it's pareve! it's pesadic! new ??? is both

February 28, 2021 8:43 AM

I usually don't make the Seder desserts but this year I have to and I'm blanking. And I have to prep in advance. And I am fussy.

I need nice desserts for my Seder with these constraints:

1. Can be made well ahead of time and frozen
2. pareve (no dairy: no butter, milk, cream, etc.)
3. no frankenfoods
4. standard Passover rules apply (we also operate under the no rice/legumes rule)
5. must be delicious (dealbreaker.)

Not real worried about the hechshers, as long as the products are products that by their nature don't contain proscribed ingredients. Like, coconut cream is fine.

I have pareve dark chocolate. I also have vanilla beans. I have access to pretty much every standard thing but I am not going to go chasing down that weird cottonseed margarine, you know what I'm saying.

As an example of what I need: Smitten kitchen's raspberry macaroons. Those are already on the list. What else?

posted by fingersandtoes to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

I only believe in flourless chocolate cake for seder dessert :). I don't have a specific recipe for you (and a lot of the recipes include butter but a lot don't - search for dairy-free). They should freeze fine. Add some raspberries or sorbet... Yum.
posted by brainmouse at 8:49 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This is a total winner. Weird to make, but delicious.
posted by papergirl at 8:50 AM on February 28, 2021 [9 favorites]

What qualifies as nice? Because later I’ll come type up my family’s Passover cake recipe for you (basically a chiffon cake that we serve with non dairy whipped topping and strawberries, the right amount of light after a heavy meal and drinking) but the dessert that is always wildly well received by every Seder attendee is what we call matzo crack and is pretty identical to this recipe. Seriously easy to make, better to do it ahead, stores and travels well, easy to portion, easy to nibble on and talk more, goes great with coffee or tea. Upon rereading the recipe, my family’s has salt in it, added when we melt the margarine.
posted by Mizu at 8:54 AM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I love this lemon almond flour honey cake. I usually serve it with blueberries. But even a frozen berry mash would be good.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/honey-vanilla-almond-cake-recipe.html

I make it super lemony. But a good dose of vanilla would also be good. I have a friend who makes it with amaretto. You could do orange as well.

I've never tried freezing it, but it may work, especially if you don't do the glaze until you thaw it.
posted by typetive at 8:55 AM on February 28, 2021

Response by poster: Hi sorry I wasn't clear, I can't use any of the "non-dairy" labeled products that are usually dairy. So no margarine, no "whipped topping", no non-dairy versions of dairy things. Only things that by their nature are not dairy. Like fruit, nuts, coconut, sugar, honey, maple syrup, olive oil etc.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:02 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: For what it's worth, "non-dairy" flourless chocolate cake just... Doesn't have butter in it, no butter substitutes.
posted by brainmouse at 9:03 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: [minor update: the flourless chocolate cake landscape does appear to have changed over the last years! The last time I researched those, the standard approach was margarine. New landscape might be a happy artifact of the Great Coconut Oil Craze of the early 'oughts.]
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:32 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Pavlova cake/something meringue? For example.

You don't need the cornstarch for the meringue; you can swap out coconut cream for the filling if you want to go traditional fruit and whipped cream. Chocolate and cream could also work/ you can go fancy with chocolate curls, etc.

(My family usually goes with assorted cookies- homemade macaroons, meringues, mandlebrot- and fruit. Boring, but tasty!)
posted by damayanti at 9:33 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Do you have an ice cream maker? This chocolate sorbet should probably be illegal.

I've never frozen these flourless fudge cookies, but I think they should hold up.

Seconding Nigella's clementine cake.
posted by Mchelly at 9:36 AM on February 28, 2021

Response by poster: I do have an ice cream maker!
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:38 AM on February 28, 2021

Best answer: Can I just make a pitch for straight up sorbet. Good excuse to get an ice cream maker if you don't have one already. Go small batch with exotic fruits.
posted by sammyo at 9:49 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I only came on here to recommend Nigella's clementine cake. My addition is to say that it works with citrus fruit in general, if you can't get hold of clementines. There's a variation for lemon cake (adding more sugar) listed but you can make a straight swap for oranges, mandarins, satsumas etc. It is great the first day, even better the second.
posted by plonkee at 11:41 AM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I can't use any of the "non-dairy" labeled products that are usually dairy. So no margarine

May I ask why?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:51 AM on February 28, 2021

My friend's daughter makes coconut macaroons when she is geographically available. Sometimes with a corner dipped in dark chocolate. I need to learn to make these.
posted by theora55 at 11:58 AM on February 28, 2021

Made this recipe for tofu chocolate mousse a few years ago for Pesach.

My dad still asks for it.

The concept sounds awful but tastes amazing and I say that as someone who doesn’t have dietary restrictions and enjoys regular chocolate mousse too.
posted by sciencegeek at 12:39 PM on February 28, 2021

I don’t mean to speak for the OP but many people who keep strictly kosher will only use special butter alternatives that are specifically kosher for Passover as they cannot contain soy or corn oils. In most places where there aren’t lots of people keeping kosher for Passover it is hard to find which I presume is why answerers were asked to avoid.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:40 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

(I'm mostly here taking notes, but I'd like to second the tofu chocolate mousse. It is very nearly just entirely chocolate-flavored, with nothing extra, and it's very, very good.)

EDIT: Oh, crap, but kitniyos. Ok, not that then.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:31 PM on February 28, 2021

Best answer: This is my go to for Passover dessert; I replace the matza meal with more almond. I have made it for non Passover times as well.

Almond-Lemon Torte with Fresh Strawberries
posted by jeather at 2:11 PM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Doesn't meet criterion 1 but is so easy it might not have to. Chocolate fondue is always a hit. Dark chocolate plus maybe a little coconut oil, in a fondue pot or chocolate fountain, and then an elaborate fruit platter for dipping.
posted by shadygrove at 3:06 PM on February 28, 2021

Came here to post the Almond-lemon torte and see that it’s already posted. I am a guest at Passover (I am not Jewish) and stressed over making a dessert for the meal and this was incredibly well received. I’ve made it for 4 or 5 years running now. It’s bonus gluten free, which is a need for their family. As suggested, you can skip the matzah meal that it calls for (it’s just for “flouring” the pan) and just use a bit of almond flour.
posted by kellygrape at 4:41 PM on February 28, 2021

this mint olive oil cake is pretty spectacular.
posted by bq at 12:23 PM on March 1, 2021