arts & entertainment >> food

On The Menu

Sweeten your seder table with delectable Passover desserts.

y

Flourless Chocolate Torte
12 oz. bittersweet or semisweet choco-
late (not unsweetened), chopped (or
about 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips)
3 /4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or marga-
rine, cut into pieces
7 large eggs, separated
3 /4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°E Use butter or
margarine to grease a 9-inch-diameter
springform pan. Place the pan on a sheet
of parchment or wax paper and trace a
circle around the pan with a
pencil. Use scissors to cut the
paper just inside the line and
place the circle of paper in
pan. Butter the paper.
Combine chocolate and
butter in a microwave-safe
bowl. Cook on high, uncov-
ered, for 2 minutes. Remove
from oven and stir until
smooth. If the chocolate
is not completely melted,
cook for 30 seconds more.
Alternately, cook the choco-
late and butter in a medium

ou want to make Jews happy?
Feed them dessert. Each wed-
ding, bar mitzvah, holiday — in
fact, every lifecycle event — includes the
requisite "sweet table
My mother's rule is 10 guests, 10 des-
serts, or something like that.
Here's the dilemma. Passover desserts
have historically gotten a bad rap. In fact,
the worst criticism one can give any food
is that it "tastes Pesachdik."
Pesachdik desserts cannot contain flour
or the leavening agents baking powder and
baking soda. What that means
is that ground nuts often replace
flour, whipped-stiff egg whites add
lift to cakes and matzah cake flour
— a good but not great flour sub-
stitute — replaces the verboten
white flour in our baking.
Luckily, clever cooks have
learned to work around the dry,
tasteless, too-many-eggs, too-
little-flavor predicament that
plagues Passover desserts.
Here are few recipes that are so
delicious you'll want to prepare
them all year long.

saucepan over low heat until melted,
stirring constantly until smooth. Set
aside.
Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and half
the sugar in large bowl with an electric
mixer until mixture is very thick and
light in color. Beat in the vanilla. Use a
rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate
mixture. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites
until soft peaks form. Slowly beat in the
remaining sugar and continue beating
until the whites are stiff. Use a rubber
spatula to fold the egg whites into the
chocolate mixture.
Transfer the mixture to prepared pan
and bake for 50-60 minutes (the cake
will rise, then sink as it cools — this is
normal).
Run a knife around the edge of the
pan and remove the collar from the
springform pan. Chill the cake until
ready to serve. Sprinkle the cake with
cocoa powder before serving. Alternately,
turn the cake over onto a serving plate
and carefully pry off the metal bottom
and peel off the wax paper. Makes 12
servings.

Pecan Torte With
Three-Berry Topping
The torte is denser than a sponge cake
and very fresh tasting when served with
the berries. If you'd like, you can also whip
cream to dollop on top. Sometimes I just
use strawberries for the topping.
Torte:
2 cups pecans, lightly toasted
1 /4 cup matzah meal
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 /8 tsp. salt
Topping:
1 cup fresh raspberries (1 small con-
tainer)
1 cup fresh blueberries (1 small con-
tainer)
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced thin
1 /2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350°E Grease a 9-inch
springform pan. Set aside.
Place nuts, matzah meal and 1/4 cup
sugar in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until the mixture is fine.
In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks with
1 /4 cup sugar for 5 minutes, until thick and
lemon colored. Fold the nut mixture into
this yolk mixture.
Beat egg whites with salt until foamy.
Continue to beat while slowly sprinkling
in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, until the
egg whites are stiff. Stir 2 large spoonfuls
of the egg whites into the nut mixture.
Fold the remaining egg whites into the nut
mixture. Spoon batter into the prepared
pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a
toothpick inserted into the center of the
cake comes out clean. Remove from oven
and let the cake cool for about 15 min-
utes before unmolding (the cake will sink
slightly). Run a knife around the edge of
the pan to remove the sides of the pan.
Make the topping:
Combine all the berries in a large bowl.
Sprinkle with sugar and toss well. Cover
with plastic wrap and chill 8 hours or over-
night, stirring occasionally. The liquid will
become a sauce. Serve this over the torte
or on the side. If serving the torte without
the sauce, sprinkle well with powdered
sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries.
Makes 12 or more servings.

Last Chance Bloom's Passover Dinner & Ala Carte Takeout Order Now!!!

FREE Seder Plate • FREE Passover Matzo with complete Dinner orders of 10 or more

Complete Dinners; 10 person minimum
• HERB ROASTED 1/2 CHICKEN
• CHICKEN BREAST STUFFED
• HONEY APPLE 1/2 BAKED CHICKEN
• LEAN ROAST BEEF BRISKET

78

April 14 = 2011

FREE

7-layer cake
with dinner order
of 10 or more

•

Complete dinners includes Beef Chopped Liver, Roasted Potatoes Anna or Potatoes Kugel,
Chicken Matzo Ball Soup, Carrot Tzimmes, FREE Seder plate & FREE Passover matzo

•
•
•
•

DELICIOUS PASSOVER BAGELS Order Now!!
PASSOVER CAKES, DESSERTS & CHOCOLATES
PASSOVER GIFT BASKETS & TRAYS DELIVERED
COMPLETE DINNERS & ALA-CARTE - AVAILABLE ON ONLINE

32418 Northwestern Hwy.
between Middlebelt & 14 Mile

248.855-9463

wwwJewishCatering.com

B lo o m' s

