Anything but the Macaroon

Every year, about a week or two before Passover, everyone starts to worry about what to cook for Seder. Every year we resolve to have something different, but no one can agree what it should be, so we have the same thing as the previous year.

Of course, Passover is rich in many food traditions, so most of the menu is fairly set. But when it comes to dessert, the real pre-Passover panic sets in.

Kyra Effren, who runs the Cercle de Cuisine cooking school in Dallas, says: “Jews have always adapted the cooking of the country in which they settled to their needs. But at Passover everyone relies on that sponge cake or matzo pudding for dessert. There are plenty of desserts that are easy to adapt to Passover cooking to make meals more festive.�

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Of course, Passover sponge cake is as much a part of the holiday as pot roast or gefilte fish, and traditionalists will expect it, but Carole Walter, author of the best-selling cookbook “Great Cakes,� suggests a Passover lemon chiffon cake as an alternative, though she hastens to add that she has nothing against the traditional sponge.

“Sponge cake and Passover seem to go hand in hand, but I like to add a special dessert or two to the traditional ones,� she says. “My lemon chiffon cake is great at any time of the year and everyone just loves it at Passover.�

Myrtle Singer, a cooking teacher and cookbook author in Palm Beach, Fla., offers her guests a delicious orange-scented nut cake. “I usually use pecans for this,� she says. “They pair so perfectly with the orange flavor and make a cake that no one would suspect was made with any restrictions in the recipe.�

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In addition to Walter’s and Singer’s recipes, I’ve also included one of my own--a rich chocolate mousse cake to be served as dessert for a dairy meal. Each may be prepared in advance so that you have time to attend to all the other details of the holiday.

Aprepo design glass platter from Vest and Associates, L.A. Mart.

CAROLE WALTER’S PASSOVER LEMON CHIFFON CAKE

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2/3 cup matzo cake meal

2/3 cup potato starch

8 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 2/3 cups superfine sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

8 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

The method given is for an electric mixer.

Place lemon juice and grated zest in small saucepan. Bring to slow boil. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes. (There should be 6 tablespoons liquid. If not, add water.) Set aside to cool.

Using fine-mesh strainer, sift together matzo cake meal and potato starch 4 times. Set aside.

Place egg yolks and whole egg in small bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until mixture begins to thicken. Add 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at time, and continue beating until mixture turns pale-yellow. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally. Slowly add oil in steady stream.

Reduce speed to medium-low. Add cooled lemon juice and zest and beat until blended. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sifted dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Place egg whites in large bowl of mixer. Using clean beaters or whip attachment, beat whites on medium speed until frothy. Add salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form. Toward side of bowl, gradually add remaining 2/3 cup sugar. Beat until blended.

With rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of beaten whites into yolk mixture to lighten mixture. Fold in remaining whites.

Gently spoon batter into ungreased 10-inch angel food pan. Smooth top. Bake at 350 degrees in lower 1/3 of oven until cake is golden brown and springy to touch, 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately invert pan onto wire rack. Cool cake completely in pan. Turn cake upright and run thin, sharp knife around sides of pan, then around center tube. Lift cake by center tube and remove ring. Run knife under cake to loosen cake from pan. Invert cake and remove tube section.

Transfer cake to platter. Store cake at room temperature under glass dome or cover with foil up to 1 week.

Makes 14 to 16 servings.

Each serving contains about: 243 calories; 83 mg sodium; 171 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.16 gram fiber.

MYRTLE SINGER’S GLORIOUS NUT CAKE

9 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sugar

Juice and grated zest 1 large orange

1/3 cup matzo cake meal

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 1/2 cups pecans, ground in food processor

Dash salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Serve the cake with some whipped cream, if you want, though it is rich enough to stand alone.

Whip yolks in small mixer bowl on medium speed. Gradually add sugar, continuing to whip until very thick and light in color, about 5 minutes. Add orange juice and zest in stream and whip 1 minute longer.

In bowl combine cake meal, potato starch and pecans. Set aside.

Whip egg whites with salt and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into yolks, then fold in pecan mixture.

Pour batter into oiled 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees on middle oven rack until cake is well risen and firm to touch, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife or spatula. Release side of pan and lift off. Slide cake off pan base onto wire rack. Cool completely. Cake will keep at room temperature well wrapped in plastic wrap or foil several days.

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Each serving contains about: 237 calories; 72 mg sodium; 159 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.20 gram fiber.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE WITH RASPBERRY EAU DE VIE

Sugar

1/3 cup water

1 cup unsalted butter, cut up

3/4 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup raspberry eau de vie (framboise)

4 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

1 basket fresh raspberries, optional

This unusual cake batter may be made in other flavors with a brandy made from another fruit, such as kirsh. This version is particularly fragrant.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and water in saucepan. Bring to boil over low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure all sugar crystals dissolve. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and chocolate. Cover pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Whisk smooth.

In bowl whisk eau de vie and eggs until well combined. In steady stream, whisk in chocolate mixture, being careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into buttered 8-inch round cake pan lined with buttered parchment or wax paper. Pour 1 inch warm water into small roasting pan. Set cake pan in water. Bake at 300 degrees on middle oven rack until cake is set and slightly dry on surface, about 45 minutes. Remove cake from roasting pan and cool in pan to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To unmold, run knife between dessert and pan. Immerse bottom of pan in hot water. Invert onto serving platter.

To prepare frosting, whip cream with 2 tablespoons sugar until soft peaks form. Spread on top of dessert. Edge with raspberries.

Makes about 10 servings.

Each serving contains about: 512 calories; 41 mg sodium; 167 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0 fiber.