture looks like wet sand, with no visible butter chunks remaining.  Add egg, yolk, vanilla and buttermilk; beat until light and fluffy.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle topping evenly over cake.  Bake until the crumb topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Store tightly covered for about 5 days.

One Banana Cake

One of my guilty pleasures is frosted banana cake.  It's one of those pre-packaged cakes that you can buy at the store.   I don't want to say the name, but it's white with blue script.  There are a few problems with loving this frosted banana cake.  For one, when I can find it, it's super expensive.  Notice how I said "when I can find it"?  Yeah, it's basically impossible to find.  I think it's one of those flavors that they only have for a "limited time" and then they bring it back for awhile just to put it in hiding, etc.

LAME.

For awhile now, I've been trying to recreate it.  The problem is that it's pretty tricky because I have NO IDEA how they flavor the frosting.  The frosting is part chocolate, part banana-ish but not really banana.  Probably it's fake banana flavor and that's why I can't recreate it.  Instead of trying to recreate the wheel, I thought that I could put the same flavors into something uniquely my own.

But, as we all know, the only time you can actually eat all of the bananas before they start to go brown is when you're planning to use them.  Plus, Joe gave me an awesome tip for helping to slow down the ripening process: put something over the top part of the bananas where they all connect!  You can use plastic wrap, but I used foil since that was all I had.  It worked great - they didn't start browning until after I started eating them, and I just re-tightened the foil every time I took a banana.  Obviously, it's not totally preventative, but it will at least get your bananas to make it through the week so you can eat them!

Last week, I found myself with one lonely, measly banana left on the counter.  It was brown and squishy - perfect for baking.  But, I didn't want banana bread or cupcakes and I didn't really feel like making cookies.  So, I decided to try to make a banana cake.

You guys.  It came out perfectly!  The chunks of chocolate were slightly melty and soft and offered a nice contrast to the bananas and cake.  It could have used more banana to increase that flavor a little bit, but hey - I had to work with what I had!  I just finished the last 4 few small slices, and they are perfect with a cup of coffee on a quiet Sunday morning.

Banana Cake

1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. butter, room temperature
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8" x 8" cake pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy.  Add banana and eggs.  Stir in flour and baking powder until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake 20 minutes, until top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Top will be slightly moist when pressed.   Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.

L'shanah Tovah! Honey Cake

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. One of the ways we celebrate the new year is by eating apples dipped in honey, a literal representation of our wish for a sweet new year. While we traditionally dip bread in salt, this time of year, we dip bread in honey for the same reason. As such, one popular food item is Honey Cake.

In Jewish school, we used to always make and sell these to our families and to the community.  Putting a wonderful combination of Type A and Type B adolescent girls into the kitchen under the supervision of one strong-willed, patient and firm woman will certainly include a fair share of mischief (cinnamon challenge, anyone?), but I looked forward to all of these - they were some of the most fun and challenging times I had in elementary and middle school.  Unfortunately, school and grown-up obligations get in the way of a lot of things, so honey cake is something I haven't had the pleasure of making for many years.. until now.

I've tried a few different recipes in the past, and none of them quite measured up to what I remembered making in Hebrew school: a dense, sweet, moist and delicious treat. Fed up with what I was finding, I decided to just make my own.

I'm so glad I did.  This one was perfect and exactly what I was looking for.  Instead of orange extract, I think I'm going to try orange zest to make it the flavor pop a little more.  If you don't like oranges, you can easily substitute lemons or leave it out altogether.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Jewish High Holiday season, and I'm hoping to have some more recipes to share along the way.  The rest of the holidays are around the corner, anyway, so - what's your favorite holiday recipe?

Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake

To print this recipe, click here 

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 c. strong coffee, prepared
In a medium size bowl, combine all ingredients except coffee. Batter will be very thick and hard to stir.

Add the coffee and stir to combine. Batter should be easy to stir, similar to cake batter.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325°F for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake should be a nice, golden brown color when it's finished.

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy and sweet new year - L'shana tovah! 

Surprise! It's a cake!

On Monday morning, around 11:30am, my coworker announced that it was her birthday.  We all responded with the obligatory "happy birthday", and then started chiding her for not telling us earlier so that we could do something.  She told me that since I now knew it was her birthday, I had to make her something.

Twist my arm.

The only problem with making things for June is that she thinks everything is too sweet and always wants me to cut down the sugar - even when she doesn't know how much is in it.  I think it's because she's from China, so their sweets are totally different from ours.  I decided I wanted to make something delicious but that she wouldn't complain about.

I came in to the work the next day and gave her three choices.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: June, I have three choices for you for your birthday.
June: Really?
Me: Yes.  Lemon bars, chocolate cupcakes or surprise cake.
June: Surprise cake? What's that??
Me: Uhhh.. the surprise is that you don't know what it is.
(at this point, everyone else started chiming in with what they thought sounded good)
June: What does everyone else want?
Me: No, it's your birthday, you pick.
June: Okay. Surprise cake! Just don't make it too sweet, cut the sugar!

A couple of months ago, I had tried making rainbow cupcakes. I made two batches and while they both came out delicious, I was fairly disappointed with the results.  I looked up some pointers online and discovered I really just needed to be a little heavy-handed with the food coloring since the color fades as it bakes.  Easy enough.  I had already been thinking about the idea of rainbow marble cake for a few days, so this was really perfect timing.

I used the same white cake recipe as I did for my cupcakes, but I remembered having barely enough batter to make the cupcakes, so I decided to double the recipe.  I was a little nervous  - what if I end up with too much batter?  What if I overfill the pan and have a huge, disastrous mess to clean up? Turns out, this was a good call as doubling it ended up giving me a perfectly sized and shaped cake and I didn't have to clean up a mess.  Well, OK, I did have a mess to clean up, but that's because I used every small bowl in the house and almost every spoon, too.

I'm pretty terrible at math, but dividing the batter was way easier than I thought it would be, too.  I did double the recipe, but I made each one separately so that I could measure it and go from there.  The first one gave me about 3 1/2 cups of batter, so I knew that I'd have about 7 total cups of batter.  I was going to make 7 colors, but I wanted the colors to be vibrant and to be able to see that there were multiple colors.  So, I decided to keep it to 6 colors, with each one giving me a little bit more than 1 cup of batter for each color (I measured about 1 1/2 cups per smaller bowl, but I realize that 1.5 x 6 =/= 7, so these are obviously not exact measurements).

Once I dyed each bowl a different color, I just randomly dropped the batter by spoonful into the pan.  I was originally trying to do a checkerboard pattern to make sure each color was evenly represented, but that got very out of hand very quickly.  I just kept alternating colors, making sure to only do a couple of spoonfuls per color so that no single color was totally dominant

After all the batter was in the pan, I took a clean butter knife and swirled the batter using the flat edge.  I only swirled it a couple of times because I wanted it to look like rainbow marble cake, not rainbow poop cake.

The top was a little more brown than I would have preferred once I took it out of the oven, but I was pleasantly surprised once we cut into it at work!
 

For the frosting, I decided to go with a whipped cream + vanilla pudding combo.  I figured it would be sweet enough to compliment the cake, but not so sweet that June would complain about.  I was right on both counts.  Plus, I wasn't sure how much I needed, so I doubled the recipe that appears below.  The rest is no sitting in my fridge and tastes DELICIOUS on the end of a spoon =)

Easy White Cake

Recipe from Kitchenaid

To print this recipe, click here

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup low fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk and vanilla. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add egg whites. Turn to Speed 6 and beat about 1 minute, or until smooth and fluffy.

Divide batter evenly into smaller bowls. Dye each smaller bowl of batter a different color, being sure to use a different spoon for each bowl so that the colors don't mix. Be a little heavy-handed with the food coloring, as the colors will fade a little as they bake.

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the pan. Alternate colors randomly, so that once completed, the batter looks like paint splatter abstract art. Using the flat edge of a clean butter knife, swirl the batter once or twice. Do not swirl the batter too much or the colors will end up muddled.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cook completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, turn out of the pan and frost.

I couldn't resist peeking a couple of times while it was baking.

Yes, block letters, but still - first time writing on a cake!

Vanilla Pudding Frosting
 

Ingredients

8 oz. (1 cup) heavy cream
1/2 package instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup cold milk

Combine milk and vanilla pudding in a small bowl. Let set for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. ( Add the set pudding and stir until thoroughly combined. Frost cake, storing any leftovers in the fridge.

Overall, this was probably the most fun I've ever had making someone's birthday cake.  This was a lot more time consuming than I had originally anticipated, but, completely worth it!  June brought some home for her youngest daughter.  The next day, June told me that her daughter LOVED the cake (she's 7 - I knew she would!) and that she thought it was a professional bakery cake, not something I really made.  I know kids don't really have a lot of "professional cake" reference points but still.  Totally made my day!