I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating, making, and (to be honest) loving Passover cake mixes from the box. I think my very first baking adventures—all by myself—were following the directions on the back of the Manischewitz and Streit’s boxes. But a few years ago, my sister-in-law shared a Passover flour substitution that made these mixes nisht naitik.
Mix together Passover cake meal and potato starch at a ratio of 2 cups cake meal to 1 cup potato starch. If the recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, use ⅞ cup of the Passover “flour.” It works pretty well for many recipes, just a little more dense.
The recipe below is one of my husband’s favorite treats, and he actually prefers the Passover version. A hand-held mixer makes quick work of this cake, but it is possible to do by hand—just a very tired hand by the time you are done.
Not Your Bubbe’s Passover Coffee Cake
- 1½ cup margarine, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1¾ cups cake meal
- ⅞ cup potato starch
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt (omit if using salted margarine)
- 1¼ cup milk substitute of choice (almond milk or even water works fine)
- 3 whole eggs, whites beaten stiff
Topping:
1 cup margarine, softened
⅔ cup cake meal
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup roughly chopped nuts (optional)
1. Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 aluminum pan. (I am going to try avocado oil spray this year.)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cake meal, potato starch (or 2⅔ cups Passover “flour”), baking powder and salt, and set aside. In a separate larger bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, and set aside.
3. Cream margarine and sugar together. Add the flour mixture alternating with liquid and egg yolks until combined. Don’t overmix.
4. Fold in the beaten egg whites with a spatula. Spread into the pan.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the topping ingredients (margarine, cake meal, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts) and mix until crumbly. Traditionally, one would use a pastry cutter for this, but I don’t have one for Passover so I use two knives and cut into the mixture for a few minutes to distribute the margarine and sweets to a crumbly texture.
6. Distribute the crumbles all over the top of the batter.
7. Bake for about 1 hour, until the center is fully set. Serve and keep answering, “Yes, this is kosher for Passover!”
For those who don’t eat gebrochts on Pesach, I have something for you, too. Passover is the gateway to springtime, and I always think there is a change in the weather during this week. The air smells different, the sunlight looks different, and I spend as much time outside as possible during the Yomim Tovim. And some time in the middle of the afternoon everyone starts clamoring for something cold and sweet, and that’s when I bring out the sorbets. (They also make an appearance at the end of most yontif meals, when all you want is a little something sweet “but not too heavy” because you just ate 42 other courses.)
You can make sorbet with any juice or combination of juices or pureés with this basic recipe; just adjust the sweetness as appropriate. It is a frozen dessert, so leave plenty of time for it to freeze and be whipped.
Lemon Sorbet
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 egg white
1. Dissolve the sugar in 1 cup of hot water to create syrup.
2. Combine lemon juice with sugar syrup, add remaining cool water. Mix well.
3. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze solid, at least 6 hours. (You can also pour it into an aluminum pan—just break it up before processing.)
4. Remove the frozen cubes and whip in a food processor until slushy, about 45 seconds to 2 minutes. Add the egg white and buzz until frothy, another 30 seconds or so. You will know when it is done when the mixture forms a smooth, opaque and creamy-looking ring the sticks to the sides of the food processor bowl.
5. Scoop and spread into a larger container (a foil pan or plastic tub works great) and refreeze until ready to serve. To serve, scoop with an ice cream scoop or metal spoon.
Frozen Fruit Sorbet
- 2 cups frozen fruit, small chunks
- 1 cup sugar, more or less depending on fruit
- 1 cup water
- 1 egg white
1. Make a pureé from the frozen fruit by blitzing it in a food processor until fairly liquified. Use a sieve or strainer to remove seeds and more pulpy bits.
2. Dissolve the sugar in the water. Combine with the puree and mix well.
3. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze solid, at least 6 hours. (You can also pour it into an aluminum pan—just break it up before processing.)
4. Remove the frozen cubes and whip in a food processor until slushy, about 45 seconds to 2 minutes. Add the egg white and buzz until frothy, another 30 seconds or so. You will know when it is done when the mixture forms a smooth, opaque and creamy-looking ring the sticks to the sides of the food processor bowl.
5. Scoop and spread into a larger container (a foil pan or plastic tub works great) and refreeze until ready to serve. To serve, scoop with an ice cream scoop or metal spoon.
Other Pesach-friendly desserts from previous Edible Parshiot include Mustachudos (Parshat Vayigash), Palpable Darkness (Parshat Bo), Fruit Leather (Parshat Terumah), and Almond Cloud Cookies (Parshat Pekudei), and Grape Sorbet (Parshat Vayikra). Chag Pesach Kosher v’Taim!
Follow me @EdibleParsha on Facebook to see each recipe on the Monday of each parsha week for plenty of time to prepare it for Shabbat!
