The challenge of Passover

Everyone has a favorite recipe for Passover brisket, passed down through the generations or discovered online.

But dessert is another matter.

Dietary laws forbid the use of yeast, flour and baking powder at Passover. It's a restriction that stumps beginning bakers and challenges even the most experienced.

That explains why nearly 45 women (and three men - two husbands and a son) signed up to sip wine, sample hors d'oeuvres, and learn from the James Beard-award-winning chef and cookbook author Aliza Green, who conducted a class on baking for Passover last month at the kosher restaurant Max & David's.

Green, who lives in Elkins Park and served as a culinary consultant for Max & David's there, was a key player and one of the few women involved in Philadelphia's 1970s restaurant revival.

For the Passover workshop, she worked at a table in the front of the room, her every step enlarged on an overhead monitor, and chatted freely as she made three desserts.

Each is from her next cookbook, Starting With Ingredients: Baking Recipes (Running Press, fall 2008), and each was adapted for Passover to eliminate flour, baking powder, and other leavening ingredients.

Cornstarch is a no-no, replaced with potato starch. Instead of flour, many Passover recipes call for matzo meal, a coarse mixture that can be difficult to work with.

Eggs can be used because they fall into the pareve category of the Jewish dietary laws, meaning they can be eaten with either meat or dairy. And when they're whipped to a froth, the eggs add lightness.

Of course, that level of egg-beating calls for something more powerful than a good old hand beater, so the food processor and standing mixer Green used had to be ritually prepared in a time-consuming process.

Green is a longtime student of food history and kitchen miscellany. In fact, she's writing a Jewish culinary history.

The rubber spatula is one of the few kitchen tools invented in America, she told the gathering.

"That and the swivel peeler," she announced, apropos of nothing. "Mostly everything else is from Europe.

"And did you know that the rectangular grater found in most kitchens came from a design used for wood shaving?"

The things she knows: Separate a large egg and the white yields one tablespoon while the yolk yields two. And when cooking with honey, remember that it is twice as sweet as sugar.

"I used to think that if I could make a chocolate cake without getting most of it on myself, I'd know I was becoming professional," she said. "Now I know better."

Below on this page are Green's original recipes for Chocolate-Hazelnut Torta Caprese; Majorcan Lemon-Almond Cake; and Australian Pavlova With Lemon Filling and Tropical Fruits, featuring a meringue as light as the ballerina Anna Pavlova.

Australian? Yes, Pavlova was Russian, but she traveled down under, Green said, and the Aussies apparently adored her enough to name this dish for her.

Makes 12 to 16 servings

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Nonstick baking spray

7 ounces hazelnuts

1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon Passover margarine

5 large eggs, separated

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet cocoa, melted and cooled

1/4 cup brandy (or Amaretto or brewed coffee)

Confectioners' sugar for garnish

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1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray or rub with Passover margarine and dust with Passover cake flour.

2. Toast the hazelnuts on a metal baking sheet until the skins darken and start to flake off, nuts are light brown and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

3. In a food processor, mix the hazelnuts, cocoa, starch and salt; process to a fine grind. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat half the sugar and the margarine until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the yolks one at a time, continuing to beat until they are fully absorbed and the mixture is creamy again. Fold in the hazelnut mixture, the melted chocolate and the brandy.

5. In a clean dry mixer bowl, using whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until fluffy. Add the remaining half of the sugar and continue beating until the whites are firm and glossy, about 5 minutes. Fold the meringue into the chocolate mix, working in thirds so batter does not deflate.

6. Spread batter evenly in pan. Tap pan on counter a few times to release air bubbles. Bake until the cake pulls away from the pan and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out dry, about 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

7. When cool, remove from pan. Cake will be fragile so handle with care. Dust with confectioners' sugar. If desired, serve drizzled with warm chocolate sauce. (Store for up to three days at room temperature wrapped in foil. Or, wrap in waxed paper, then foil, and freeze for up to two months.)

Per serving:

200 calories, 5 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams sugar, 12 grams fat, 66 milligrams cholesterol, 25 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

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Makes one 9-inch cake, 8 to 12 servings

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1 tablespoon soft, unsalted Passover margarine

1/4 cup sliced almonds, preferably skin on

8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) blanched whole almonds

Grated zest of 2 lemons

2 tablespoons potato starch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

4 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Confectioners' sugar

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1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rub a 9-inch springform pan with the margarine. Sprinkle sliced almonds in pan.

2. In a processor, mix the whole almonds, lemon zest, potato starch, cinnamon and salt; process to a fine grind. Dust a little of the ground almond mixture in the pan. Tilt and tap pan to coat evenly; shake off any excess.

3. In a clean, grease-free mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites until fluffy. Add the sugar; beat until the whites are firm and glossy, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl.

4. Use the same (unwashed) mixer bowl to whisk the egg yolks and honey until light and thick, about 5 minutes. Fold the remaining ground almonds into the yolk mixture.

5. Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture in thirds to avoid deflating the whites. Spread the batter lightly in the pan, shaking it back and forth to level the top.

6. Bake at 350 degrees until the cake starts to pull from the pan, the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

7. Invert cake onto a platter, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into serving portions. (If desired, serve with a drizzle of honey mixed with lemon juice and brandy.)

8. Cake may be stored, wrapped in foil, for up to three days at room temperature. Or wrap in waxed paper, then foil, and freeze for up to two months.

Per serving:

219 calories, 7 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams sugar, 14 grams fat, 71 milligrams cholesterol, 64 milligrams sodium, 3 dietary fiber.

Makes 8 servings

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For the Meringue:

1 cup sugar, divided use

1 tablespoon potato starch

Pinch of salt

4 large egg whites

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

For the Lemon Filling:

1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons), divided

2 tablespoons potato starch

4 whole large eggs plus 4 extra yolks (from above)

1 cup granulated sugar

Grated zest of 2 lemons

6 tablespoons soft, unsalted Passover margarine

For the Fruit Topping:

2 kiwi fruit, peeled, diced

1/4 golden pineapple, firm but ripe, peeled and diced

1 firm ripe mango, diced

1/2 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and diced

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons honey

Whole or sliced fruit garnish

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1. For the Meringue: With rack at center, heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 10-inch-diameter circle on the parchment, then turn the paper so the ink is on the back. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the potato starch and salt; set aside.

2. In a clean, dry, grease-free mixer bowl, using a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until the whites are firm and glossy, about 5 minutes. Transfer the meringue to a wide, shallow bowl.

3. In four additions (about 2 tablespoons each), sprinkle the sugar-starch mixture over meringue, folding it in gently with a silicone spatula. Spritz the vinegar over meringue; fold it in. Guided by the circle, spoon meringue onto the parchment, making a shallower "nest" in the center.

4. Bake until the meringue is dry and a pale cream color, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Turn the oven off, leave the door ajar, and let meringue cool in the oven. (It should be firm to the touch but marshmallow soft inside and easy to take off the parchment. If it sticks, bake 15 minutes more.) At this point, meringue may be wrapped in foil and stored in a cool dry place for two to three days, weather permitting.

5. Meanwhile, for the Lemon Filling: In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup lemon juice with the potato starch until smooth; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining lemon juice, eggs, egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Transfer mixture to a heavy-bottomed, two-quart nonreactive pot (not aluminum unless coated) and add the lemon-starch mixture. Stir over low-to-medium heat until filling thickens and begins to bubble. Off heat, stir in the lemon zest and margarine.

6. Transfer filling to bowl to cool. Stir often to prevent a skin from forming on surface. (The filling may be held at this point, covered and refrigerated, for up to two weeks.)

7. To assemble: Just before serving, gently transfer the meringue to a serving plate. Mix the fruits and toss lightly with lime juice and honey. Spread lemon filling in center of meringue; spoon fruit on top. Garnish with sliced starfruit, whole berries or other fruit as desired. Serve at once. (Use extra filling in other desserts or as desired.)

Per serving:

397 calories, 6 grams protein, 73 grams carbohydrates, 63 grams sugar, 11 grams fat, 106 milligrams cholesterol, 202 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

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