Luscious Chocolate for Pesach

Pesach and chocolate come together; a great pair.

Along with fruits, vegetables, and Matzah, a Pesach chocolate treat is a popular staple to help several people through 8 days without the crackers, cereals, and snacks that we are used to.

This Pesach, instead of paying upwards of $4 or $5 for a single 3 oz. bar of chocolate for these recipes, now with the same high Kashrus standards, you can buy a much larger 8 oz. bag of California Gourmet Kosher for Pesach chocolate chips for less!

The new high quality, great tasting, Kosher for Pesach chocolate, are certified Kosher for Pesach via OK Kosher Certification.

These are all natural, non-GMO, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
The taste is smooth and pure. It contains 48% cocoa — truly real chocolate. A healthy source of antioxidants, flavonoids, and iron without any emulsifiers.
California Gourmet, the same company that produces new vegan chocolate chips, has this new Pesach line in stock in over 50 stores across the USA.

BenZ’s Gourmet on Albany Avenue is distributing these to Crown Heights stores and other retailers.

They have plenty in stock to meet the demand; they expect continued sales throughout Pesach and beyond.

The local Crown Heights stores carry this brand, both in regular, and Kosher for Pesach.

Yirmi Fried of Empire Kosher, who got these in stock right after Purim, said, “We have sold a lot of these chocolate chips so far. We’ve already reordered cases once or twice.”

Dipping fresh pineapple, bananas, coconut chunks, and even peeled strawberries into melted premium chocolate is a great way to finish a delicious Yom Tov meal.

Chanie Apfelbaum of Busy In Brooklyn has created ganache and nutella recipes and Levana Kirschenbaum of Levana Cooks has created a Flourless Chocolate Chip Torte recipe specifically for this chocolate.

“This chocolate has a real, clean, and pure chocolate taste,” Apfelbaum says, “Perfect for Pesach and for snacking all year round.”

This recipe is raw, vegan, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. This ganache is not baked; it is placed in the freezer for 2-3 hours. It has a chewy crust, a rich-chocolate ganache middle. Delicious for Pesach and all year round.

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Easy Chocolate Ganache – Kosher for Passover
By Busy in Brooklyn

Ingredients:
7 oz. sweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
8 oz. medjool dates, pitted (about 10 dates)
1 cup canned coconut milk, full fat (or you can also make your own*)
8 oz. bag California Gourmet soy-free chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt

1. For the crust, spread out the coconut flakes on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.

2. Add the dates and toasted coconut to a food processor and blend until a ball of dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, or is well blended.
3. Line a 9″ pie dish with parchment paper, so that it hangs over the sides of the dish. Press the dough out onto the pie dish, spreading it out and up the sides like a pie crust.
4. For the ganache, pour the chocolate chips into a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
5. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let stand for a few minutes, until chocolate softens. Stir the mixture until smooth and add in the vanilla and salt.
6. Pour the ganache into the pie crust and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until firm.
7. Lift the tart out of the pie dish using the parchment paper. Slice and serve.

*How to make your own coconut milk for Pesach:
Place 4 oz. unsweetened shredded coconut in a blender and pour 2 cups of hot water over it.
Blend on high for a few minutes until thick and creamy. Pour the mixture through a colander lined with several layers of cheesecloth (or a kitchen towel).
Squeeze to extract as much of the milk as possible. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
The milk will separate so just shake before using. Continue as per the recipe using your homemade coconut milk.

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Homemade Nutella
By: Busy in Brooklyn

Ingredients:
8 oz. skinned* and roasted hazelnuts (unsalted), about 1 1/2 cups
1 8 oz. bag California Gourmet KFP chocolate chips
½ tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Instructions:
Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler. While they are melting, add the hazelnuts to a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and salt and blend until incorporated. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or refrigerate for up to 1 month.

*If you cannot find skinned hazelnuts, purchase raw nuts and roast them at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, until the skins begin to crack. Remove from the oven and add to a kitchen towel. Rub the nuts vigorously to remove the skins and set aside to cool.

NOTE: When the nutella comes out of the food processor, it will be liquidy, like the consistency of melted chocolate. As it sits, it will firm up to the texture of nut butter, as pictured on the matza. If you refrigerate the spread, it will harden, but you can just bring it to room temperature so it’s easier to spread.EQUIPMENT NOTE: You will need a powerful food processor in order to create the hazelnut butter. If your machine is not that good, the process may take longer, just be patient and let the machine do the work.

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Nutella Banana Ice Cream for Passover
By Busy in Brooklyn.

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
½ cup nutella (homemade, listed above)
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Peel bananas and slice into pieces. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until solid, a few hours or overnight. Place the frozen banana slices in a food processor or powerful blender and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. If the bananas are hard to blend, let them thaw for a few minutes to soften. Add the nutella and vanilla and blend until incorporated. Serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream consistency. If freezing for later, store in an airtight container and remove from the freezer to soften before serving.

NOTE: If you’re making your own nutella from scratch, make sure it cools completely before adding it to the ice cream, or it will freeze on-contact and won’t incorporate as well.

VARIATION: For a fun frozen banana treat, you can dip the banana slices into melted chocolate (before you freeze them) and top with shredded coconut, chopped nuts or sprinkles.

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Flourless Almond Apricot Chocolate Chip Torte with Natural Chocolate Frosting Recipe. Gluten-Free
By Chef Levana Kirschenbaum – Levanacooks.com

This delicious Flourless Almond Apricot Chocolate Chip Torte with Chocolate Frosting is my latest born baby, born yesterday to be exact! Perfect for Passover and year round. Gluten-Free without even trying!

I was really excited when Chana Shusterman, who manufactures the new and delicious brand California Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Chips, asked me if I could develop a Passover Dessert Recipe showcasing her fabulous new 48% cocoa chips. What could possibly be bad at such a high cocoa content, and all natural? Right up this tinkerer’s alley! California Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Chips fill a great void, (who doesn’t remember the Trader Joe Chocolate Chips debacle a couple years ago, when they switched to dairy?) and I have been reviewing them and tinkering with them ever since they came out: they make lots of chocolate lovers happy, from the Dairy-Free Community to the Kosher Diners who want their Pareve Cake and eat it too, and everyone in between. Their site lists all locations where you can buy them. But here’s more good news: an online company just made a link to serve people not living in NY/NJ/CA. These are available online FREE shipping when you buy a 6 pk: http://bit.ly/PremiumCaliforniaGourmetOnline

As you know, I never consider Passover cooking or baking a handicap, but a real opportunity to create something fantastic with the most select and most seasonal ingredients, so playing with a few delicious flavors and textures was no hardship, au contraire. (My Mega Passover File with Recipes will easily bear this out). Almonds, apricots and chocolate: A ménage à trois made in heaven!

My Almond Apricot Chocolate Chip Torte, in addition to being suitable for Passover, and luxurious the natural way as is my trademark, shares a great discovery, sort of like the Holy Grail: A frosting that is all natural, easy, dairy-free, low maintenance and fantastic. I know you will think I lost it when I share my secret, something I have been experimenting with for quite some time: Potato Flakes. All-Natural 100% pure potato flakes. Ingredients: Dehydrated Potatoes. Period. Making dessert with potato flakes, hello? I know what you’re thinking: I’m a crazy old hippie. But here’s the thing: It’s funky, but IT WORKS!

I remembered the wonderful tricks we used during the photo shoots for my cookbooks, with my son in law, talented photographer Meir Pliskin, and Hannah Kaminsky, no less talented food stylist and Vegan Cookbook Author. Potato flakes were our best friend: All we needed to do with a recalcitrant food composition was mix equal parts potato flakes and boiling water, and mix thoroughly with a fork until the mixture got smooth, fluffy and creamy. Pretty soon the mixture would get totally stiff, would mix with anything we wanted to fold in (spinach for green, tomato paste for red and so on), and obediently hold its shape, and look perfect at photo shoot time. I could pretend it was a fish or a vegetable or a meat terrine.

Recently I decided to see if my potato flake photo racket would work in scenarios where the mixture would in fact get eaten. I observed that my potato flake mixture was totally bland and therefore totally unobtrusive, more to the point, it had a totally undetectable flavor, and absorbed any flavor it was paired with, even while it held its shape beautifully. In short, my potato flake mixture became my blank canvass, waiting to be painted on. I tried a dozen combinations with ingredient amounts, and my last try was a triumph: a delicious and glossy chocolate frosting that contains nothing but the best, and won’t drive you crazy at decorating time or at serving time.

This chocolate frosting is just the beginning, I will take my discovery places and try using potato flakes with many other exciting combos (frostings, fillings, with chocolate, fruit, nuts etc…). I am delighted with my results, and so is everyone big and small I gave a taste to (my granddaughter licked her chops). I guarantee you will concur: My Almond Apricot Chocolate Chip Torte will do Chana’s California Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Chips mighty proud, potato flake frosting and all!

OKay, enough said, here comes my newborn chocolate chip torte.

This chocolate chip torte is rich and luscious, a small serving is all you need to be happy, and you will get a dozen ample servings.

Start with the chocolate frosting, it will get a chance to firm up while you make the torte.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Ingredients:
1 cup natural potato flakes (you might have to settle for whatever brand is available on Passover)
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup pure cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup 48% cocoa California Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Chips (you will have 1 cup chips left from the bag, we need that whole cup in the torte, so, sorry no munching)

Instructions:
Mix the potato flakes and boiling water in a food processor, scraping the sides and making sure the flakes have been completely absorbed. Mix the cocoa powder, sugar, coconut milk, oil and chips in a small saucepan on a very low flame, a minute or two, stirring, until just melted (or microwave 1 minute or a drop more until the chips are melted, then stir to combine). Transfer the chocolate mixture to the food processor, and process a full minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte.

TORTE
Ingredients:
4 eggs whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Grated zest of 1 navel orange
2 cups finely ground almonds, from whole peel-on almonds (ready ground store bought OK)
1 cup dried apricots, packed (make sure they are nice and plump), coarsely chopped in a food processor
1 cup 48% cocoa California Gourmet Vegan Chocolate Chips

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and baking powder in a perfectly dry stainless steel or glass bowl. Whip the mixture at high speed with a hand or stand mixer, until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, using it all up, and continue to beat, until stiff peaks form. Switch the mixer speed to medium, add the yolks and beat until just incorporated, then add the oil and beat until just incorporated. Switch the mixture to low, add the zest and nuts and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the apricots and chips with a spoon, gently but thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a greased 12 inch round pie plate (if you don’t have a plate that wide, settle for 10 inches wide, nothing narrower or your torte will be too deep and won’t have the intended meringue-y texture. OK to settle for 2 9-inch pie plates, and end up with two tortes), and bake for 35 minutes, or a drop longer, until the center is barely firm to the touch. Let the cake cool completely, then add IMG_6712the frosting, in any nice pattern you like. In the top picture, I used a pointed pastry tip, but you can use a serrated cake knife, and run it through the frosting in a fun pattern, as I did in the above picture.

Yields 12 ample servings.

Note: Most NY, NJ, FL, and CA stores have these chocolate chips in stock. Customers from other states can get free shipping when purchasing 6 packages, click here.