Confections

Last week, I gave you recipes for dishes that are delicious for Passover and Easter. My column left no room for dessert. Since many people have a sweet tooth after a holiday meal, I searched my recipe files and cookbooks for Passover and Easter desserts.

Passover desserts have come a long way since I was a girl. Dry sponge cake — heavy like a lead balloon — and tasteless bagel cookies from a local kosher bakery appeared after the celebration of the seder. Now we have delicious sweets made without leavening. Kosher-for-Passover brownies are among the most popular.

It is not unusual to find Passover and Easter baked goods prepared with almonds and pine nuts. Sometimes hazelnuts are incorporated into a cake or cookie. Almond trees are plentiful throughout the Mediterranean. Thus, Sephardic Jews, particularly those with roots in France, Italy, Greece and Spain, often bake with them. So do Italian Christians during Easter. Pine nuts have become popular in America. But we owe their popularity to the Sephardim and Italians as well. Although it is not a sweet, pesto has become a sauce of choice for everything from pasta to fish. A fine midweek Passover dinner or Lenten meal could be baked salmon topped with pesto.

But we are talking about sweets. Here are recipes for Passover and Easter.

Siena Almond Cookies
Ricciarelli Di Siena from The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews
by Edda Servi Machlin

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
Dash of salt
Granulated sugar
Freshly grated rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10 ounces finely chopped blanched almonds
1/4 cup Passover cake meal
2 tablespoons non-dairy margarine
Confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Beat the egg whites with salt until stiff and dry. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar and beat until mixture has the consistency of marshmallow. Add the orange rind, the extracts and the almonds. Mix until you have a rather hard paste.

Combine the cake meal with 1/4 cup sugar. Grease a baking sheet with the margarine and sprinkle it with the flour/sugar mixture.

Divide the almond paste into 24 to 30 equal parts. Wet your hands and shape each piece into a diamond. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet and bake for 12 to 13 minutes.

Remove the cookies from the oven while they are still white and while they are still hot, sprinkle them with confectioner’s sugar. Use a sifter to do the sprinkling. Remove them to a cooling rack, cool thoroughly and store them in a tightly closed tin at room temperature.

Makes 24 to 30 cookies.

Note from Phyllis: You can spray the baking sheet with nonstick vegetable spray. Recipe can be easily doubled.

Sweet Lemon-Ricotta Pie with Brandied Cherries
From Eleanora’s Kitchen: 125 Fabulous Authentic Italian-American Recipes
by Eleanora Russo Scarpetta

For the pie:

4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup sambuca or other anise-flavored liqueur; Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur or limoncello
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon limoncello
3 pounds fresh or processed whole-milk ricotta cheese

For the brandied cherry topping:

1 cup brandy
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 pound fresh ripe cherries, stemmed and pitted, or 6 ounces dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Adjust the rack to the middle position.

Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, sambuca or other liqueur, lemon zest and juice, orange zest and juice, vanilla and lemon liqueur in a bowl with an electric mixer, or in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Add the ricotta and blend again until very smooth and creamy. It is important to beat the mixture until there are no lumps to ensure that the pie is silky-smooth.

Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the tip of a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature on a baking rack. Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate for several hours, until cold and set.

Remove from the pan and place on a serving platter or cake plate.

Combine the brandy and sugar in a medium saucepan and simmer uncovered until reduced by one-half. Add the cherries and simmer for 10 minutes or until the cherries have softened. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, then scatter the cherries over the pie.

Serves eight to 10.

Note from Phyllis: This book is hot off the press. It is an absolute delight. I will feature it in a future column.

Brownies for Passover
From The Gourmet Jewish Cook
by Judy Zeidler

Ingredients:

1/4 cup safflower or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup powdered cocoa
1 cup matzoh cake meal
2 tablespoons potato starch

1/2 cup strong black coffee
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup ground walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the oil and sugar. One at a time, add the egg yolks, beating well after each addition. Combine the cocoa, matzoh cake meal and potato starch in a bowl. Beat this into the oil mixture, alternating with the coffee.

Beat the egg whites until stiff enough to hold a peak. Mix 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten them. Fold the remaining egg whites gently but thoroughly into the batter. Blend in the chopped nuts.

Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and dust with the ground nuts. Pour in the batter. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at room temperature.

Makes 16 brownies.

Note from Phyllis: Recipe can be easily doubled. Use two (8-inch) pans.