Why are those macaroons and other Manischewitz products on the grocery shelf this year different from all other traditional Manischewitz products? It’s a question that many American Jews may add to the traditional four questions asked on Passover. The answer is how they are packaged. Gone is the tired, beige and blue, and now there is rusty orange with playful cartoon figures. 

Gone also are the macaroon canisters. They have been replaced with resealable bags. Manischewitz, the 136-year-old brand, has been a staple in Jewish homes for generations and has rebranded and expanded its product lines.

Passover this year begins at sundown Saturday, April 12 and ends after nightfall on April 20. Similar to Easter, the date is based on a lunar calendar and changes year to year. If you have seen the movie “The Ten Commandments,” then you are familiar with the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. The holiday commemorates the “passing over” of the forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites.

During the holiday, only unleavened products are eaten. The matzo symbolizes both the Hebrews’ suffering while in bondage and the haste with which they left Egypt in the course of the exodus.

Many people ask me what Kosher means. The word kosher is derived from the Hebrew word for “proper” or “correct.” The kashrut laws have to do with the cleanliness and sanctity of the food, including the production process.

It is traditional to gather with friends and family for the festive holiday meal called the seder. The word “seder” means “order” and refers to the very specific order of things that happen during the meal. Centered on the table is the seder plate, which consists of the symbolic foods for the holiday. Non-symbolic classics for a seder include matzo balls in chicken soup, gefilte fish (a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish or pike), tender beef brisket and, of course, Manischewitz macaroons.

During the seder, four cups of kosher wine are consumed. Kosher wine is produced in accordance with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). It must be handled by Sabbath-observant Jews throughout the winemaking process, and no non-kosher additives are allowed. Today Kosher wine is produced around the world and not just in Israel.

Flourless chocolate cake is a popular modern dairy Passover dessert. This cake tastes like a complex restaurant dessert but comes together effortlessly in one bowl. Chocolate chips save you the messy step of chopping chocolate bars. If you don’t have a springform pan, a regular cake pan lined with foil all around makes it easy to lift out the delicate cake, which melts in your mouth when served warm or at room temperature. Refrigerated or frozen leftovers take on a candy-like chewiness, but a quick zap in the microwave will return it to just-baked softness.

My thanks to the New York Times for the following flourless chocolate cake recipe. On behalf of our family, I wish you a happy Pesach!

Flourless chocolate cake

Ingredients 

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

• 3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter, cut up, plus more for greasing the pan 
• 1 cup (173 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder 
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar 
• 4 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan; or press a large sheet of foil into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch round cake pan (smoothing the sides), and generously butter the foil.
2. Bring a few inches of water in a large saucepan to a simmer over medium heat. Set a large heatproof bowl over the saucepan, and add the chocolate. When the chips look soft and melty, stir gently until smooth. Turn off the heat, and add the butter to the bowl. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and stir until smooth; then take the bowl off the saucepan.
3. Stir in the granulated sugar until incorporated. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Then scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top.
4. Bake until crackly and dry on top, and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean (40 to 50 minutes.)  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with some crumbs attached.
5. Cool in the pan on a rack. Then remove the sides of the springform pan, or lift the cake out of the cake pan using the foil overhang. You can slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Or, to cut very neat slices, freeze the cooled cake until firm. Slice, and warm up in the microwave or oven, if preferred. Serve the cake with whipped cream or ice cream, if you’d like. The cake can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to three days, in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to one month.

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.