Subject: COLLECTION: Passover desserts
From: [email-masked]
Date: 12 Feb 1994 14:18:16 -0500
Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes

The place to find Passover desserts is not in a Jewish cookbook.
Throw out all those recipes that use matzo meal or potato starch and
look for flourless cakes and nut tortes.  The idea is to serve
something that a real cookbook suggests that people would want to eat,
not something they only eat when they can't have real cake.

Of course you can just serve fruit, but you can eat fruit next week.

These recipes may say to flour a pan, use matzo cake meal.  "chocolate
flour" is flour mixed with cocoa.  The first recipe, while dairy, is
very good, people still remember it from two years ago, and do you
really want to eat two meat meals a day for three days straight?

Most of these are from one of Maida Heatter's cookbooks, buy them all.

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Ethereal Chocolate Mousse Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce (24)

Preheat to 400F

15.5x10.5x1 jelly-roll pan, fold foil to fit outside, shiny side down.
Butter pan and foil.  Sift flour, remove excess.

I don't have jelly-roll pans for Passover, I folded a large sheet of
aluminum foil and pinched the edges, it's going to get trimmed anyhow.

Beat high, 5'
    6 yolks
    3/8 c sugar
    1 t vanilla
Add on low only until mixed
    1/4 c  + 1 T sifted cocoa

Beat to soft shape
    6 whites
    1/4 t salt
Add at moderate speed, gradually
    3/8 c sugar
Beat on high just until holds a straight shape.

In a few additions, small at first, fold half of whites into yolks.
Fold yolks into whites, handle as little as possible.

Smooth into pan.  Place in 400F oven, reduce to 375.  30', until top
just springs back when lightly pressed.  It will rise and sink.

As soon as it's done, invert onto towel, remove pan, stand 20'.

Peel foil, first from sides, then from bottom in pieces.

Repeat for second sheet.

Shape foil to outside of 9x13x2 pan.  Cut layers to fit.  Place one
layer, smooth (top) side down.

beat to soft whipped cream, then refrigerate
    2 c cream, very cold
    3 T sour cream

Almost melt over water, stir to smooth
    12 oz. bittersweet chocolate
    1/2 stick butter
    1/4 c dark rum
Remove from heat, beat in, one or two at a time
    6 yolks
Dissolve, add
    1 T instant coffee
    1/4 c boiling water
Add
    1 t vanilla
Cool in large bowl

Beat to soft shape
    4 whites
Gradually add at moderate
    1/4 c sugar
Beat on high to strait point

Whisk cream, fold 1/3 into chocolate
Add remaining cream and whites and fold just until color is even.

Smooth onto layer of cake.  Cover with other layer, smooth (top) side up.
Press gently.  Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight or 2 or 3
days.

Stir
    1 c strained cocoa
    3/4 c sugar
    1.25 t instant coffee
    pinch salt
whisk in
    1 c boiling water
Place over moderate heat, stir and scrape constantly until boil.
Simmer, stirring and scraping constantly 3'.
Remove from heat, strain, stir in
    1 T + 1.5 t dark rum
Place in jar.

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Small Walnut Torte (serves 6-8)

preheat 350
butter two 8" round pans, line, butter and dust with breadcrumbs

put in bowl
    5 oz (1.25 c walnuts), finely ground
add through strainer, stir with fork
    3 T cornstarch
    1/2 t powder
beat 10' high
    4 yolks
    1/2 c sugar
add on low nuts and
    1 T lemon juice

beat stiff
    4 whites
    1/8 t salt
stir a bit into yolks, fold in rest in 4-5 additions

spread into pans, 25-30' or until top springs back and comes away from sides
stand a few minutes, invert, remove paper, invert, cool on rack.

melt
    6 oz (168 g) semisweet chocolate
cream
    1 stick butter
add
    1 egg
add chocolate, beat, scraping, until very smooth and
slightly lightened in color

one layer, upside down, 1/3 of icing, other layer, ice.  Serve cold.

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Chocolate Walnut Torte (8)
>From Anne Willan's Look & Cook Chocolate Desserts, ISBN 1-56458-031-8

Butter, line with paper, butter and flour a 9" springform pan
Heat oven to 300F

Chop
    7 oz chocolate
Grind (in two batches in food processor, in four in blender) with
    1 2/3 c walnut pieces
For finer texture, first grind the nuts in a rotary grater

Cream
    1/2 c butter
Add, beat 2-3 minutes
    3/4 c sugar
Add, one at a time
    4 yolks
Stir in chocolate and walnut mixture using rubber spatula

Whisk stiff
    4 whites
Sprinkle in whisk until glossy
    1/4 c sugar
Fold into chocolate mixture

Transfer to springform, smooth top with spatula

Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 60-70'
Cool completely in pan.  Remove ring, leave torte on pan bottom
because it is delicate.

Melt
    4 oz semisweet chocolate
Brush onto shiny side (leave some of stem uncovered) of
    20-25 rose leaves
Cook, refrigerate until set.
Peek leaves away from chocolate.

Whip in bowl set in ice water until soft peaks form
    1 c cream
Add, whip until soft peaks form again
    1 T sugar
    1/2 t vanilla
Spread  over top and side of cake, chill about 1 hour.

Chop and melt in bowl set in hot water.
    1 oz semisweet chocolate
Make paper piping cone and fill with chocolate, pipe lines over top of cake.
Or drizzle from a spoon.

Arrange chocolate leaves around cake.

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Chocolate Almond Torte (variation of Chocolate Walnut Torte,
nondairy if you use margarine)

Replace walnuts with whole blanched almonds.

Instead of cream and chocolate, decorate as follows:
Cut 4-5 3/4" wide strips of cardboard, lay parallel on top of cake.
Sprinkle
    confectioners sugar
Lift off strips, shake off sugar.  Lay back on cake on diagonal to
sugar lines.  Sift
    cocoa powder
over cake, remove strips.

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Coconut Almond Raspberry Torte

10" spring-pan, butter bottom but not sides

Beat stiff
    6 whites, room temperature
Don't wash beaters, beat
    yolks,
gradually adding
    1/2 c packed light brown sugar
    1/2 t salt
Beat 2 minutes at high
Add
    1.3 c finely ground almonds
    1 c coconut
    1/2 t orange rind
Fold in whites, carefully and quickly.
Transfer to pan, bake 30' at 350.

When completely cool, cut in half using serrated knife
and gentle sawing motion.  Spread bottom half with
    1/2 c raspberry preserves,
put top back on.

In double boiler
    2 T butter
    1/4 c chocolate chips
Sift in
    1 T cocoa
    1 T confectioners sugar
Stir in
    1/4 t orange rind
Spread over top, just to edge
Sift over top
    extra cocoa

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PASSOVER CHOCOLATE NUT TORTE (Serves 12-16)

Cream
     6 oz      butter or margarine
gradually beat in until light and creamy
     3/4 cup   sugar
beat in, one at a time
     7         yolks
blend in
     4 oz      bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
mix and fold in
     1 cup     unblanched almonds, finely ground
     1/2 tsp   baking powder

beat stiff but not dry
     7         whites
fold into yolks
Well-greased 10" springform, 30' at 350F

mix in double boiler, stir until thickens
     4         eggs, lightly beaten
     how much? sugar
     1/2 tsp   potato starch
cool, stir in
     4 oz      bittersweet chocolate, melted
Beat in, one T at a time
     4 oz      margarine, softened
fold in until thick enough to spread
     1/2 cup   almonds, finely ground

frost cake, sprinkle with
     1/4 cup   unblanched almonds, chopped

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Hotel de Crillon's Chocolate Cake (10-12)
grease, line,  grease and flour (with choc. flour) 9" cake pan

put in double boiler, stir until melted
    8 oz bittersweet, chopped
    2 sticks butter, cut in 4 pieces each
    1 c sugar
remove top of double boiler from hot water
whisk in, one at a time
    4 eggs
pour into pan, place in jelly-roll pan, add scant inch of hot water
1 hr, 15' at 325.
Remove cake pan from hot water with spatula, cool a few hours.
Cut around edges, invert over pan, hit bottom to remove cake.
Leave paper on bottom, refrigerate overnight.

Remove paper, sift
    cocoa powder

In chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip until holds soft shape
    1 c cream
    3 T confectioners sugar
    3 t instant espresso or coffee
    1/2 t vanilla

shave
    1 oz bittersweet

serve cake with cream and shavings.

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Sonrisa Chocolate Cake (8-10)
Butter, line, butter and dust with flour or chocolate flour 8x3 springform
sprinkle fine dry bread crumbs
Wrap in two 15" squares of foil

place in double boiler over warm water
    10 oz bittersweet, chopped
    1 stick butter
cook until partially melted, stir until smooth and take off water

Beat on high speed for several minutes
    6 yolks
    3/4 c sugar
on low, beat in chocolate and
    1 T dark rum

beat until hold a soft shape
    6 whites
gradually add, beat until just hold a straight shape
    1/4 c sugar

stir 1/4 of whites into chocolate, then rest in two additions.  Do not
overfold.  Put in pan, put pan in tray, pour hot water 1" deep.
15' at 375, 15' at 350, 30' at 325.
Let stand in oven with door open a few inches for 30'.
Remove pan from water, stand at room temp a few hours.

Lay strips of cardboard, sift
    confectioners sugar

Keep at room temp.  Serve with whipped cream

    1 c cream
    1/2 t vanilla
    2 T confectioners sugar

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Almond Macaroon Slices (12)
Line cookie sheet with paper

Process until fine and powdery
    7.5 oz (1.5 c) blanched almonds
    1/3 c sugar
Add
    1 white
Beat, add slowly until a paste that holds together
    1 white (may not need all of it)
Turn out onto floured surface, form a ball, turn to flour all sides.
Form 11" long cylinder.  Put on sheet, brush off excess flour.
Dip finger in water, press trench into dough, don't cut thru ends.
Stand uncovered overnight.

Stir well
    1/3 c apricot preserves
place in trench, top with
    sliced almonds (not blanched)
Bake 25 to 28' at 350, until macaroon is lightly colored and preserves
start to bubble.  Cool, sprinkle
    confectioners sugar
cut into slices on angle.