Fudgy Passover Brownies – Gluten-Free

April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 ~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

There isn’t a great deal to say about why you would want to make brownies for Pesach. I mean, why wouldn’t you? After all, who doesn’t love a good brownie? And since these Fudgy Passover Brownies are gluten-free, they also can be used all year-round for those with gluten intolerance. Dense and fudgy with a deep chocolate flavor. Be extra decadent and serve them with vegan vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

There are a LOT of brownie recipes out there and I have several on my blog. People also have very strong ideas about what makes the perfect brownie – fudgy vs. cakey, with extra chocolate chips or without, frosting or no frosting. Etc. etc. etc.

My personal all-time favorite brownie is my Java Brownie, but it is not for Passover. Is this brownie the absolute sine quinone of brownies? Probably not. But it is an easy recipe that comes together quickly, is Kosher for Pesach and is quite satisfying when you are looking for that chocolate something dessert. And best of all, I had all of the ingredients in my fridge or pantry so there were no additional trips to the store. Give it a try.

Just a note. These brownies will only be as good as the ingredients you use. If you use a cheap chocolate or cocoa, artificial vanilla etc. your results will not be as good as when using quality ingredients. There are some excellent kosher for Passover chocolate brands and you should be able to find one without too much difficulty. This recipe only calls for two eggs so make sure that they are fresh. There is also some excellent vegan butter on the market in addition to vegetable margarine. I would definitely go for the vegan buttery sticks. You will see the difference in the end result. Your output will only be as good as your input.

RECIPE

YIELD: About 9 servings

INGREDIENTS

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter cut into chunks, plus extra for the pan

3.5 ounces dark or bittersweet kosher for Passover chocolate, broken or coarsely chopped

1 cup superfine almond flour or almond meal

½ cup granulated cane sugar

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons of potato starch

1.5 teaspoons instant espresso powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ cup dark, white or a mixture of chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch metal pan with parchment. Butter the paper and set aside.

Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Just place a heat proof bowl over a pot of water, but do NOT allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer and checking frequently, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally with a spatula. If you use a microwave for this, start with 30 seconds at full heat. Keep checking and stirring. Do small increments after that until almost all the chocolate is melted. Then remove the bowl from the microwave and stir with a spatula until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sugar, cocoa powder, potato starch, salt and instant espresso granules. Stir out any lumps that may have formed. Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and incorporate it using a spatula.

Lightly whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and add it to the batter. Add in the chocolate chips and mix everything through until you have a fairly thick but smooth batter (except for the chocolate chip lumps.)

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread everything evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the brownies are just firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan. Then either invert them onto a plate, remove the paper and turn the brownies right side up to cut them OR just ease theparchment and brownies out of the pan and place on a cutting board. You can then just cut them on the parchment and peel the parchment off each piece.

Strawberry Ricotta Cake

May 24, 2024May 24, 2024 ~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

Due to the unprovoked, criminal and seemingly endless brutal war of annihilation against Israeli and Palestinian civilians by Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and against the Ukrainians by Vladimir Putin and the worsening humanitarian crisis, please consider helping by following the links below. There are a number of reputable aid agencies from which to choose. Many of these agencies will also help victims suffering the devastating effects of natural disasters. This list is not exhaustive but is a good place to start.

Rich with ricotta, eggs and butter, Strawberry Ricotta cake bursts with berries and a hint of orange and cardamom. I made Strawberry Ricotta cake for Shabbat since we are having fish, but it would also be perfect for the upcoming holiday of Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. Add a few blue berries to the cake and it would also be great for the 4th of July.

A Bit About Shavuot

Shavuot commemorates the day when the Torah was given to the Jewish People on Mount Sinai. It is one of three pilgrimage and harvest festivals in the Jewish Calendar and falls 7 weeks after the end of Passover and the counting of the Omer. While opinions vary as to why, it is traditional for Jews to eat dairy products when celebrating this holiday. And as is common with the People of the Book, it is also customary to spend all night in study.

Customs differ somewhat for Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, but the essentials of the holiday remain the same. We all read the Book of Ruth during this time, and we all agree that Israel, the Jewish People, entered into a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai.

I have made several ricotta cakes and they always taste wonderfully rich and pare beautifully with citrus – especially orange. These cakes, especially those made with fruit, will become almost pudding-like as they cool, with the flavors intensifying the day after baking.

This cake is quite simple to make, so is perfect for the novice or occasional baker. The finished cake does not require any additional embellishments in my opinion. However, if you wish, you can sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar over the top just before serving. If you do this ahead of time, the sugar will simply melt into the berries, unless you can find non-melting confectioner’s sugar, which I understand is available, but I do not have.

Other berries can be used, but I would shy away from raspberries, which while delicious, are so fragile that your batter will become pink while attempting to mix the berries through. If this doesn’t bother you, then by all means, give it a go.

I hope that you enjoy my Strawberry Ricotta Cake soon.

Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar plus 2 teaspoons for the top of cake

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1½ cups ricotta

1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 Tablespoon orange liqueur like Grand Marnier

Zest of an orange

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1.75 cups fresh strawberries, sliced into 6 or 8 pieces each, for larger berries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8 OR 9”-diameter springform pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Sprinkle about 1 scant tablespoon of granulated sugar around the inside rim, which prevents sticking and gives a nice texture to the cake.
Whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl.
Cream butter, orange zest and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the eggs, ricotta, orange liqueur or vanilla and whisk until smooth. Mix in the dry ingredients just until blended and there are no flour bombs.
Then fold in about ¾ cup of the berries, taking care not to mash the berries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and scatter the remaining berries over the top, gently pressing them lightly into the batter. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.
Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. (Ovens vary so it could take a few minutes more or less. It will also take a bit longer if you use an 8-inch pan since the cake will be higher and denser. However, it is difficult to dry this cake out. It will only get moister of time.) Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before releasing the outer ring. Continue cooling on a wire rack.

NOTE: This cake is very moist. However, to not overbake it, when the cake looks just about done but has the slightest jiggle in the center, I turn off the oven, crack open the door and leave the cake inside for 10 more minutes. I do this with a lot of cakes to finish baking them without drying them out. If you don’t like the “pudding-like” texture that this cake can get, bake it a little longer before removing it from the oven.

Purim!

March 19, 2024March 19, 2024 ~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

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Support Humanitarian Efforts in Israel and Ukraine

It’s almost Purim (March 23)! After October 7, 2023 and the massacre of innocent Jews in Israel by the terrorist group Hamas, the Purim holiday has rarely been so appropriate for modern times. Purim is a joyous holiday that falls on the 14th of Adar on the Hebrew calendar. It celebrates the saving of the Jews from a threatened massacre in ancient Persia. Once again Jews are facing an annihilation from Iran (Persia) and its proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. And like the Jews of Ancient Persia, we will vanquish our enemies and live to thrive and enrich the world with our many positive contributions.

Below are some of my favorite recipes for Purim. Enjoy and Chag Purim Sameach!

What would be Purim without Hamantaschen.

Poppy Seed Window Cookies

Queen Esther Cookies

Ma’Amoul – Moroccan Stuffed Tartlets

Iraqi Almond Cardamom Cookies

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Plum Cake with Streusel

October 3, 2023September 29, 2023 ~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

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I have always loved Italian Prune Plums. To me they represent the beginning of fall and the Jewish New Year. Perhaps their very brief season contributes to my delight, knowing just how precious they are. And this Plum Cake with Streusel, which is buttery rich with luscious plums- is the perfect coffee cake and one that does justice to the fruit. As a sucker for a good streusel topping, I find this simple cake utterly irresistible. I think you will too.

I even have special French dessert plates that my then boyfriend surprised me with. We had passed a display window with these dessert plates and I said how much I admired them and then forgot about it. Soon after, Andrew surprised me with a set and I knew that he was a keeper. That was 39 years ago and I’ve never regretted that decision!

Unfortunately, prune plums are usually available for only a few weeks at the beginning of fall. So if your store is already out of them, other plums can be substituted. You simply need to cut them into wedges. This lovely cake with lots of delicious streusel on top will also work well with apples. I would choose a Honeycrisp, MacIntosh or Golden Delicious. You can leave the skin on. I would not use a Granny Smith, however. It would be a bit too tough here. Just don’t make the wedges any bigger than 1/4-inch thick.

Recipe

Ingredients

For Cake

Yield: One 8 or 9-inch cake

Ingredients

6 to 8 Italian Prune Plums, depending on size for an 8-inch cake. (A 9-inch cake might require a few more.)

1 scant cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature

1.5 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of kosher or fine sea salt

2 large eggs at room temperature

2 Tablespoons milk or cream

1 generous teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

For Streusel Topping

1/2 cup (100g) packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter (114g or 8 Tablespoons), melted

1.25 cups (157g) all-purpose, unbleached flour

Garnish

Sifted Powdered or Confectioner’s Sugar

Directions

For the cake

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease or butter the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch springform pan. Cover the bottom with a round of parchment and then grease (I like a vegetable spray for ease) the parchment round and the sides of the pan. Place about 2 generous Tablespoons of granulated sugar in the bottom of the pan. Then gently roll the pan to coat the bottom and sides with the sugar. If there is any excess, just pour it out and discard. If you need a bit more, add a bit more. Set the pan aside.

Here’s a tip: buttery cakes always, always leak while baking. So if you are about to buy a springform pan, get one that has a built-in tray. I only recently started using one and I love it! (FYI I receive no remuneration from this and I am certain that pans by other companies could also be good.) Also, I have found that most 9-inch cakes are even better in an 8-inch pan. They come out a little higher and retain their texture longer without drying out.

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and beaters frequently. The end result should be VERY fluffy and a pale yellow.

Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Then add the milk or cream, salt, almond and vanilla extracts and beat well. The mixture will look curdled but will smooth out as soon as you add the flour.

Sift the flour and baking powder. You can omit this step but it makes for a finer crumb on the cake.

Add the flour and baking powder and only beat long enough to incorporate it. Don’t over mix which results in a tough cake. Using a spatula or large spoon, transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Tap the pan against the counter to get rid of air bubbles and using the spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth out the surface so that it is even and goes to the edges of the pan.

Cut each plum in half down the natural indentation and remove the pit. Cut each half, lengthwise down the middle so you now have 4 pieces. Carefully place the quarters cut-side down into the batter. Slightly push it into the batter.

For the Streusel Topping

Melt the butter.

Mix together all of the remaining ingredient and pour the melted butter over the top. Using a fork, scrape the mixture together, leaving some clumps. Everything should be moistened with butter and with no flour showing, but you don’t want the topping perfectly smooth.

Distribute the streusel all across the top of the plums, making sure that there are no bare spots.

Place the cake on the middle rack in the oven and bake for one (1) hour. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then take a thin knife or spatula and carefully run it around the inside of the pan. Loosen the spring on the pan and carefully remove the ring.

Allow the cake to continue cooling for another 20 minutes. Then using an off-set cake spatula, slide it under the cake lifting it carefully. The parchment paper should slide out. Place it on a cake board and leave it on the rack to cool completely. While you can cut the cake as soon as it is cooled, I prefer it the next day.

Once the cake is fully cooled, place it on a cake plate and cover it well. I love a well-fitting cake dome for preserving cakes. At this point, or just before serving, dust the cake woth confectioner’s sugar that is sifted over the top.

Lemon Cardamom Semolina Cake

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023 ~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

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So a Persian Semolina Cake and a Lebanese Semolina Cake walk into a bar…. But seriously, I took two delicious cakes with certain common elements, made some tweaks and came up with this single wonderful Lemon Cardamom Semolina Cake. Bright and lemony with that unique texture that you get with semolina cakes. The finished warm cake is soaked in a simple syrup perfumed with lemon and rose water. This permeates the entire cake, resulting in a dense, moist delicious bite. I topped it off with some lightly toasted pistachios and edible dried rose petals. For utter decadence, I served it with strawberries macerated in a bit of sugar and some lightly sweetened crème fraîche on the side. Do I have your attention yet?

This Lemon Cardamom Semolina Cake should rank right up there with the best of the semolina cakes. And while I admit to tarting it up a bit with strawberries and crème fraîche, it is wonderful all on its own. No embellishments are needed to enjoy this utterly lovely cake.

Middle Eastern semolina cakes, like b asbousa are very common – and VERY delicious. They are usually soaked in some kind of simple syrup or a syrup sweetened with honey. Not only does the syrup add wonderful flavor to the cake, but it also makes the cakes able to last longer, particularly in warm climates where refrigeration wasn’t common until relatively recently.

These cakes stay moist for days and the flavors only intensify with each passing day. And as each grain of semolina soaks up the syrup, the cake takes on such a lovely, creamy texture. I find that if possible, I always make semolina cakes one or two days ahead of serving. This allows all of the wonderful flavors and aromas to meld into one delicious bite.

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I love Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisine. and I also love a great dessert. This Lemon Cardamom Semolina Cake is the perfect make-ahead dessert for Shabbat or any special dinner – especially if it has a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean theme.

And because this cake uses olive oil instead of butter or margarine, a whisk and a spatula is really the only equipment needed. There is no heavy creaming of the butter and sugar or tedious beating to incorporate air into the mixture.

But don’t wait for an “occasion” to make this delicious cake. Take it on your next picnic. It will travel well and requires no refrigeration or special treatment.

For more semolina cake recipes:

Orange Semolina Cake

Lemon Semolina Almond Cake

Basbousa (Semolina, Coconut and Pistachio Cake

Simple Basbousa