{"id":13042,"date":"2023-04-07T13:02:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T17:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/?p=13042"},"modified":"2023-04-07T13:02:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T17:02:59","slug":"a-simple-easter-or-passover-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/?p=13042","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Easter (or Passover!) Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Photos by Peter Beck<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Holiday cooking is often elaborate. But sometimes it can, and should, be simple.<\/p>\n

My friend Peter Beck recently won my heart (as he often does) by sharing a cake that is uncomplicated and relatively healthy \u2026 and tastes like spring. If you want something a little dressy but not too gloppy for an Easter dessert, I recommend trying it.<\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that although this cake contains baking soda, it is still usable for Passover as well, although if you keep kosher you may have to seek out kosher-for-Passover baking soda.<\/p>\n

I grew up thinking that leavening agents were forbidden during this eight-day holiday. When the Jews were finally allowed to leave Egypt, according to the Exodus story, they were in such a hurry that their bread didn\u2019t have time to rise. Jews remember this by eating mainly matzo, unleavened bread, at Passover.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the prohibition is not on leavening agents like baking soda, baking powder, and yeast but actually on the way in which they interact with certain grains, specifically wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt. Peter\u2019s almond flour and baking soda are therefore allowable.<\/p>\n

Peter didn\u2019t actually design this cake for the spring holidays. He isn\u2019t a baker in general, although I can testify that he is an amazing cook.<\/p>\n

He loves to offer a dessert of some kind when he entertains, however. Like me, he lives in Hawley, Massachusetts, which abounds with lovely hills and wildlife but offers absolutely no bakeries. He didn\u2019t want to have to go somewhere to purchase baked goods. He consequently decided to develop a relatively fool-proof cake.<\/p>\n

He also liked the idea of a cake that doesn\u2019t have icing. A number of his friends prefer cake to icing, he told me, and he wanted to make them happy. I like icing, but I must admit that I didn\u2019t miss it in this recipe, particularly when Peter dolloped a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side of each slice of cake.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also considering a combination of cream and mascarpone,\u201d he told me dreamily. \u201cJust a dollop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted [the recipe] as simple as possible,\u201d he said of the recipe\u2019s development. I looked at almond-flour recipes. The egg holds the cake together and gives it some lift.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also liked the idea of having a small cake, he told me. This recipe fills an 8-inch cake pan and serves six with good-sized but not scary servings. The almond flour doesn\u2019t make the final product taste like almond extract (not my favorite flavor), just like cake. And the citrus flavors sing of spring.<\/p>\n

Peter told me that he first put the recipe together about a month ago and has made it at least 10 times. (He entertains often!)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just easy to have on hand,\u201d he elaborated. \u201cIt\u2019s nice for tea. One of the things that strikes me as kind of similar but I really think if you can nail it it\u2019s great is a scone. Also, it\u2019s such an easy thing, and people like that you\u2019ve made a cake for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was flattered by Peter\u2019s assertion that my own go-to desserts, fruit crumbles and cobblers, also inspired him to find a dessert recipe that didn\u2019t entail a lot of fuss.<\/p>\n

I firmly believe that every cook needs desserts in his or her repertoire that can be assembled quickly in the late afternoon if one learns that unexpected dinner guests are due. This cake is just such a dessert.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter baking it one or two times, you\u2019ve pretty much memorized it,\u201d Peter said of his recipe. \u201cYou can put it together on the spur of the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He notes that a completely different tasting, but similar to make, cake may be constructed by substituting 1\/2 cup cocoa powder for a third of the almond flour. I may try that for Easter. Or for another occasion.<\/p>\n

When I ate it at Peter\u2019s house, his cake was served in honor of the 40th wedding anniversary of other neighbors, Maggie Speier and Roy Lewis. Peter is camera shy so I don\u2019t have a photo of him with his cake, but Maggie and Roy were happy to pose.<\/p>\n

If you have no almond flour on hand, that ingredient may be purchased at many supermarkets. Peter tells me that Bob\u2019s Red Mill makes an excellent version of this low-carb flour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Happy Easter and Passover!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Maggie and Roy<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Peter\u2019s Almond Cake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/em><\/p>\n

about 1\/2 tablespoon butter for greasing the pan
\n4 large eggs
\n1\/2 cup local honey
\n1 tablespoon vanilla extract
\n1-1\/2 cups finely ground blanched almond flour
\n1\/4 teaspoon kosher salt
\n1\/2 teaspoon baking soda
\nany flavor profile that appeals. Peter used 1 teaspoon dried orange peel and 1\/2 teaspoon orange oil when he served the cake last week. He also likes to throw in a little Fiori di Sicilia, a lovely mixed-citrus extract.<\/p>\n

Instructions:<\/em><\/p>\n

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch, non-stick cake pan with butter.<\/p>\n

In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. One by one, gradually whisk in the honey, the vanilla, the almond flour, the salt, and the baking soda.<\/p>\n

Use a spatula to transfer the batter into the prepared pan.<\/p>\n

Bake until the cake is fragrant and set, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes.<\/p>\n

Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes; then invert it onto the cooling rack and let it cool for 20 more minutes before slicing and serving it.<\/p>\n

Sprinkle a little confectioner\u2019s sugar on top if you want to. Serves 6 to 8.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holiday cooking is often elaborate. But sometimes it can, and should, be simple. My friend Peter Beck recently won my heart (as he often does) by sharing a cake that is uncomplicated and relatively healthy \u2026 and tastes like spring. If you want something a little dressy but not too gloppy for an Easter dessert, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9,1324,17],"tags":[2141,2142,2143,2144,316],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13042"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13042"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13047,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13042\/revisions\/13047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}