Lemon Meringue Nests

Those of us who write Passover recipes - myself included - are often guilty of saying that a recipe is "perfect for year-round" - even when we know we'd never really make it except during the week of Pesach. But this dessert? This is one I actually do eat year-round, and it's such a favorite in my family that we request is for special occasions as well.  

The whole thing is served and eaten frozen, so it's a perfect make-ahead dessert that is just as tasty a week later. The meringue is the perfect combo of crispy and chewy and the lemon filling is sweet, tangy and creamy. Traditionally we make it as two large rectangular sheets of meringue with the filling sandwiches between, but I find the mini version much cuter and actually easier to handle without fear of shattering the meringue.

Five-ingredient peanut butter and chocolate cookies

Sometimes I come across a recipe so simple and so easy that I can't understand why I haven't made it before. This is the case with these cookies. Five ingredients, naturally gluten free, no special techniques or tools needed, and totally delicious and cute looking. What was I waiting for?

Flourless Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Here's one more Passover recipe if you're still hungry for cake! This airy hazelnut cake is totally flour-free, dairy-free, gluten-free. I filled and topped it with a chocolate ganache, which made it completely decadent.This is one dessert you'll be happy to serve year round.

There is nothing that really screams“Passover” about this dessert – no matza meal or potato starch, or even any coconut. There's only four ingredients in the cake, yet it produces a dish that would be at home on any table, especially a gluten-free one. And it can even garner the most precious compliment of all: “this doesn’t even taste like a Passover dessert.”

I chose to slice the cake in half and fill it with a rich chocolate ganache, a perfect pairing for the airy, light cake. It would also work nicely with a simple whipped cream filling, or even just a little dollop on top of every piece.

Recipe:
6 eggs, separated
8 ounces ground hazelnuts
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups chocolate ganache (recipe below)

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow. Add in the hazelnuts and baking powder and mix until incorporated.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the egg whites in to the hazelnut mixture, then gently fold the remaining egg whites in until completely combined.
Pour the mixture in to a greased 9-inch springform pan* and bake on 325 for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Let cool completely, slice in half, and fill with half the chocolate ganache mixture. Top with remaining mixture.

Chocolate ganache:
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or finely chopped
1 cup cream or milk**

Place the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl.
Heat the cream or milk until just boiling. Pour it over the chocolate, and let sit for five minutes. Whisk the mixture gently until it becomes a smooth, silky frosting (this may take several minutes). Let cool to room temperature before using on cake.

*I realize many people will not have a springform pan, for Passover or at all. You can bake it in a regular 9-inch pan, but it may be difficult to remove which means you won’t be able to slice it in half. If you bake it in a different size pan, make sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.

Candied Orange Peel

So this Passover thing is coming up, I hear. Well here is one more dessert/candy/snack that is perfect for the holiday - and has just three simple ingredients that I'm guessing are already in your house! Oranges, sugar and water.   

Coconut Lace Cookies

These are really way more candy then they are cookie. But I'll call them a cookie anyway, since they're cookie-shaped. These lace cookies are oat and flour-free, which makes them perfect for Passover and those who eat a gluten-free diet. 

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I think if I gave someone one of these cookies, and asked them to guess at the ingredients, I'd get answers like butter, flour and chocolate. Well all of those would be wrong. The truth is, these passover-friendly and gluten-free cookies have just three basic ingredients: egg whites, cocoa powder and confectioners sugar.

Lemon Ice Cream

I was all set to tell you about this completely addicting ice cream last summer, but some way or another, time escaped me, and I had to tell you about this incredible pie and that amazing cobbler. But it's all worked out in the end, because this recipe is perfect for Passover, and will get you so hooked you will make it all year round. I promise. This ice cream is actually a permanent member of my freezer. And it doesn't even need an ice cream maker!

Raspberry Almond French Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache

If you read any food blogs, food magazines or new cookbooks, you'll have seen French macaroons. They are all the rage these days, lined up in their multicolored glory, with fillings across the flavor spectrum. If you've seen them, you'll also know that they are billed as a baker's worst nightmare: finicky, inconsistent, requiring precision that will bring the most talented pastry chef to tears. Or so I thought. Then I came across Brave Tart's (also known as Stella Parks) amazing "Macaroon Myths," where she debunks all these silly ideas of macaroon perfection: does the humidity matter? The egg whites? The powdered sugar? The time of the day? The color of your apron? In a word: no. 

Flour-Free But Still Fabulous

For the next few weeks I'll be cutting out some key ingredients here at Baking and Mistaking. The biggest of which, is flour. If you celebrate Passover, you're probably thinking - what are you waiting for, it's less than three weeks away starting any minute! And if you don't, you're likely wondering what on earth I'm talking about and why you would bother coming to my little corner of the interwebs anytime soon. 
Well, the truth is, that Passover-keeping or not, you should keep checking in here for the mouthwatering, exciting and delicious desserts that I'll continue to feature, that will have you forgetting those few ingredients that just happen to be missing.


So before I share some new and interesting flour-free desserts, I'll refresh your memory of all the great things already featured here that are perfect for Passover, with no adjustments. 

First - Lemon Meringue Thumbprints: 

Lemon Meringue Thumbprint Cookies

I've been working on variation of these cookies for a long time - with a sugar cookie dough, in a larger size, the curd added before or after baking...but my work is finally and truly done with these. A bite of crispy sweet meringue with just a touch of mouth-puckering lemon curd: perfection.

Chocolate-Covered Honeycomb Candy

[Updated with new photos]
Newsflash: I'm a foreigner. Don't deport me just yet - I'm bringing you candy! Here in part 2 of candy week at Baking and Mistaking, and I'm recreating one of my favorite childhood candy bars. Technically this is called honeycomb candy. It is sold in England as a "Crunchie" bar, and in Australia as "Violet Crumble" (don't ask me why). But when I moved to the US I realized that no such chocolate bar existed here. Since then I've had to rely on visitors and traveling family members to get my crunchie fix - but no more!

Peppermint Patties

I would like to officially announce this week as candy week here on Baking and Mistaking! For some reason, this season is a prime time for candy making. I'm not quite sure why, since I eat candy year round. No really, I do, promise. But nevertheless - today I present you with homemade peppermint patties. And come back later this week for even more candy!

Strawberry Sorbet

I may never turn the oven on again. Ok, I might turn it on later today, but I'm really going to regret it. Because with cool desserts like this, why would you bake?