1,000 Jewish Recipes (85 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
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Frostings for Passover are made with granulated or superfine sugar rather than confectioner's sugar. (Confectioner's sugar usually contains cornstarch, a derivative of corn, a grain not allowed during the holiday.)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted margarine or butter, softened
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â
2
cup superfine or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
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4
cup strained fresh orange juice
Beat margarine and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in grated orange rind, then gradually beat in juice. Beat batter until smooth and fluffy. Spread on cake immediately.
Instead of the standard graham cracker crust, this luscious, creamy cheesecake has a tasty, two-ingredient macaroon crust. (You can use leftover dry
Almond Macaroons
, or any other variety.) The cheese filling is flavored with fresh lemon rind instead of vanilla extract. Many kosher cooks avoid vanilla because the extract is usually made with grain-based alcohol, which is not kosher for Passover.
6 tablespoons (
3
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4
stick) unsalted butter, melted
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1
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4
cups macaroon crumbs (see Note)
1 pound block cream cheese, cut into pieces and softened
2 cups sour cream
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4
cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs
Grated rind of 1 large lemon
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. Add melted butter to macaroon crumbs and mix well. Press macaroon mixture in an even layer on bottom of prepared pan and about 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Leave oven at 350°F.
2.
Beat cream cheese with
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2
cup sour cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until very smooth. Gradually beat in
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4
cup sugar. Beat in eggs, one by one. Beat in lemon rind. Carefully pour filling into cooled crust and bake about 45 minutes or until firm in center. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 425°F.
3.
To make topping: mix remaining 1
1
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2
cups sour cream with 3 tablespoons sugar. Carefully spread topping on cake, in an even layer, without letting it drip over crust. Return cake to oven and bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Remove sides of springform pan just before serving.
Note:
To make macaroon crumbs, process macaroons in a food processor to fine crumbs. Alternately, put them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin; then measure needed amount into a bowl.
Macaroon cakes are becoming Passover traditions in many homes. Like classic macaroons, these cakes are made of a flourless mixture of coconut or ground nuts, sugar, and egg whites. Some of the egg whites are whipped to make the cake lighter than macaroon cookies. This is my favorite version, made with almonds and melted chocolate. It is moist and rich tasting, with a chewy, brownie-like crust. Serve it on its own, accompanied by sliced oranges or strawberries or, for dairy meals, with whipped cream.
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups whole blanched almonds
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4
cup sugar
8 large egg whites (divided into two bowls, 4 in each)
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan. Line base and side of pan with parchment paper or wax paper; generously grease liner. Melt chocolate in a medium bowl over a pan of nearly simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove bowl of chocolate from water; let cool.
2.
Grind almonds with 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor to a fine powder. Add 2 egg whites (half those in one bowl) and
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4
cup sugar; process 10 seconds or until smooth. Add another 2 egg whites and
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4
cup sugar; process again. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in orange rind.
3.
Beat remaining egg whites in a large clean bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat at high speed until whites are stiff and shiny but not dry.
4.
Slowly stir cooled chocolate into almond mixture. Gently fold about
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4
of whites into chocolate mixture until nearly blended. Fold in remaining whites in 3 batches. Chocolate mixture will not mix easily with whites, so continue folding until batter is blended.
5.
Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake about 40 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed lightly. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Invert cake onto rack. Gently release spring and remove sides and base of pan. Carefully peel off liner; cool cake completely. Turn cake onto another rack, then onto a platter so smooth side of cake faces up. Serve at room temperature.
A wonderful welcome to spring, this cake gains its richness from pecans and contains no butter or oil. It's most beautiful and delicious when coated with whipped cream and garnished with sliced strawberries. If you do frost the cake, serve it within an hour or two so the whipped cream won't soften. If you want to keep the cake pareve or to serve it several times, leave it unfrosted.
1
3
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4
cups pecans
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1
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2
tablespoons matzo cake meal or sifted matzo meal
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
7 large eggs, separated
Grated rind of
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2
lemon
1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice
Tiny pinch of salt
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2
cups heavy cream or whipping cream, well chilled
Strawberries, sliced lengthwise
1.
Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Have ready a 10 · 4
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8
-inch tube pan (not a non-stick pan) with a removable bottom; do not grease pan.
2.
Grind pecans with cake meal and 3 tablespoons sugar in a food processor to a fine powder, pulsing machine on and off. Transfer mixture to a bowl.
3.
Reserve 5 tablespoons of sugar for beating into whites and 1 tablespoon for adding to whipped cream. Beat yolks in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended. Gradually beat in remaining
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2
cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat 5 minutes or until yolk mixture is very thick and light in color. Beat in lemon rind. Gradually beat in lemon juice.
4.
Whip whites with a pinch of salt in another large bowl with a mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in reserved 5 tablespoons sugar. Whip at high speed about 30 seconds until glossy.
5.
Lightly and quickly fold
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3
of nut mixture, then
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3
of whites into egg yolk mixture. Continue with remaining egg whites and nut mixtures, adding last batch of whites before nuts are completely blended in.
6.
Transfer batter immediately to pan and smooth top. Bake in center of oven about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into cake comes out clean. Turn cake upside down in pan on a rack and leave about 2 hours or until completely cool.
7.
To remove from pan, run a metal spatula around sides of cake. Push up bottom and remove sides of pan. Slide spatula or a thin knife around tube, then very carefully under cake. Turn cake over onto a large platter.
8.
For whipped cream: chill a large bowl and beaters from a mixer. Up to half a day before serving, whip cream with 1 tablespoon sugar in chilled bowl until stiff. (If not using immediately, chill, covered, in the refrigerator.) Spread over top and sides of cake. Garnish top of cake with sliced strawberries. Serve chilled.
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