PASSOVER BROWNIES
8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet bar chocolate, chopped
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1/4 t salt
3 large eggs
3/4 C matzo cake meal
Melt chocolate and oil together in medium saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.
By hand, use wooden spoon to stir sugar and salt into chocolate mixture until combined. Beat eggs until foamy, then add to chocolate mixture and stir until totally incorporated. Add cake meal and gently stir 2-3 minutes. Batter will be thick. Let rest for 5 minutes, to soften up cake meal.
Line 8" baking pan with foil, grease foil. Stir batter briefly, then spread into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, do not overbake. Cool on wire rack in pan.

Passover-friendly Chocolate Mousse Cake (JM Hirsch NYT 3-29-06)
Serves 10
Nonstick cooking spray (I used a little margarine)
1 T ground almonds, plus more for the pan
10 ½ oz. dark chocolate (I used semi-sweet)
1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter (I used margarine)
1 ½ c sugar
pinch of salt
5 large eggs
confectioners sugar (optional, even when it isnt Pesach!)
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray or grease an 8- or 9-inch spring form pan, then dust it with ground almonds, shaking off any excess. [Dont worry if some of the almond "dust" gets on the top of the cake it looks really good that way.]
In a double boiler set over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, butter, sugar, and salt, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and 1 T ground almonds. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate and stir until thickened, several minutes (I put it on a lowish speed on the mixer and left it there 10 minutes).
Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 45 minutes, or until the top is set and begins to crack.
Remove the side of the pan and let the cake cool completely.
Dust with confectioners sugar if desired.

MATZOH BAKLAVA
6 sheets matzoh
For syrup
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon rose water
For assembly
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup shelled raw unsalted natural pistachios, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted margarine or butter, melted
Briefly pass each sheet of matzoh under cold running water until wet on all sides. Layer sheets between damp paper towels and let stand until somewhat pliable but not soggy or falling apart, about 2 hours.
While matzoh is softening, make syrup
In small saucepan over moderately high heat, stir together 1 cup water and sugar. Bring to boil, then lower heat to moderate and cook, uncovered, until syrupy and thick, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, honey, and rose water and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool, then chill until ready to use.
Assemble dessert
Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir together walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom. Separate out 1/6 of nut mixture and reserve for topping cooked baklava.
Transfer 1 sheet matzoh to counter. Press rolling pin once over sheet from one end to other to flatten. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Transfer to 8-inch-square pan and brush with melted margarine. Sprinkle with 1/5 of unreserved nut mixture.
Roll out second sheet of matzoh and transfer to pan. Brush with margarine and sprinkle with nut mixture. Repeat with remaining matzoh sheets and remaining nut mixture, ending with matzoh sheet brushed with margarine on top.
Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and immediately pour chilled syrup over. Sprinkle with reserved nut mixture. Let cool, then cover and let stand at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. (Do not chill.) Cut into small squares or diamonds and serve.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Epicurious
March 2007
Chef Einat Admony
(Adapted by Nancy Davidson)
Restaurant Taim

Double Citrus Sponge Cake
This moist perfect for passover cake is subtly flavored with lemon and orange peel. The cake is especially light and fluffy because egg whites and yolks are beaten separately, then folded together.
1 cup unsalted matzoh meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
9 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In food processor or blender, grind matzoh meal with salt and 2 tablespoons sugar until very fine (consistency will resemble flour).
In large bowl,, with mixer at high speed, beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar until thick and lemon colored and mixture forms ribbons when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Beat in lemon and orange peels. Fold in matzoh meal mixture until well blended. Set yolk mixture aside (mixture will stiffen upon standing). Wash and dry beaters.
In another large bowl, with clean beaters and with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually sprinkle in remaining 2/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until sugar has dissolved and whites stand in stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. Do not overbeat. With rubber spatula, stire about 1/4 of beaten whites into yolk mixture to loosen. Fold in remaining whites, 1/3 at a time, just until blended.
spoon batter into ungreased 10 inch tube pan with removable bottom. With metal spatula, cut though batter to break large air bubbles. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched with fingers, 40 minutes. Invert cake in pan on metal funnel or bottle; cool completely in pan. Run thin knife around cake to loosen from side and center tube of pan; lift tube to separate cake from Pan side. Invert cake onto cake plate, slide knife under cake to separate from bottom of pan. Remove cake from pan and if you like, sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Passover Banana Almond Torte (recipezaar)
12 servings 1¾ hours 40 min prep
7 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh grated orange rind
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 cup matzo cake meal
1 cup coarsely grated blanched almonds
1 pinch salt
1. Set oven rack at middle of oven; preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg yolks until thick and pale, add sugar gradually, beating. Beat until very thick.
3. Beat in lemon juice and rind. Add remaining ingredients (EXCEPT egg whites). Beat until combined well.
4. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks.
5. Stir 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into the banana mixture. Fold in remaining egg whites gently but thoroughly.
6. Pour into an ungreased 9 inch tube pan (3 ½ inches deep) with a removable bottom. Bake about 55 to 60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Invert pan onto a bottle neck, let torte cool upside down.
8. Run a knife around edge of pan; remove side of pan. Run a knife under bottom of torte to release it.
9. Transfer carefully with two spatulas to a serving plate.

Matzo Crêpes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cups matzo meal
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus additional for brushing skillet
Blend milk, matzo meal, eggs, oil, and salt in a blender until smooth. Let batter stand 30 minutes.
Stir batter before using. Lightly brush a 10-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Holding skillet off heat, pour in 1/3 cup batter, immediately tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crêpe.) Return skillet to heat and cook crêpe until top is set and edge and bottom are golden, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and loosen edge of crêpe with a flexible heatproof spatula. Quickly invert skillet over a plate to release crêpe. Make 11 more crêpes in same manner, brushing skillet lightly with oil for each and stacking crêpes on plate as cooked.

Thanks Linda! Keeping some, passing on others (bananas....)

I already posted my favorite chocolate Pesach cake on the other thread. I have a nut cookie recipe but I'm traveling so I won't be able to type it in until I get home Thursday. It calls for shortening which I got one Pesach but haven't been able to find for Pesach since so I've been substituting margarine - but I feel the same way as you about that. This year I'm going to try coconut oil instead. In one of my recipe books, the author says that she puts cottonseed oil in the freezer where it solidifies and she uses it direct from the freezer in place of shortening.

Hey Cloud

I'll go look up that chocolate cake. I know there are recipes recently posted but I kinda had a senior moment when I started this thread LOL.

My thoughts on shortenings etc.: NO cottonseed oils. Google it for a bit - lots of pesticides, etc.

Spectrum Brand has organic palm oil shortening and coconut oils (non-hydrogenated). They are marked kosher, but not for Passover; good enough for me! I just didn't jump and use it because certain recipes don't do all that well with shortening, I think? One of them is the following Peach Souffle (my friend makes this without the margarine and she says its fine)

Peach Farfel
Preheat oven to 350.
Ingredients

1 box of matzo farfel soaked in warm water and drained
2 cans of sliced peaches (save the juice)
7 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 teasp. salt
1 teasp. vanilla
2 cups of juice from the fruit
3/4 cup melted butter
Mix all the ingredients together, except the peaches. Layer the mixture and the peaches, reserving enough peaches to garnish the top. Sprinkle with cinammon sugar and bake for one hour.

(This recipe works best in a deep baking dish but can be made in a 9 x 11 pyrex)

Jessy, the cake recipe is in the flourless chocolate cake thread. I've put the link below.

BTW, you have mail! Did you get the email I sent? You should get a package in US mail today from me. Just something unusual I found for Pesach this year.

The nut cookie recipe works fine with shortening. I'm on my way home now so I hope to post it by tonight. I'm fine with using the coconut oil as long as I buy it before Passover.

I'm thinking of making almond macaroons this year - anyone have a T&T recipe?
Sol's Meringue (sp?) Daisies would work for Pesach too.

Passover Nut Cookies
from a Streit's cake meal box with some additional variations from cloud_swift

4 eggs
1/4 c soft shortening*
1 c sugar
1 c cake meal
1 1/2 c ground nuts
1/2 tsp salt
flavor variation ingredients - see below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Beat egg, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on a well greased cookie sheet (or parchment), two inches apart. Bake 10 minutes.

Flavor variation
the first two are original, the last one is my favorite - I added it last year.
Citrus - 1 tbs lemon or orange juice
Chocolate - 4 oz melted bittersweet chocolate and optionally 4 oz chocolate chips
Chocolate chip - 8 oz chocolate chips and 1 tbs homemade vanilla extract or use vanilla sugar in place of some of the sugar.
Ginger - 2 tsp ginger (ground or fresh grated), 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves

*I've used Pesach margarine in the past. This year I'll be trying coconut oil
Home made vanilla - slit a vanilla bean and steep in white Passover wine for at least 3 days.

Passover chocolate mandelbrot

2 3/4 c cake meal
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c potato starch
3/4 c sugar
1/2 lb margarine (I use butter)
6 eggs
3/4 c honey
6 oz chocolate chips
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Sift together cake meal, salt and potato starch. Cream sugar and margarine. Add eggs and honey. Add cake meal mixture to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Form into 2" bars and flatten out to about 1/2" thick. The dough is very sticky. Bake 350 for 45 min. Slice while warm with a serated knife. I usually sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top, but this is also optional. Also, to make it easier I bake this on parchment paper.

I know that I posted this somewhere already, but it's divine:

*** Recipe from Renée Adler Aschers Kitchen ***

Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup
Posted by Faulks on Thu, Apr 1, 04 at 15:46

Source: Epicurious says it's the cake version of Baklavah.
Renées Note: This is divine and very easy to make. Everyone at my seder loved it.

Cake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

3 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon finely minced orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon ( or 1/2 teaspoon for a more pronounced cinnamon flavor)
1/2 cup matzoh cake meal
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts or almonds
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 7-inch round layer cake pan

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, using a wire whisk, beat the granulated and brown sugars with the oil and eggs until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.

Stir in the remaining batter ingredients. Turn the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is light brown and set. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Soaking Syrup.

Soaking Syrup
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients. Heat to dissolve the sugar and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture becomes syrupy. Cool well.

Assemble
Pour the cooled syrup over the cooled cake, poking holes in the cake with a fork, to permit the syrup to penetrate. Allow it to stand for 2 to 4 hours to absorb the syrup. I prefer to refrigerate this cake so that while it is absorbing the liquid, it is also firming up. Also, chilling the cake offsets its sweetness and makes it easier to cut.