Sunday, March 21, 2010

Vegetable Kugel (aka Kugel Cake)

My boys love this so much they will eat it 4x a day during Passover (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert...). The original recipe uses more margarine, but I find it tastier with a reduced quantity (as shown below). Enjoy!

Adapted from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen

Ingredients:
(note: using a food processor makes this really easy to prepare, given all the grating...)
1 C grated raw apple (1/2 lb)
1 C grated raw sweet potato (1/4 lb)
1 C grated raw carrot (1/4 lb)
1 C matzah meal (or ~2 C flour)
1/4 C margarine (or butter)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 C sugar (optional, or use Splenda)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 10-inch casserole or muffin tins.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Pour into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes. If using muffin tins, bake 30 minutes.
4. Raise oven to 350F, remove cover, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Slice and eat hot as a vegetable, or for breakfast or lunch in place of Matzoh during Passover. Tastes like unfrosted carrot cake—yum!

Note: if you make a double, triple, or quad recipe (which we often do) and bake in a larger casserole, you will need to bake for an hour or more, depending on size.

Sunken Apples and Honey Tart

From Kosher by Design (seen in Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Ingredients:
1/3 C honey
2 T fresh lemon juice
3 medium tart cooking apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges
3/4 C sugar
6 T margarine, softened
1/4 C dark brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 large eggs
1 t lemon zest (optional)
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 T sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350OF. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray.
2. Combine the honey and lemon juice in a large nonstick skillet, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the apples and cook 12-14 minutes until almost tender, stirring occasionally to coat the apple wedges. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, margarine, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium until well blended, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Beat in lemon zest, if desired.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter. Beat on low speed just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
5. Remove apples from the skillet with a fork or slotted spoon, discarding the liquid. Arrange the apple slices in a concentric spoke-like design on top of the batter. Combine 1 T sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the tart.
6. Bake for 1 hour. Place on a rack to cool completely in the pan. Release the sides of the springform pan to serve; makes 8-10 servings.

Note: great for Rosh Hashanah. Not at all dietetic, but very tasty! If you think your oven runs hot, be sure to bake at a lower temp, or the tart will darken too much.

Lokshen Kugel (Sweet Noodle Kugel)

From Layah Greenwald (aka Mama)

Ingredients:
12 oz pkg broad egg-style (with or without yolks)
2 eggs
8 oz cream cheese (nonfat or lowfat)½ stick margarine
½ c Splenda or sugar
2 c skim milk
½ c golden raisins
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
topping of crushed corn flakes

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cook noodles until just done (not too soft); drain and return them to the pot
3. Add eggs, cream cheese, butter, and sugar to the noodles and stir
4. Heat milk in microwave and add to noodle mixture
5. Stir in raisins and pineapple
6. Pour into 9x13 baking pan, top with about 1 cup of lightly crushed corn flakes
7. Bake 1 hour, uncovered, or until golden brown

Green Tomato Cake (Sukkot Cake)

Adapted (and lightened!) from allrecipes.com; serves 24.

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp margarine (I use pareve/lactose free)
1 cup granulated sugar AND 1 cup Splenda (or, for those who don't like sucralose, 2 c sugar)
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Place chopped tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Place in a colander, rinse with cold water, drain, and puree.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until creamy.
4. Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add raisins and nuts to dry mixture; add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Dough will be very stiff. Mix well.
5. Add drained tomatoes and mix well. Pour into the prepared 9 x 13 inch pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Nutrition info (based on adapted recipe)
114 calories, 3 g fat. 1 g fiber (2 WW pts per slice, not including frosting)

Flourless Banana Chiffon Passover Cake

Serves 12 to 14. If serving the cake within 24 hours, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. For longer storage, wrap with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 10 days. To thaw, remove foil and leave at room temperature for about 3 hours.

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp matza cake meal
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp potato starch
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 small or 1 large)
6 large eggs, separated
1 large egg
1/4 cup plus 2 TBs canola oil
2 tsps finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325°F. Have ready an ungreased 10 x 4 1/4-inch tube pan, preferably with a removable bottom, and a long-necked bottle or large heat-resistant funnel for cooling the cake.

2. Sift together the cake meal, potato starch, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the bananas, egg yolks, egg, oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, incorporate the banana mixture with the dry ingredients, stirring until smooth, thick and well blended.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Continue whipping until glossy-white, stiff-but-not-dry peaks form, about 2 minutes. Using a clean rubber spatula, fold 1 cup of the whipped whites into the cake batter to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whites just until combined. Spoon the batter into the tube pan, spreading it evenly with the spatula.

4. Bake the cake until just golden, the top springs back when touched lightly and a round wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately invert it over the long-necked bottle. Let cool completely, about 2 hours.

5. To remove the cake from a pan without a removable bottom, slip just the tip of a thin metal spatula or paring knife between the cake sides and the pan, slowly tracing the perimeter. Tilt the cake pan on its side and gently tap the bottom against a counter to loosen the cake. Rotate the pan, tapping it a few more times as you turn it, until the cake appears free from the sides of the pan. Place a wire rack on top of the cake, invert the pan and tap firmly on its bottom. Lift the pan from the cake.

(Note: I used a regular 9" springform cake pan, and the center was a bit mushy but it was still OK. A real springform tube pan would be preferable.)

Passover Chocolate Cake

Adapted from Maida Heatter

 Countess Toulouse-Lautrec’s French Chocolate Cake

from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts
by Maida Heatter, 1995, Random House

10 portions
Note: It is best to make it a day before serving or at least 6 to 8 hours before, or make it way ahead of time and freeze it. (Thaw before serving.)

Cake ingredients:
1 pound semisweet chocolate
5 ounces (1 1/4 sticks) sweet [unsalted] butter, at room temperature
4 eggs (graded large or extra-large), separated
1 Tbsp unsifted all-purpose flour (or matzo cake meal, for Passover)
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

 

1.     Adjust rack one-third up from bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees [F.] Separate the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch spring-form pan. Cut a round of baking-pan liner paper or wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan, and butter it on one side. Butter the sides (not the bottom) of the pan. Put the bottom of the pan in place, close the clamp on the side, and place the buttered paper in the pan, buttered side up. Set aside.

2.     Break up or coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir with a rubber spatula until completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler from the hot water.

3.     Add about one-third of the butter at a time and stir it into the chocolate with the rubber spatula. Each addition of butter should be completely melted and incorporated before the next is added. Set aside to cool slightly.

4.     In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks at high speed for 5 to 7 minutes until they are pale-colored and thick. Add the Tbsp of flour and beat on low speed for only a moment to incorporate the flour. Add the beaten yolks to the chocolate (which may still be slightly warm but should not be hot) and fold and stir gently to mix.

5.     In a clean, small bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites and the salt until the whites hold a soft shape. Add the granulated sugar and continue to beat only until the whites hold a definite shape but not until they are stiff or dry. Fold about one-half of the beaten whites into the chocolate – do not be too thorough. Then fold the chocolate into the remaining whites, handling gently and folding only until both mixtures are blended.

6.     Turn into the prepared pan. Rotate the pan a bit, first in one direction, then the other, to level the batter.

7.     Bake for 15 minutes and remove it from the oven. With a small, sharp knife, carefully cut around the side of the hot cake, but do not remove the sides of the pan. Let the cake stand in the pan until it cools to room temperature. Then refrigerate it for at least several hours or overnight. The cake must be firm when it is removed from the pan.

8.     To remove the cake, cut around the sides again with a small, sharp knife. Remove the sides of the pan. Cover the cake with a small cookie sheet or the bottom of a quiche pan or anything flat, and invert. Then carefully insert a narrow spatula or a table knife between the bottom of the pan and the paper lining; move it just enough to release the bottom of the pan. Remove the bottom and peel off the paper lining. Invert a serving plate over the cake and invert the plate and the cake, leaving the cake right side up.

 

Optional ways of serving:

·      Cover the top generously (excluding the rim) with whipped cream. (If you do not plan to serve it all at once and you might want to freeze the leftovers, that is not the best plan.)

·      Cover the top generously with large, loose, free-form chocolate shavings made with a vegetable peeler and a thick piece of milk chocolate, and sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top of the shavings.

·      Cover the top of the cake with a generous amount of fresh raspberries or strawberries or Chocolate-Covered Strawberries, and, if you wish, pass soft whipped cream as a sauce.

·      Cover the top with peeled and sliced kiwi fruit and strawberries.

·      Cover the cake with whipped cream, cover the cream generously with chocolate shavings, and pass brandied cherries separately to be spooned alongside each portion.

·      Mound about two-thirds of the cream on top of the cake. Cover the cream generously with chocolate shavings, or dot it with candied violets or rose petals. Fit a pastry bag with a star-shaped tube and use the remaining cream to form a border of rosettes around the rim of the cake.

·      One final option: Cut the top of the firm, chilled cake, removing the raised rim and making the top smooth. Then serve the cake upside down, either just as it is or with confectioners’ sugar on top.

 

Whipped Cream recipe:
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tbsps confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract, or 2 Tbsps framboise or kirsch

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip the above ingredients until they reach the stiffness you want, depending on how you will use the cream.

Serve the cake cold, in small portions – this is rich!