Passover Dessert
April 18, 2016 11:18 AM Subscribe
I've been invited to my very first Passover seder! It is going to be a potluck, and I have been tasked with dessert. Help me find an awesome Kosher-for-Passover dessert that doesn't have chocolate in it.
I'm what you'd call an agnostic free-spirit, but I am thrilled at the chance to hang out with some good friends of mine and learn about one of their favorite holidays. Help me figure out the most awesome dessert to bring that fits the Kosher-for-Passover Requirements. I'm a good cook and an even-better baker, so throw some recipes at me!
Challenge Level: The host is allergic to chocolate.
Also, we live in a decidedly not-Jewish city, so I can find some ingredients, but not super-obscure things. Also, they're vegetarians.
I'm what you'd call an agnostic free-spirit, but I am thrilled at the chance to hang out with some good friends of mine and learn about one of their favorite holidays. Help me figure out the most awesome dessert to bring that fits the Kosher-for-Passover Requirements. I'm a good cook and an even-better baker, so throw some recipes at me!
Challenge Level: The host is allergic to chocolate.
Also, we live in a decidedly not-Jewish city, so I can find some ingredients, but not super-obscure things. Also, they're vegetarians.
This almond-lemon cake is delicious and I am making it for my seder. Don't bother with the matza meal, just put in a bit extra ground almonds.
Crustless cheesecakes are also a great bet.
posted by jeather at 11:21 AM on April 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
Crustless cheesecakes are also a great bet.
posted by jeather at 11:21 AM on April 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
Smitten Kitchen's Mixed Berry Pavlova.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
There is a coffee angelfood cake in the Moosewood low fat cookbook that I recommended to someone else four years ago. There are also a lot of recipes about for orange almond cakes, which also have a bit of tradition to them.
Gluten-free may be the avenue you want to look into here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Gluten-free may be the avenue you want to look into here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:23 AM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you have a good Macaroon recipe, that's awesome! The coconut are traditional, but you might want to check out the French version as well. Make in different flavors and colors.
Manishewitz makes a great honey cake.
A fruit tart with an almond flour and butter crust is also a good choice.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:24 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
Manishewitz makes a great honey cake.
A fruit tart with an almond flour and butter crust is also a good choice.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:24 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: We frequently broke out the macaroons on Passover.
posted by thomas j wise at 11:24 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by thomas j wise at 11:24 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
Claudia Roden's orange and almond cake is a classic.
posted by neroli at 11:25 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by neroli at 11:25 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have posted these before and they are amazing:
Aunt Moria's almond cookies
posted by Mchelly at 11:26 AM on April 18, 2016
Aunt Moria's almond cookies
posted by Mchelly at 11:26 AM on April 18, 2016
I've made this Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup and it's great.
posted by Betelgeuse at 11:31 AM on April 18, 2016
posted by Betelgeuse at 11:31 AM on April 18, 2016
Best answer: Ooh - the meringues have given me an idea: Eton Mess! That's butt-simple - it's crushed meringues and chopped strawberries mixed into whipped cream. You can gild the lily a bit too if you have access to a freezer, and make it an Eton Mess semifreddo.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on April 18, 2016
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on April 18, 2016
Matzoh Crack - seriously you cant do much better than this
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:34 AM on April 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:34 AM on April 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
And now that i re-read obviously you shouldnt put chocolate on that matzoh crack and kill your seder's host.
honestly even the caramel and almond topped matzoh would be pretty tasty.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:36 AM on April 18, 2016
honestly even the caramel and almond topped matzoh would be pretty tasty.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:36 AM on April 18, 2016
Matzoh Crack is UNBELIEVABLE and would still be great without the chocolate. If white chocolate is ok that would be good too. But the caramel stuff is where the real magic happens anyway. Definitely use toasted nuts and sprinkle with a little salt.
I am a gentile who brought it to a Seder where it was deemed G_d's chosen dessert.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:41 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
I am a gentile who brought it to a Seder where it was deemed G_d's chosen dessert.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:41 AM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
I came in to nth Claudia Roden's orange cake; it's a staple of our Passovers.
posted by katrielalex at 11:46 AM on April 18, 2016
posted by katrielalex at 11:46 AM on April 18, 2016
Something like the Cafe Gratitude raw vegan key lime pie? It's amazing, if labor intensive.
posted by straw at 12:00 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by straw at 12:00 PM on April 18, 2016
A friend's grandmother always used to make a strawberry trifle with matzoh meal, here's something in the general ballpark though hers didn't feature lemon or meringue. Really, what's important to understand is that 1) You can make a sponge cake that's kosher for Passover and 2) Sponge cake is delicious soaked in custard or pudding and served with fruit and whipped cream.
posted by contraption at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by contraption at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2016
I've made this Orange-Almond Flan a few times, and it's great. (From the NY Times article, "For a Sweeter Passover, Old and New Sephardic Delights")
posted by ShooBoo at 12:21 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by ShooBoo at 12:21 PM on April 18, 2016
I was also going to recommend Matzoh Crack before I read the "no chocolate" requirement. I just made those this past weekend (we had an Easter+Passover themed potluck) and they were awesome and incredibly easy. Like, this is going to be one of my go-to desserts even outside of the passover season. I made them with pistachios as the nut and recommend that. I didn't actually think about doing them without chocolate, but I think the above posters are right that they would still be good that way.
posted by Betelgeuse at 12:23 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by Betelgeuse at 12:23 PM on April 18, 2016
these are all great ideas.
But as well: fruit salad is completely kosher for Passover.
(not a fan of fruit salad myself, but if you want something to complement a cake or sweeter dessert, it might be nice).
posted by jb at 12:38 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
But as well: fruit salad is completely kosher for Passover.
(not a fan of fruit salad myself, but if you want something to complement a cake or sweeter dessert, it might be nice).
posted by jb at 12:38 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
To the suggestions which include dairy: Note that the original poster doesn't say which branch of Judaism the hosts subscribe to, but many otherwise fairly liberal Jews observe a 6 hour gap between consuming meat and dairy, or vice-versa, as part of keeping Kosher.
posted by straw at 12:41 PM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by straw at 12:41 PM on April 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
These raspberry coconut macaroons are fantastic. Now I'm wondering whether I should make them too.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:10 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:10 PM on April 18, 2016
Best answer: To the suggestions which include dairy: Note that the original poster doesn't say which branch of Judaism the hosts subscribe to, but many otherwise fairly liberal Jews observe a 6 hour gap between consuming meat and dairy, or vice-versa, as part of keeping Kosher.
That's helpful general advice, but in this case the OP has mentioned that the hosts (and therefore presumably the meal) are vegetarian so dairy should be fine here.
posted by contraption at 1:13 PM on April 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
That's helpful general advice, but in this case the OP has mentioned that the hosts (and therefore presumably the meal) are vegetarian so dairy should be fine here.
posted by contraption at 1:13 PM on April 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
I came in to suggest the raspberry coconut macaroons, but fingersandtoes already has. And now I also think I should make some.
posted by nat at 1:22 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nat at 1:22 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Macaroons are one of the best parts of Passover, as is fruit and almonds.
posted by SMPA at 1:23 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by SMPA at 1:23 PM on April 18, 2016
Just a note. Any dessert with dairy in it may be problematic since the Passover Meal is traditionally meat. We don't mix the two and the most lax of Jews will feel weird about serving a dairy dessert after a meat dinner at Passover. I would.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:17 PM on April 18, 2016
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:17 PM on April 18, 2016
Best answer: Oh, wow, I didn't notice they're vegetarian. That makes it really easy. The reason Passover desserts are considered hard to do well is that most observant Jews aren't able to use butter or cream at their seder since seder is traditionally a meat meal. The lack of flour is a trivial obstacle in dessert-world, compared to the lack of dairy. If you can use butter and cream, you've got a ton of options. Here's a list from smittenkitchen on flour-free desserts that aren't traditional, because many have dairy, but look tasty.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:46 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:46 PM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
This post from the Kitchn gives several options, and even some of the ones with chocolate could easily omit it (for example, with the seed cookies or brittle - you could just skip dipping in chocolate).
posted by rainbowbrite at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2016
Response by poster: I wound up making a baked apple pudding, somebody brought macaroon cookies (which had coconut, sad face!), and someone else brought delicious ice cream. We ate ourselves silly and had way too much wine and all was well. (Also thank you for the person who clarified the difference between macaroon and macarons for me.)
Thanks for the explanations regarding why meat and dairy are no-go's, and also, I didn't realize that the type of cooking oil being used was also a thing--so I wound up learning so much. Yes, them being vegetarians made it a lot easier, but I appreciated all of the tips and advice offered. I best answered the ones who offered useful advice and I'll definitely be referring to this thread again next year!
posted by PearlRose at 12:14 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks for the explanations regarding why meat and dairy are no-go's, and also, I didn't realize that the type of cooking oil being used was also a thing--so I wound up learning so much. Yes, them being vegetarians made it a lot easier, but I appreciated all of the tips and advice offered. I best answered the ones who offered useful advice and I'll definitely be referring to this thread again next year!
posted by PearlRose at 12:14 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tilde at 11:21 AM on April 18, 2016 [1 favorite]