Baking off the Books

Several of you have asked me how I can bake without a recipe.  I will take you through the baking of two different items---both baked yesterday so you can understand the thinking behind what I do.

One of our Seder guests first night particularly likes my almond cookies.

I decided to make a batch. The cookies are essentially meringues with almond flour added.

I beat up two egg whites with a pinch of salt until they looked glossy and white. Each egg white needs 1/4 cup of sugar to turn into meringues. So I added 1/2 cup of sugar bit by bit and beat the mixture until the sugar had dissolved and the mixture looked like shaving cream from the can.

Then I added ground almonds from the giant bag I had purchased at Costco. I added the ground almonds until the mixture resembled cookie dough. The almond cookies have wide parameters. I could have added less almond or more. More or less would have changed the texture of the cookies but all are acceptable textures. I didn't measure how much I added but it was something less than two cups.

Here they are awaiting baking at

Yes, you can add a different ground nut  to the beaten egg whites ( pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts or pine nuts if you are feeling rich today). The cookies will taste different but  you are working with the same concept.

This batch of cookies came out light and crispy. (and delicious)

 Yesterday I reworked an old recipe that didn't quite work for me. One of my mother's standard Pesach cakes was Mrs. Pascal's Wine-Nut cake

Here is the recipe from my mother's holy Machberet Rambam

If you have trouble reading my mother's handwriting you can see it in easier to read form here

In the 2003 Shaar Shalom, Halifax cookbook. This, is by the way, a wonderful community cookbook.

Anyway, I love the idea of this recipe. It is just so old. My mother loved serving this cake.  I do not love how the flavors of the walnuts, sweet wine and cinnamon play together. It ought to be yummy but it isn't

So I thought about a couple of things. I thought about how the best Pesach cakes have little to no matza meal.  I remembered that my favorite Passover cake has about a cup of ground nuts and just a tablespoon or two of matza meal- 

Pecans are yummier than walnuts. Toasted pecans are even better. So I toasted a bunch of pecans in the oven before I ground them up in the food processor. I wanted to brighten the taste of the cake so I also added the peel of one orange --I tossed the orange peel in with the pecans while they buzzed in the food processor.

I switched out the cinnamon with a heaping teaspoon of ginger. I decided to bake the cake in a jellyroll pan and turn the cake into a seven layer cake. When you serve a seven layer cake the next day it still looks good. A cake baked in a tube pan looks like you served it to the A list first when you serve it on day two.

This is the finished cake complete with the hole I made when I tested the cake for doneness too soon. I learned the hard way that the cake hisses and pops until it is fully baked.

I made a chocolate custard and sandwiched the cake layers between layers of custard.

The cake is assembled but not yet decorated. It is sitting in my fridge . I promise that it will be much cuter when served.

I had to trim the cake before cutting it into four strips.  I ate the trimmings. This is a truly delicious cake. Thank you Mrs. Mildred Simon! 

Today I will bake another Mildred Simon cake---a sponge cake and will turn it into another seven layer cake. Two of our guests second night are nut allergic so I need to make a different cake.

This is the basic recipe---Mrs. Pascal is Mrs. Mildred Simon's daughter.

 Mrs. Pascal's Sponge Cake

9 eggs separated

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 c potato flour

1/2 lemon

bake 350 for 50 minutes

I know that Mrs. Pascal was an excellent cook and baker. I may not have ever met her, but I have been eating her recipes my entire life.

Half of Mrs. Pascal's sponge cake that was baked in two 9 x 13 pans assembled but undecorated

. Seven layer cakes for the win!