Passover Baking

Update holiday recipes with a modern flair

By Lauren Chattman

Long Island Newsday

It’s not easy during Pass- over, the Jewish holiday during which the observant baker must give up wheat flour (as well as spelt, barley, oats and rye) and still strive to produce desserts worthy of commemorating the Exodus. No wonder so many people decline the challenge, choosing instead to serve boxes of marshmallow twists and jelly rings at the end of the ritual feast.

Until I went to cooking school, my Passover food memories were dominated by my mother’s superb chopped liver and my great-grandmother’s legendary gefilte fish. The dry sponge cakes and sticky-sweet almond meringues that came after the meal were instantly forgettable, even if they cost my grandparents an arm and a leg at the Upper East Side kosher bakery where they stopped on their way to our seder at my Aunt Phyllis’ and Uncle Morrie’s house in Great Neck, N.Y.

As an aspiring pastry chef in the 1990s, I volunteered to relieve my grandparents of their obligation and prepare the Passover dessert myself.

The first year, I kept it simple. Using unsweetened coconut from the natural-foods store, egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt, I baked light, fresh-tasting coconut macaroons that opened my eyes to Passover’s last-course possibilities.

The next year, my rich chocolate mousse cake was almost too good for Passover. It had the effect of transporting my family to a Parisian bistro, obliterating all thoughts of the deprivations our forebears suffered during their flight from Egypt. Like the coconut macaroons, this was a flourless dessert I’d gladly serve year-round.

A few requests for “real” cake prompted me to buy my first box of matzo cake meal to use in place of flour. I didn’t love the distinctive flavor this product lent to baked goods when used in large quantities. So I stuck with sponge-cake recipes because, compared with other types of cake recipes, they called for the smallest amount of the stuff. I realized that a sponge cake could be delicious if flavored with citrus zest, cocoa, espresso powder or spices. To combat dryness, I always made sure to serve it with a complementary fruit salad or sorbet.

New this year is a Passover fruit crisp. After disappointment with a tasteless topping made of crushed matzo, brown sugar, nuts and margarine, I had success with coconut and macadamia nut macaroon crumbs, which remained wonderfully flavorful and chewy while browning beautifully on top of a dish of sour cherries. I can’t wait to find out what everyone (we are an opinionated bunch) thinks.

I am hardly an expert on the more arcane rules of kosher baking (it’s best to consult your rabbi, rather than your food columnist, with questions about the kosher-for-Passover status of questionable ingredients such as corn syrup and peanuts), but here are a few guidelines I follow to make desserts that are both good to eat and approved for Passover consumption:

UNDERSTAND PASSOVER LEAVENERS

The prohibition on leavened baked goods can be confusing, but the bottom line is that baked goods raised via fermentation (i.e. yeasted baked goods) are not allowed during the holiday. Baked goods leavened with whipped eggs and/or egg whites or with chemical leaveners such as baking soda and kosher-for-passover baking powder, which, unlike regular baking powder, contains no cornstarch, are perfectly acceptable.

STOCK UP ON EGGS

During the rest of the year, gluten-rich flour gives most baked goods their structure. Since flour can’t be used during Passover, abundant eggs often provide the protein necessary to give holiday cakes and cookies some shape.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT FAT

Butter can be used in Passover desserts as part of a dairy meal. For a meat meal, use kosher-for-Passover margarine, since almost all other margarine contains soy, which is one of the foods generally avoided. Many oils are permissible for Passover, including safflower, walnut, vegetable and olive oils. Canola and corn oils generally are not.

RELY ON CHOCOLATE

Chocolate is the Passover baker’s best friend. Unsweetened and semisweet kosher chocolate (which don’t contain dairy solids, a necessity unless you are serving a meatless meal) can be used to make flourless chocolate cakes, brownies and chocolate icings and frostings. Unsweetened cocoa powder can be used to make chocolate-meringue cookies and macaroons.

INDULGE IN NUTS AND COCONUT

Traditionally, bakers rely on nuts and coconut during Passover to lend richness and flavor to desserts.

ADD NATURAL FLAVORS

Vanilla and other flavor extracts (which are made with nonkosher-for-Passover alcohol) are forbidden during Passover. Although kosher-for-Passover vanilla extract is becoming more widely available, it isn’t easy to find. But you can always use the seeds from a real vanilla bean to flavor Passover desserts. Citrus zest is another natural way to add flavor to Passover desserts.

DON’T FORGET FRUIT AND FRUIT SAUCES

To combat the potential dryness of a sponge cake or to balance the over-the-top richness of a nut torte or flourless chocolate cake, serve a fruit salad, compote or sauce as an accompaniment.