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  This came out slightly different than the way I originally made it, but I liked it better this way, I think.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.

Kosher for Passover: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Passover is literally hours away, and I started cooking some things yesterday.  I've probably mentioned this before, but now that I have a real grown up job, it's difficult for me to bake and cook during the week, so I try to do what I can over the weekend.

If you're anything like me and my family, you find that the hardest part about Passover is noshing, or finding a good snack.  Sure, I have 2 containers of macaroons in the closet, and yeah, they're alright, but after a few days of them? Bo-ring!  The only problem is that those box mixes or pre-packaged things are equally pretty terrible.  Sometimes, the flavor is there, but man, they're so dry!

I cobbled this recipe after finding some online that had things about them I didn't like or couldn't use.  Like flour.  Since I'm writing this on Sunday morning, my family has yet to try them.  However, I ate a few yesterday - quality control and all that - and I was pleasantly surprised.  While they don't quite taste or behave like your normal cookies, these are the best tasting Passover cookies I've ever had.

Let me say that again, just so we can be clear: do NOT compare these to your favorite, everyday chocolate chip cookie recipe.  If you compare them to that recipe, they will fall far short of your expectations.

However, if you look at these compared to other Passover treats, you will be pleasantly surprised.  Yes, you can still taste the matzah, but for me, it's more of a muted, nutty flavor than an actual matzah flavor.  I made some of these as chocolate chip cookies and some as double chocolate chip cookies, and while the flavor is a bit more muted in the double chocolate, you will not get rid of it altogether.  Frankly, I gave up trying to hide the matzah flavor years ago.  I don't really mind the taste of matzah, so why hide it when I can embrace it instead?

These aren't going to bake up or behave quite like your regular cookies, either.  You can fit more of these on a pan because they don't really spread out.  I used my cookie scoop, and they pretty much just stayed in that round ball shape.  To remedy this, I just gently tapped them with the bottom of a glass.  You can do this before or after they come out of the oven.  Out of the oven is a little easier, though you may want to grease the glass a little bit just to make sure you don't lose any good chocolate chips.

Also, if you don't have molasses in your cabinet, no big deal.  You can substitute the granulated sugar + molasses combination for the same amount of brown sugar (in this case, 1 1/2 cups).  The flavor will be the same, but I found that the molasses gave the cookies some extra moisture that was lacking when I used just brown sugar.  If your family prefers nuts in their cookies - go ahead and add those too!  The great part about this is that it's pretty customizable to whatever tastes and flavors you prefer.

I am sure my family will enjoy these, and I hope your family does, too.  Chag Sameach!

Kosher for Passover Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp molasses
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. matzah cake meal
1/4 c. matzah meal
10 oz. bag (2 cups) kosher for Passover chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease cookie sheets and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter, honey, vanilla, sugar and molasses until smooth and creamy.

Stir in the eggs and mix well.

Add cake meal and matzah meal; stir until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and tops are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and gently tap cookies with the bottom of a glass to round them out.  Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy!

Chanukah Sugar Cookies

You guys.  I have so much to talk about.  I know I've been kinda quiet lately... it's because I got a new job!  I may have alluded to some unhappiness at work in the past, and this was totally the right move.  I now work at a local car dealership as the internet marketing director for the 3 dealerships that are all on the same property.  I am responsible for photographing and putting descriptions up of ALL new and used cars. 

To give you an idea of how large this company is, the owner has about 50 or so dealerships in the greater Boston and Providence areas.  The dealerships run the gamut, from Ford and Honda to BMW and Rolls Royce and everything in between.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far, I LOVE it.  Surprisingly, even though I have about 400+ new cars that I need to get photographed and online, the job is way less stress than  my last one.  People are treating me the way I want and deserve to be treated and seem genuinely happy to have me on board.  Also, I get to use my education (imagine that!) and have minimal interactions with customers (pretty much just a smile and a friendly hello when I see them in the show room).  Also, there's way more upward growth potential at this job.  Overall, I'm thrilled.

So.  Thanksgiving just passed and we are in the midst of Chanukah.  I have done a TON of baking this past week for the holidays, and have much to show you.  I thought it would be overwhelming if I did it all once, though, so I'm breaking them down into different posts.  I was originally going to do it in the order of which the things were made, but, obviously, Chanukah cookies are relevant and I wanted to share those first.  Also, considering my pretty terrible decorating ability, I'm the most proud of these and wanted to show them off!

Since it's just a basic sugar cookie recipe, this also seemed the most timely so that you can plan to make them for Christmas.  Before you ask: I have no idea where to go to acquire Jewish themed cookie cutters.  I figured if anyone would have them, it would be mom.  She did, so now I do.  If you're looking for some so you can make your own, Amazon seems like it's probably a safe bet (side note: I just checked while I was typing this.  Definitely check Amazon.).

The cookie recipe itself is actually something I've had since high school.  In my freshman year english class we had to do a "how to" demonstration.  Obviously, the girl couldn't fully demonstrate how to make cookies, but she brought the recipe with some samples!  Now, this is not designed to be an actual roll out cookie dough recipe, but I did all of the research for you and you can turn pretty much any sugar cookie recipe into one!  All you really have to do is chill the dough so that it stiffens to the correct consistency.  You can also add more flour, but this recipe is pretty similar to a lot of the ones that I found floating around on the interwebz.  I chilled my dough for about 10 minutes, but you'll want to chill yours for longer.  Some of my cookies softened around the edges instead of staying in the precise shape they were in when they started.  For me, this was no big deal.  If you're making these with kids, it's probably no big deal either. 

After I noticed that it was happening when I checked on the first batch, I stuck the other sheets in the fridge to chill after they were cut and before they went in the oven.  This helped out some, but chilling the dough for longer ahead of time is probably the right thing to do.  The trick is to make sure you don't chill it for TOO long - I would think that about 30 minutes to an hour is good enough, because you still need the dough soft enough to work with.  I worked with about 1/3 of the dough at a time, and probably could have left the rest of it in the fridge.

I love sugar cookies with frosting, but transporting them the few blocks to my mom's house with buttercream frosting seemed like it posed some problems.  I've read about royal icing about a million times on the internet, but never had the opportunity or a reason to try it.  Once I started investigating, my main concern was the (uncooked) egg whites called for in most traditional recipes.  I was pretty sure that most everybody would be okay, but my gramma is 81 years old and I'm not knowingly going to take any chances with that woman.

Basically, royal icing is the same stuff that you use when you make gingerbread houses.  There are lots of different consistencies that you can make by adding more water or more sugar to make it thinner or thicker.  "Flood" consistency is pretty much what it sounds like, a thin consistency that you can use to spread a thin layer for decorating.  The best part of royal icing is that it dries hard, so you can stack your sugar cookies for easy storage and transport. (For more information and/or a better explanation, I would definitely check out The Shiksa's post on it - I found it tremendously helpful!)

I made mine with meringue powder instead, which is made of dried egg whites, sugar, and gum.  I had to go to Walmart (my nemesis) to get it, but I was able to find it pretty easily once I could figure out where the cake decorating/Wilton section was.

After reading about 20 blogs about royal icing, I was prepared for a battle.  I was expecting it to be much more difficult than it really was.  The hardest part, for me, was getting the icing to the right "flood" consistency, but I think that was really because I was bound and determined to make only one batch and split it up from there, rather than making multiple batches and then wondering the the heck to do with the leftovers.  I ended up having to use my (clean!) fingers to spread the icing on some of the smaller cookies, but it definitely worked well.  I was a little wary about leaving my cookies out overnight, and while I ended up with a crunchier cookie in the end, none of the bad things I imagined ended up happening.

This exercise made me realize how much of a perfectionist I can be.  For me, I was originally unhappy about the cookies losing a little of their shape in the oven.  Then, I was like "man I could have decorated these much better!".  Then, I called Joe into the room when I was finished and he thought they were awesome.  Then, I brought the cookies to my mom's house and made a whole huge thing about keeping them a surprise and not showing them until it was time to eat dessert.

And suddenly, it didn't matter that it took me a couple of days to make these or that I thought the results could have been better.  Wanna know why? My family LOVED these cookies - I hope your family does, too!

Easy Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients.  Dough will be thick.  Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Roll out to about 1/4" thick and cut cookies as desired. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden.

Royal Icing
3 Tbsp meringue powder
1 lb. (approx. 4 cups) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. warm water, plus more for "flood" consistency icing

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine meringue powder and powdered sugar. Add water and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

Add water or sugar as needed to achieve correct consistency.

Use immediately.

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! 

Apple Matzah Kugel

I promised you another Passover recipe, and while the brownies were good (have you tried them yet?), this one is my absolute favorite.  Before I get into it, though, I want to make something very clear:  this IS a gebrochts recipe, so if you generally abstain from eating anything where the matzah comes into contact with the water, then unfortunately, this is not the recipe for you.

If gebrochts isn't an issue for you and you want some more information, I'll give you a crash course:

Many Asheknazic and Chasidic Jews avoid putting matzah and its derivatives into water or any other liquid.  If a clump of flour is not kneaded into the dough, it can still be susceptible to leavening.  If this flour came into contact with water, it would become chametz, which is not allowed on Passover.  For those of us living in the Diaspora (outside of Israel), Passover is 8 days, not 7.  This 8th day is more of a celebratory day, connected with the future redemption and a time when no evil will befall us.  As such, those who are normally only non-gebrochts during Passover make it a point to eat gebrochts on this last day of Passover, without worrying that it will turn into chametz.

Now that I have made my Jewish friends and Rabbis proud for remembering all of this information, let me tell you a little bit about this recipe.

First, we have to go into the way-back machine to about 12 years ago, when I first learned how to make this.  You see, at the time, my aunt was really sick with ALS and was confined to a wheelchair, but goddamnit, she was going to cook Passover dinner one way or the other.  The way to do it was to get my cousin, Jillian, and I to do the handiwork while she did the directing and instructing.  Truthfully, I first learned how to cook and bake in pretty much this exact same way: Auntie sitting across the table from me, directing me and walking me through each recipe, step by step.  When I was 14, I learned how to make a full Passover and Thanksgiving dinner.  Pretty much the only thing we weren't responsible for was the turkey, and that's because my uncle put it in the oven in the morning before he went to work.

Blast from the past! L-R; Me, mom, my cousin Josh, my auntie, my cousin Jill, circa 1992

The main thing that I remember about first making this recipe is my aunt laughing at me, hysterically.  She used to have to get extra apples (and potatoes) when we were cooking, because for some unknown reason, I was notorious for dropping them into the trash can.  You'll be happy to know that I made it this time around, I only had ONE casualty... and that's because the apple was rotten, not because I dropped it.

So.  My aunt passed away when I was 16, and I've had this recipe since the first time I made it.  I had it at my mom's house, but then I couldn't remember where I tucked it away.  Then, I had my cousin text it to me, but never actually wrote it out.  Then I moved and if I did indeed write it out, it had gotten lost in the shuffle.  When Joe and I moved in here almost 2 years ago, the first thing I had my cousin do when she came over was write this recipe down for me.  I remembered that this was really easy to make and that even though it's a Passover recipe, everyone enjoyed it and gobbled it up in like 2 seconds flat.  I knew that this was the year and that I HAD to make it.

So, I did.  In fact, I made two of them.  And it's everything I remembered.  Basically, this is like a Passover version of an apple crisp/apple pie hybrid.  I used Granny Smith apples, so they still maintain some of their tartness and some of their crunch, but the sugar and spices makes it taste more like a fall dish, while the matzah adds something a little filling and actually works with the apples to create a nice contrast in texture and taste. 

Apple Matzah Kugel
To print this recipe, click here

Ingredients
 4 squares of matzah
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Place sliced apples in a large bowl and set aside.  In another large bowl, break matzah into pieces.  Cover with water and let soak until soft but not soggy, about 5-8 minutes.  Drain.  Matzah will be wet - do not press dry!

Combine eggs, sugar, butter and spices.  Pour over apples.  Mix in matzah, stirring until everything is coated with the egg mixture.

Pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with extra cinnamon, if desired.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top looks dry.

Let cool in pan.  Serve warm.  Store covered leftovers in the fridge.

Kosher for Passover Brownies

Passover started last night and ends next Tuesday night, April 2.  In an ongoing effort to learn how to cook foods that correspond with different Jewish holidays, I wanted to kick my Passover cooking up a notch. 

In other words, I'm sick of eating those bland, tasteless and heavy box mixes.  I don't expect them to taste like "regular" brownies or cake or whatever the box says is inside, but it would be nice if it tasted like SOMETHING.

I scoured the internet looking for Passover recipes and didn't see anything I liked.  Then, I found one that I sort of liked, only it called for vanilla extract, which isn't actually KFP since it's made with fermented alcohol.  So, I decided to fully embrace the holiday and went into the kitchen, mad-scientist style, and figured they would be delicious if God willed it.  Maybe I should back up a little, first.

On Passover, the only grain Jews are permitted to eat is matzah, an unleavened, cracker-type of bread.  We are forbidden to eat any of the 5 grains, called chametz: wheat, rye, barley, spelt and oats.  Depending on your Jewish heritage, forbidden foods also include: corn, peas, beans, peanuts (all legumes, actually) and rice.  This is because all of these are either grown near chametz, opening the door for contamination and confusion (the appearance of chametz), or can be ground up and used to make bread.  Leavening agents are also not allowed - yeast, baking powder/baking soda etc. 

There are other, selected foods that are prohibited, but that's basically a highlight reel.

So, when you take out all of those ingredients from food, you're left with something that's not really so tasty.

Unless you make these brownies.

Now, I'll be completely honest: they do NOT taste like regular brownies.  They certainly taste like Passover brownies, but they're also moist and chewy and chocolatey.  With a glass of milk, it's easy to overlook the fact that the only thing holding these together is some eggs and some crushed up matzah.  If you're going to make this recipe, definitely use the honey! Passover foods are notorious for being dry, so I needed to find a way to overcome the dryness.  Rather than adding more sugar, I opted for honey so that I could get the moisture and the sweetness in one fell swoop.  The melted chocolate also helped to round out the chocolate flavor.

I'll have another Passover recipe later in the week.  Until then, I hope your Sedarim were full joyful family and friends.  Chag Pesach Sameach!

Kosher for Passover Brownies
To print this recipe, click here

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup melted chocolate
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup matzo meal

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8" square pan.

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Yields 16.

Hamantashen

Purim starts tomorrow night.  As a kid, I always told my non-Jewish friends that Purim was our version of Halloween, but that's the fairly inaccurate cliff's notes version.  In reality, Purim is a celebration of the Jewish people's deliverance from Persia, specifically as it relates to a plot by the king's advisor, Haman, to destroy the Jewish people.  As to be expected from a Jewish holiday, Haman sought to kill all of the Jews in the Persian empire, but his plan was foiled by Mordechai and his adopted daughter, Queen Esther.  The day of deliverance became a holiday of feasting and celebration - Purim.

There are lots of ways we celebrate.  One, we go to Temple and hear the story - Megillas Esther - and everytime Haman's name is mentioned (54 of them, if you're wondering), we make a ton of noise to block out his name.  We also dress up in costumes (that's where the "Jewish Halloween" part comes in), which alludes to the fact that God's presence is always concealed/disguised behind natural events.  This also allows for anonymity during charity giving and receiving, as you don't know who's behind the costumes.  Jews are no strangers to celebrations, so there is also a lot of drinking involved... which means that when you're a kid, finding the right person in Temple who has enough of a buzz and asking him for some money means you will likely be rewarded. Cha-ching!

And what I have really been getting to this whole time...

All of our holidays have specific foods that are eaten, whether for cultural or religious aspects, or both.  For Purim, we eat hamentashen, which are triangle-shaped cookies traditionally filled with poppy seeds or fruit jam.  The triangle shape is a reminder of Haman's hat, and the fruit/nut fillings are reminiscent of what Esther ate while she was in the king's palace, as she could not obtain kosher food.

I made hamantaschen last weekend (poppy seed, chocolate, apricot and strawberry), and have spent the rest of the time since debating whether or not I wanted to share the recipe.  On one hand, I have a baking blog.  Where I share recipes.  On the other hand, even if it's a pipe dream, I want to open a bakery some day.  If I'm going to open a bakery, I can't go around sharing ALL of my recipes with people, because then they won't need me!  I need a couple of trump cards, and I believe this is going to be one of them.  However, I DO have some tips that will help you when you're making your own hamentashen!

• When you cut out the dough circles (that you will eventually fold into triangles), make sure the dough is thick! When I made mine, the dough was about 1/4" thick.  Basically, when you pick up the circles, you want them to keep their shape.  If they get all stretched out when you pick them up, they're too thin.  This will give you more dough to work with when you turn them into triangles, increasing the chances that they'll STAY triangles when they're in the oven.

• Fill the cookies with barely a teaspoon of filling, placed right in the middle.  If the cookies are too full, you won't be able to fold them right.  You can always add more filling once you fold them if they look like they need more.
• Make sure you pinch all those seams closed! Pinching them good means they won't open up when they're baking.

• Before you fold them into triangles, dip your finger in water and run it around the edge of the circle.  Dough sticks together better when it's wet.
• Check on your hamentashen about halfway through the baking time.  They'll still be a little soft and moldable at this point, so you may be able to fix them a little if something's starting to look a little silly.   

Have you ever made made homemade hamentashen before?  What do you fill them with and how do they come out?

Chag Purim Sameach!