Category Archives: Jewish

Coconut Date Syrup Macaroons with Mocha Chocolate Ganache

21 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in chocolate, dessert, gluten free, Holidays, Jewish, recipe, vegetarian/vegan

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Coconut macaroons sweetened with date syrup and gently infused with date coffee, dipped in velvety chocolate ganache. Perfect for festive holiday meals and dessert tables!

Homemade Coconut Macaroons with Mocha Chocolate Ganache (Passover Kosher & Gluten Free!)

While I was living abroad I was blessed to be the marketing assistant to a woman with a truly incredible company: she leads food tours through the markets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. There were many perks that came with that job, like the best burekas with the most luscious fillings, learning where to buy high quality spices and hard-to-find “foreign” ingredients (like brown sugar), and which shops were truly worthwhile.

I’ve been home for a while, and she and I have kept in touch. She initiated a new start-up that would allow people in the United States to subscribe to a food delivery box filled with artisan foods and treats from Israel. During that time I had the pleasure of finally getting paid to do what I love: recipe development.Homemade Macaroons (Passover Kosher & Gluten Free!)

ingredients for homemade coconut macaroons

Actually, that wasn’t the only passion that I was getting paid for. In the span of a month and a half I had my 2nd catering gig, I taught my first cooking class plus I developed recipes for Koofsa. It was so validating and special to finally get to use my passion for cooking in that way; I felt a surge of motivation and fulfillment.

This is one of my favorite recipes that I developed for her company. These macaroons are so much better than store bought, and that’s coming from a girl who can go through a container of Manischewitz macaroons in no time at all. These mocha coconut macaroons, dipped in a velvety mocha dark chocolate ganache, stood no chance in my kitchen. We devoured them, and I know you’ll love them too!

Homemade Coconut Chocolate Macaroons

This is a special and simple recipe to add to a festive meal or holiday dessert table. They are Passover kosher and gluten free with a gentle and satisfying sweetness that comes from date syrup. This recipe is loosely adapted from this one.

Coconut Date Syrup Macaroons with Mocha Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
4 egg whites
½ cup Silan (date syrup)
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
¼ tsp salt
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp Date Bean Coffee*
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

Start by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, heat ½ cup heavy cream with 2 tbsp date bean coffee in a saucepan over low heat. Once the cream is hot, but not yet simmering, turn the burner off and pull it off the heat to let the date coffee to infuse the cream.

Meanwhile, toast half of the coconut in the oven until it is golden brown. Check on it regularly and use a spatula to toss the coconut flakes around so that you can be sure they don’t burn! Remove the pan from the oven once the coconut is golden brown and set aside to cool.

Whisk egg whites, silan (date syrup), vanilla extract, almond extract and salt until frothy, and then stir all of the coconut into the egg mixture.

coconut macaroons recipe

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. If you are using parchment paper, spray the surface of the paper lightly with baking spray so the macaroons don’t stick. Take your batter and scoop a tablespoon at a time and shape it into rounds on the baking sheet, about an inch apart.

IMG_7850

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While the macaroons are baking, prepare the ganache: Heat the cream again just so it is hot but not yet boiling. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl and strain the hot cream through a fine mesh sieve to remove coffee grounds; allow the cream to drip into the bowl of chocolate chips. Slowly stir the cream and chocolate together until the chocolate is completely melted and the cream is fully incorporated. Resist the urge to eat the whole pot with a spoon.

chocolate ganache for coconut macaroons

Place another piece of parchment paper on a second baking sheet. Once macaroons are cool enough to touch, carefully lift them from the pan, dip each macaroon the ganache and place on the second baking sheet. Cool in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

chocolate coconut macaroons
Keep refrigerated.

*If you don’t have date bean coffee (it is a bit obscure), you can substitute your favorite ground coffee beans.

For more recipes, or if you would like to book a culinary tour in Israel, visit Delicious Israel’s website.

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Penina & Tommy’s Wedding Cake

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in chocolate, dairy free, dessert, dessert recipe, frosting, Jewish, recipe, sweets, Wedding

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2012 was a great year for me, full of personal growth and a lot of learning and improving as far as my culinary knowledge goes. It ended with quite the bang! My dear friends from university got married the last weekend of December, and I had the great honor of making their wedding cake. I had practiced before, specifically with my best friend’s birthday cake over the summer, but as the time grew near for me to start on the cake I got some serious jitters. Not only was I about to make the biggest cake that I had ever made, but it also had to be dairy-free for their strictly kosher wedding. Here’s a look at the process, as well as the amazing outcome!

red velvet cake ingredients

Ingredients for the cake batter

cake layers

The layers are finally baked, wrapped, and ready to freeze!

cake with frosting

The first layer of frosting is on! This is called the “crumb layer” because it holds all of the crumbs in place so that the pretty layer of frosting can go on top.

phoenix wedding cake

Finally the best part- decorating!

wedding cake phoenix

kosher wedding cake phoenix

kosher red velvet cake

The bride and groom cutting the cake

wedding cakes phoenix

wedding cake recipes

wedding cake recipe

Cake destruction

chocolate wedding cake recipe

The saddest sight I ever laid eyes on

dairy free red velvet wedding cake

Too delicious for words

Although I was terrified to tackle this project, it was actually so much fun! I would definitely do it again. Since it took me forever to find a good dairy-free red velvet cake, I wanted to share my recipe with you. I made some small changes to a pre-existing recipe, which you can find here.

Dairy-Free Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

1½ cup + 2 tbsp dairy-free butter substitute (Smart Balance or Earth Balance)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup dairy-free milk substitute (Soy, Almond, Mocha Mix for a parve cake, etc)
1 oz (typically 1 bottle) red food coloring
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare two 9″ round pans: spray each pan with cooking spray, then cut a round piece of wax paper to fit on the bottom of the pan. Spray the wax paper as well.

Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter substitute and sugar until fluffy. Add each egg one at a time and mix thoroughly. Alternate adding the dry mixture with the milk substitute until it is all incorporated. Next, add the vanilla and the red food coloring.

Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Once the cakes are done, turn them out on a cooling rack. Frost with a dairy-free frosting, either homemade or store bought (there are a few dairy-free and parve frostings to choose from at your local grocery store).

Enjoy!

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Sweet Potato Latkes

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in dairy free, gluten free, Holidays, Jewish, vegetarian/vegan

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Happy December! This year seems like it is going by so quickly. I don’t know about you, but I’m still a bit stuck on fall, enjoying apple cider, roasted squash and pomegranates with recipes reminiscent of Thanksgiving. Hanukkah begins on Saturday, and with that I want to share with you my favorite twist on the standard latke (potato pancake)! This recipe is so delicious, with a flavorful substitution of yams instead of white potatoes.

latkes recipe

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients

3 Scallions, sliced
1/3-2/3 cup shredded sweet vidalia onion*
2 garlic cloves
6 cups shredded sweet potato
3 eggs, lightly scrambled
1/3 cup flour*
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Oil for frying
Applesauce and/or sour cream, for serving

Directions

In a Cuisinart, shred sweet potato. Once you have shredded all of the sweet potato, run at least half of it through the Cuisinart a second time. Next, shred the onion through the Cuisinart.

shredded potatoes

Add shredded onion, potato and sliced scallions to a bowl. Using a microplane grater, finely grate 3 garlic cloves into the bowl. Add eggs, salt, pepper and flour and mix well to combine.

sweet potato latkes

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Fry each latke and place on a paper towel.

sweet potato latkes recipe

Enjoy with sour cream and applesauce!

chanukah latkes recipe

Another favorite Hanukkah recipe is my family’s not-so-secret butter cookie! Its not Hanukkah in our house until an obscene amount of these cookies are baked and then devoured as soon as they cool. I posted the recipe last year, you can view it here: Hanukkah Butter Cookies

Happy Hanukkah!

*Depending on how strong you want the flavor to be, you can add more or less onion. Same with the garlic, you can always add an extra clove if you want.

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Apple Butter Challah

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Holidays, Jewish, recipe

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As should be expected, any holiday, get-together, or even the smallest event is a reason for me to cook something extravagant. It could be Thursday night with a bottle of wine and my best friend and that’s a good enough reason for me, so clearly Rosh Hashana had to have something special. I had recently given in to my Smitten Kitchen addiction (I really spend far too much time clicking the “Surprise Me!” link and reading recipes on her website) and fell in love with her recent recipe for Olive Oil, Sea Salt & Fig Challah. Of course I aspired to make it for Rosh Hashana, I even stood in Sprouts for maybe 30 minutes contemplating the difference between seriously four kinds of figs- why do they have four different kinds of dried figs?!

Amidst my rushing about to recreate the latest SK masterpiece, I also had an idea of my own. I didn’t know if I liked figs (now I know- I do), so I wanted to make another Challah that I knew I would like, and I wanted to incorporate apples. But how?

apples

For days I pondered… Then, it dawned on me: Apple Butter. The perfect solution!

apple butter

Let me tell you about my love for apple butter. But soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and apple butter is the sun.. but for real, apple butter is delicious. And ridiculously easy to make. So much so that I am already planning my next batch, and you really have no excuse to not bust out your crock pot at this very moment.

So, with this revelation, I made three challahs for Rosh Hashana. Yes, three! My love for homemade challah runs deep. I made Smitten Kitchen’s Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Fig Challah; Plain Challah with sesame seeds (for the discriminating tastes in the house); and the glorious Apple Butter Challah with Cinnamon Sugar. Oh, it was majestic.

challah

I first learned how to make challah from my Rabbi’s wife in college. Chaya taught me so many things about life, love, and Jewish cooking and for all these things I will be forever grateful. Her carrot kugel cannot be matched (I have tried countless times). Her baked chicken is always perfect and juicy and amazing. And her challah is to die for! So, lucky you, that’s the recipe I used! Coupled with my apple butter, it was a combination that I will not soon forget. Enjoy!

Homemade Apple Butter

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

12 Apples (normal sized ones that seem slightly heavy)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2/3 cup Water

Directions

Peel and core each apple. Roughly cut the apples into 1/2″ cubes and place in a large bowl. To the apples, add brown sugar and spices. Mix well to coat the apples. Add apples to your crock pot with 2/3 cup water. Set on low for 15 hours (this is best done overnight). Stir occasionally.

apples for apple butter

easy apple butter

Apples, after about 12 hours

After 15 hours, blend until smooth with an immersion blender. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can blend it in batches using a regular blender. Prop the lid of the crock pot open with a wooden spoon and let simmer for 2-3 more hours until the mixture has thickened. During this time be sure to stir occasionally. Then, shut off the crock pot and let it sit (with the lid still propped open). When it has cooled enough to be manageable, transfer the apple butter into canning jars or glass tupperware. It can be frozen as well.

apple butter

Chaya’s Challah

Makes two Challahs

2 packages dry yeast
2 cups water, between 110-116 degrees F
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 egg, beaten
6.5-7 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve a tsp of the sugar 1 cup of water. Add yeast and let the yeast foam for 5-10 minutes.

Combine the yeast mixture with the remaining water, half of the flour, the rest of the sugar and the salt. Once combined, add the egg and oil. Then work in the remaining flour until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 5-10 minutes until it becomes elastic and has “acquired a life of its own.” It should spring back when pressed with a fingertip. Try to add only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Drizzle 2 tbsp of oil into a bowl and roll the dough around to coat it in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour.

Section dough in half. With each half, evenly cut enough pieces for whichever braid you choose. With each piece, roll the dough out flat. Spread a layer of apple butter over the dough, avoiding the edges (fig filling shown in the images).

challah with filling 2

Roll the dough back into a log (like a cinnamon roll). Repeat this until you have enough apple butter-filled pieces of dough for your braid.

challah with filling

Proceed to braid the challah in whichever style you prefer. Place on a greased baking dish and brush with an egg wash. Allow to rise 1 additional hour.

braiding a challahbraided round challah

45 minutes through the second rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the challah with a second egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. When the oven is heated, bake for 30-45 minutes on a middle rack, until the interior temperature reaches195 degrees. If the top begins to brown to quickly, cover it loosely with a piece of foil.

fig challah

Smitten Kitchen recipe for a Gorgeous Fig-filled Challah

two baked challahs

Shana tova!

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