A Passover Recipe

In the spirit of my previous post here is a Passover recipe I am lovingly stealing and adapting from epicurious. Might as well be part of the solution right!

Chestnut Torte

4 oz (1 stick) of butter or margarine- room temp.
1/2 C Sugar, granulated
6 Each Eggs-Seperated
1 1/2 cups of chestnut puree (or sweet potato)
1 t of the extract of your choice (I like vanilla)
10 oz of semi-sweet chocolate- melted and cooled
1/4 t salt, kosher of course
2 T sugar, granulated

Notes:

1. Use margarine if your cake needs to be parve.
2. Chestnuts are kosher but I've never seen chestnuts labeled kosher for Passover. If this is a problem use sweet potatoes. You simply need to peel, cook, puree, and strain them. I trust if you are reading this you are smart enough to figure out how to do all that.
3. If you want to use chestnuts but can't find pre-made puree buy jarred chestnuts and puree them yourself. If the puree is too dry you can add some kosher for passover liquor to it. I suggest brandy if you don't mind it not saying kosher for Passover. Brandy is basically made from fruit, no wheat to be found!
4. If you don't eat soy during Passover buy special chocolate because almost all chocolate has lecithin, an emulsifier, derived from soy in it.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan then cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom and grease that parchment.
3. Cream your butter/margarine and 1/2 C of sugar until the mixture has lightened slightly in color. Do not cream until the mixture is extremely light and fluffy.
4. Scrap down your bowl.
5. On low speed mix in your egg yolks, puree, extract, and salt. Scrap down the bowl.
6. Mix the melted chocolate in next and scrap down the bowl.
7. IMPORTANT. If you only have one bowl for your stand mixer(or only 1 stand mixer) scrap the bowl out at this point and clean it very thoroughly with hot soapy water. Then dry the bowl. If you are extremely paranoid rub the bowl with an acid (vinegar anyone) and then dry the bowl again.
8. Now whip your egg whites on the highest speed possible, without making a mess of course, in your nice clean bowl. Once the whites are frothy start slowly pouring the 2 T of sugar in. Continue whipping until the whites have reached stiff peaks but are not dry.
9. Fold the whites into the puree/chocolate/yolk mixture in thirds. Stir in the first third to lighten the mixture and then quickly fold the next 2 thirds in.
10. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes. The cake will slightly crack on top. This is OK. Remove and allow to cool in pan.
11. Once cool be sure the cake has separated from the sides of the pan (if it has not help it you moron). and invert the cake onto a cardboard cake circle.

Finishing:

You can simply dust the cake with cocoa powder or glaze with a ganache. To make a ganache take 6 oz. of your chocolate and 1/2 a cup of liquid. Water for a parve cake or heavy cream if you dont mind the dairy. Now bring the liquid to a boil and then pour over the chocolate (which you have of course placed in a nice bowl) Let stand for a minute and then stir vigorously. If ganache has chunks you need to heat it over a water bath stirring until smooth. Now place cake on a rack, like you would cook cookies on, and pour the glaze over top using an offset spatula to cover the cake. Once glaze sets you can also decorate with cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, cocoa nibs, or anything you think looks cool.

Now keep in the fridge. Then enjoy this basically kosher for Passover cake that does not involve ground matza.