Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

How many great desserts can you think of that aren’t made with flour, baking powder or even dairy products?

The answer is: However many great desserts a Jewish kosher cook can serve for Passover meals while still following the dietary laws for this particular holiday, which begins March 29 and ends after sundown April 5.

All too often, kosher cooks limit their Passover desserts to 10- to 12-egg sponge cakes, flourless chocolate cakes or fudgy brownies made with matzo cake meal for leavening.

“When you use matzo meal, it’s a very heavy ingredient, so it’s hard to get a dessert that isn’t a door stop,” said Eileen Goltz, author of the cookbook, “Perfectly Pareve” (Feldheim, $22.99) and a Chicago-based freelance kosher food writer.

“You tend to look for simplicity,” she said. “You go with desserts that are beautiful, like sponge cake with fresh fruit or a glaze. Chocolate often is used because it masks the taste of matzo.”

Keeping the dietary laws in mind – and the varying degrees of kosher observance among Jews – we posed a Passover Dessert Challenge asking readers to give us their best Passover dessert recipes.

We received about two dozen entries: bars and brownies, flourless chocolate cakes, tortes, rhubarb-apple crisp, sponge cake and macaroons. The winners were selected based on testing results of 10 recipes that either were classics with a unique twist or refreshingly different. Members of the food staff picked winners through a blind taste test.

Enid Barnes of Shorewood, Wis., submitted the first-, second- and fourth-place winners.

Her first-prize recipe is a tart with a chocolate-laced meringue shell filled with a lemon curd-style filling. Barnes’ second-place recipe is a dense, moist blondie brownie. Taking fourth was her fudgy brownie with a decadent, coffee-infused glossy frosting garnished with fresh strawberries.

Third place went to Toby Colton of Glendale, Wis., for her strikingly simple, delicious macaroons.

Growing up, Barnes said, her family did not keep kosher, except during Passover, when they would use kosher-for-Passover ingredients.

Many Jews who don’t keep kosher the rest of the year make a special effort during Passover.

Making sure food is kosher for Passover is more difficult than during the rest of the year because many of the ingredients routinely used and produced under kosher supervision are not kosher for Passover, according to the Web site, www.kashrut.com.

Nothing can be used during Passover that contains barley, wheat, rye, oats or spelt, except for matzo and matzo meal products, which are made with flour and water mixed together and allowed to sit for less than 18 minutes before cooking – all under the supervision of a rabbi.

The time element attached to matzo commemorates the haste with which the children of Israel left Egypt when they were freed from slavery more than 3,000 years ago under the leadership of Moses. There wasn’t time for their bread to rise, so they took unleavened bread with them.

Unleavened bread, called matzo, became a primary symbol of the Passover holiday, which marks the birth of Jews as a people. While many Jews love eating matzo with every Passover meal, its extremely low fiber content can wreak havoc on the digestive system and pack on the Passover pounds, said Chef Rebecca Guralnick of Cooking with Chef Becca (chefbecca@sbcglobal.net).

Jewish people are required to eat matzo as a ritual food during the Passover Seder, but they are not obligated to eat matzo, or any of its derivatives (matzo meal, farfel, matzo flour, etc.) for the rest of the Passover week, Guralnick said.

Matzo flour takes the place of regular wheat flour because all foods that are fermented or leavened are prohibited during Passover.

Baking without flour can be a challenge for a couple of reasons, Guralnick said. The kosher-for-Passover flour substitute affects the flavor, density and appearance of desserts. Traditionally, Passover bakers use a combination of matzo flour and/or potato starch in place of flour, Guralnick said.

Also, “you really start to miss those yummy carbohydrate snacks and desserts that you enjoy the rest of the year,” she said.

Passover desserts have improved greatly through the years because better-tasting kosher-for-Passover ingredients, such as whipped topping, have become available, Barnes said.

Those who keep kosher in the strictest sense also do not eat meat and milk in the same meal.

Though depending on where one’s ancestors are from, one could wait a certain number of hours between the meat course and dessert, and still have a dessert that included a dairy product.

Kosher-for-Passover margarine provides kosher cooks with a non-dairy substitute for butter.

“One of the nice things about dessert is you don’t have a lot of it,” said Goltz, the kosher food writer. “You want something special to end your evening with, but it’s usually late and a Seder meal is heavy, so you want something light.”

A common mistake of inexperienced Jewish cooks is to add too much matzo meal or matzo cake meal to a dessert.

“It turns out so hard, it sits in the stomach for days,” Goltz said.

RECIPES

“A perfect tart for Passover,” Enid Barnes, winner of the Passover Dessert Challenge, says of this Lemon Mousse Tart, a recipe she attributes to cookbook author Lucy Waverman of Toronto.

If you want to make this recipe for non-Passover meals, replace the potato starch with regular cornstarch. In either case, do not fill the shell until a few hours before serving. Though it’s called mousse, the lemon filling is more like a curd.

Some more common ingredients, such as matzo meal and potato starch, are available in many supermarkets.

PASSOVER FLOATING LEMON MOUSSE TART

Makes 8 servings

4 egg whites

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup grated semi-sweet or bittersweet baking chocolate or kosher-for-Passover baking chocolate

Lemon filling (see recipe)

Passover whipped topping (optional)

Favorite berries for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat egg whites with electric mixer until frothy. Slowly add sugar. Continue to beat until egg whites are thick and glossy and form stiff peaks when beaters are lifted.

Beat in lemon juice. Gently fold in grated chocolate.

Spoon mixture onto large piece of parchment paper and spread into a 10-inch circle with 2-inch-high sides. It should resemble a free-form pie shell.

Bake in preheated oven 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until barely browned and dry. Turn oven off and leave in oven about 4 hours to cool. Remove shell from parchment paper and place on serving plate.

A few hours before serving, spoon filling into shell.

Top with kosher-for-Passover whipped topping, if desired, or with your favorite berries.

Lemon filling:

3 whole eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons potato starch

1 cup water

In saucepan, whisk together the whole eggs, add sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind. In separate bowl, combine potato starch and water, then stir into lemon mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a separate bowl. Cool.

Enid Barnes also submitted the recipe that earned second place in our tasting, a rich bar with a smooth caramel taste. Similarly, cornstarch can be substituted for potato starch, if desired.

This recipe originally came from cookbook author Marcy Goldman of Montreal.

PASSOVER BLONDIES

Makes 30 to 40 bars

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon kosher-for- Passover vanilla sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or kosher-for-Passover margarine

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup matzo cake meal

1 cup potato starch

1 cup coarsely chopped semi-sweet chocolate, chocolate chips or kosher-for-Passover chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8-by-10-inch brownie pan with foil; spray foil with non-stick oil. Leave enough foil overhang to lift out the blondie after it’s baked.

In large mixing bowl, cream the brown, granulated and vanilla sugars with the butter or margarine.

Blend in eggs. Stir in salt, cake meal and potato starch. Fold in chocolate and, if using, nuts. Chill batter 20 minutes.

Spread or press batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is just set, not jiggly.

Cool well. Use the foil to lift blondies from pan. Cut into serving-size squares.

—

“This is an absolutely fabulous Passover macaroon recipe,” Toby Colton said. “You will probably never want to eat canned macaroons again.

“They are best eaten soon after they are made, when the outside is crispy and the insides are tender,” she said. “But they can easily be made several days ahead and kept covered until it’s time to serve them.”

Colton adapted a recipe from a friend to make two varieties of macaroons from one can of sweetened condensed milk: one regular, the other almond-flavored. Most people prefer the almond, she said.

“I use the almonds with skins on, and that gives them a speckled look that differentiates the almond macaroons from the vanilla.”

PASSOVER MACAROONS (REGULAR AND ALMOND)

Makes 6 to 8 dozen

5 cups unsweetened finely shredded dried coconut (divided)

1 cup white chocolate chips or kosher-for- Passover white chocolate chips (divided)

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (divided) (see note)

2 teaspoons double-strength Madagascar vanilla extract (divided)

1 cup ground almonds (see note)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (add more if your whole almonds do not have a strong flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make regular macaroons: In medium bowl, place 3 cups coconut.

In small saucepan over low heat, gently melt 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips.

Add 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and stir, removing from burner.

Add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and stir.

Add to coconut and mix well.

Drop a well-rounded teaspoon of the mixture onto the parchment, using a second spoon to push the mixture off the first spoon.

No need to leave a lot of space between cookies; they do not spread.

With wet fingers, pat down the tops a little so they don’t get too brown.

Or, use a small cookie scoop of 2 teaspoons.

Bake in preheated oven 9 minutes or until very lightly browned.

To make almond macaroons: In same bowl, place remaining 2 cups coconut and mix with ground almonds.

In small saucepan over low heat, gently melt remaining 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.

Add remaining 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and stir, removing from burner. Add remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and the almond extract. Stir.

Drop dough as before onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Each flavor of macaroons makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Note: This is a dairy recipe.

Note: Process 1 cup whole almonds in food processor with metal blade until very fine, but not to a butter consistency.

These are decadent brownies – fudgy and dense – and they are one of Enid Barnes’ most requested recipes.

Like the blondies, the recipe originally came from cookbook author Marcy Goldman of Montreal.

They can be made in an 8- or 9-inch springform pan or a square baking pan. Display them on a cake plate.

I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE ARE PASSOVER BROWNIES

Makes about 20 brownies

2 cups granulated or packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or kosher-for-Passover margarine, melted and cooled

3 eggs

1 tablespoon brewed coffee

3/4 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 scant cup matzo cake meal

1/2 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

2/3 cup water or brewed coffee

7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely-chopped or kosher-for-Passover semi-sweet chocolate (can be chocolate chips)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or kosher-for-Passover margarine, room temperature

Finely chopped nuts (optional)

Whole strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 10-by-7-inch rectangular baking pan, 9-inch square pan, or 8- or 9-inch springform pan.

In large mixing bowl, mix sugar into melted butter or margarine, then add eggs, coffee, cocoa, salt, cake meal and, if using, toasted walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven about 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch, but there should not be a crust around the sides. Cool in pan.

Prepare frosting. In small saucepan, heat water or coffee. As it comes to a boil, reduce heat and stir in chopped chocolate.

Remove pan from stove and stir until chocolate is thoroughly melted. Cool in refrigerator about 30 minutes.

Whisk in softened butter or margarine and spread frosting on top of cooled brownies. Decorate as desired. Cut into squares (if baked in a square pan) or wedges (if baked in a springform).

To garnish, place strawberries, one on each brownie square, with narrow ends pointing upward. Or, place strawberries in a concentric circle over top, or in another arrangement.

—

PASSOVER DESSERT TIPS AND TRICKS

Here are some useful tips and tricks for Passover dessert baking from Chef Rebecca Guralnick of Cooking with Chef Becca (chefbecca@sbcglobal.net). Guralnick teaches international cooking classes at Whole Foods, through the Nicolet School District’s recreation department and at the Jewish Community Center.

- When you bake with matzo flour or farfel, opt for the whole-wheat version, and be sure to balance your diet with plenty of fruits (fresh or dried), vegetables and water.

- Incorporate plenty of fruits and vegetables in baked goods. Try using apple sauce, blueberry puree, mashed avocado, carrot, squash or sweet potato puree as substitutes for some or all of the oil in a recipe (as a general rule, you can use 1/2 cup of fruit puree or 3/4 cup vegetable puree to replace one cup of butter or margarine in baked goods, or 3/4 cup fruit puree and 1 cup vegetable puree per cup of oil).

- Lighten up the cholesterol if you wish by substituting two egg whites for each whole egg.

- For healthier desserts, stick to fresh fruit salads and kebabs, or make fruit cobblers with crumbled nut and whole-wheat farfel streusel topping. Alternately, homemade fruit sorbets – such as banana and strawberry – are always a crowd pleaser. Use these to make a Passover sundae bar for the kids.

- For an elegant dessert, serve chocolate fondue with assorted fruit, dried fruit and kosher-for-Passover marshmallows for dippers. Alternatively, flourless chocolate cake is a timeless classic and freezes very well. Serve it with fresh fruit and a dollop of honey-sweetened minted yogurt or kosher-for-Passover whipped cream.

- For easy after-school sweet treats, freeze chocolate-dipped bananas on a Popsicle stick.

- Opt for healthy fats in your cooking and baking. Olive oil is best, but you can find many oils that are kosher for Passover, including safflower, walnut and vegetable. Note that canola oil is not permissible.

- Use almond flour as a flavorful and healthy substitute for regular flour. Likewise, use almond butter in place of peanut butter (which is prohibited among Ashkenazic Jews).

- Quinoa, a grain-like product with a high amino acid (protein) content, is accepted by many Jews as kosher for Passover and also can be used as a flour substitute (please check with your own rabbi if you are unsure). Check for quinoa-based dessert recipes online.

- Add lots of flavor to your baked goods. Use citrus zest to offset bland Passover cakes and cookies. Vanilla is not an option during Passover, but you can use artificial vanilla powder in your recipes. Incorporate interesting sweet spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg.

- Don’t attempt to freeze a dessert with meringue or a custardy filling that is heavy in eggs to make up for the lack of flour. It will become soggy and weepy.

- Have fun trying new recipes and techniques during Passover. Nobody likes eating the same Passover recipes year after year and you just might surprise yourself with a new hit!

PASSOVER SUBSTITUTIONS

Cookbook author and kosher food writer Eileen Goltz has compiled a list of ingredient substitutions so mainstream recipes can be converted for Passover meals. Here, only ingredients that pertain to baking are listed:

1 ounce baking chocolate (unsweetened chocolate) = 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or melted margarine

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate = 6 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 7 tablespoons granulated sugar

14 ounces sweet chocolate (German’s) = 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 2/3 tablespoons oil and 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar minus 1 tablespoon sugar plus 1 tablespoon potato starch pulsed in a food processor or blender

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk for dairy baking = 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 1 cup measure, then fill to 1 cup with Passover non-dairy creamer. Stir and steep 5 minutes.

Butter in baking or cooking: Use pareve Passover margarine in equal amounts. Use a bit less salt.

1 cup honey = 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water

1 cup corn syrup = 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus 1/3 cup water, boiled until syrupy

1 cup vanilla sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 split vanilla bean left for at least 24 hours in a tightly covered jar

1 cup flour = 5/8 cup matzo cake meal or potato starch, or a combination sifted together

1 tablespoon flour = 1/2 tablespoon potato starch

1 cup cornstarch = 7/8 cup potato starch

1 teaspoon cream of tartar = 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

1 cup graham cracker crumbs = 1 cup ground cookies or soup nuts plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup bread crumbs = 1 cup matzo meal

1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese = 1 cup cottage cheese pureed with 1/4 cup butter or pareve Passover margarine

1 cup milk (for baking) = 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons pareve Passover margarine, or 1/2 cup fruit juice plus 1/2 cup water

1 1/4 cups sweetened condensed milk = 1 cup instant non-fat dry milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup boiling water and 3 tablespoons margarine. Blend ingredients until smooth. To thicken, let set in refrigerator 24 hours.

1 cup wine = 13 tablespoons water, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar. Mix together and let sit 10 minutes.

Eggs: Passover egg substitutes don’t work quite as well as the chometz egg substitutes. For kugels, matzo balls, fried matzo and some cakes, the recipes would probably be OK. However, if you want to avoid them, add one extra egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil for each yolk eliminated when baking. Use only egg whites as the dipping to coat and fry meats.

HAUGHTY, BUT NICE

Nothing says the holidays quite like gingerbread. The warm, sweet-spicy aroma of ginger and spices wafting through the air evokes memories of grandma’s kitchen, grade school holiday parties and childhood. For who can forget such dishes as Gingerbread Crespelle and Roasted Winter Vegetables? Gingerbread with Apple Compote and Apple Sabayon?

Obviously, this is not your grandma’s gingerbread.

A new generation of gingerbread dishes is heating up today’s holiday kitchens, and these spicy takes are more sublime and stylish than ever.

While some of us continue to think of gingerbread in terms of decorated houses and plump little cookie-men, many of today’s adventurous young chefs are breaking down the figurative walls of those gingerbread houses and taking this quintessential holiday flavor to a new level.

“There’s a new sophistication to gingerbread that is very intriguing to many chefs,” says Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef for San Francisco’s Waterbar Restaurant and Farallon.

How that sophistication plays out depends on the pastry chef. LB’s Steakhouse in Santana Row, a shopping plaza in San Jose, Calif., for example, offers a very rich – and very grown-up – gingerbread cake. Cetrella in Half Moon Bay, Calif., whips up a tantalizing gingerbread ice cream. And Luchetti mixes her gingerbread with deep, intense chocolate or an apple sabayon.

Luchetti admits that her love affair with gingerbread started early. She grew up looking forward to gingerbread cookies and loaves during the holidays.

“To me, the word gingerbread means holidays,” she says. “I always get a warm, happy feeling when I’m baking with it.”

But don’t look for sweet gingerbread men emerging from her kitchen. These days, the award-winning chef and cookbook author likes to add a little, er, spice to her gingerbread dishes. Luchetti includes lemon curd, fruit and even Scharffen Berger chocolate in some of her pastry recipes, creating deep, rich flavors that only underscore the unique flavoring of this centuries-old treat.

Gingerbread’s ingredients are simple: flour (many chefs, especially those with an eye toward healthier cooking, suggest using whole wheat flour or almond flour), sugar, molasses, eggs, butter, ginger and a combination of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or anise.

Still, the essential ingredient is ginger – a spice food historians trace as far back as 3,000 years ago in Indo-Malaysia. Throughout history, the Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Arabs used ginger to flavor many foods. By the Middle Ages, this sweet and savory spice had moved into Western Europe.

According to Jennifer Linder McGlinn, author of “Gingerbread: Timeless Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream and Candy” (Chronicle Books; $19.95), early European gingerbreads resembled the breads of ancient China, but each country added its own twist. Anise-scented pain d’epices was very popular in France in the late 1300s, while honey-based Lebkuchen was favored in Germany. In England, honey- and ginger-sweetened loaves were made with breadcrumbs rather than flour, creating a heavy – and filling – meal.

But heavy gingerbread soon fell out of favor, and by the late 17th century, molasses- and treacle-flavored gingerbread had become softer and lighter. Small, shaped loaves and cookies became popular, and by the time gingerbread came to America in the late 1700s, we showed our partiality for even softer, sweeter breads. Gingerbread has been a staple of American cooking for more than 200 years.

But until recently, gingerbread was relegated to the dessert tray, a trend that Sean Baker, chef of Berkeley’s just opened Gather restaurant, doesn’t espouse.

“In all honesty, I don’t cook with gingerbread a lot, and I don’t care for gingerbread desserts,” he says. “But I love the sweet and savory flavor, so I try and incorporate that into main dishes and sides.”

His Gingerbread Crespelle does just that. The crepelike dish uses gingerbread spices in the wraps, and seasonal root vegetables in a warm rich filling.

Luchetti still prefers her desserts, as any pastry chef would, but she is particularly partial to a chocolate-marbled gingerbread. This very gingery loaf features semisweet or dark chocolate-a favorite of hers-and is the sort of treat you can serve at an elegant dinner or have waiting in the kitchen when the kids come home from school.

Luchetti also enjoys pairing her gingerbread with fruits, including apples, oranges and lemon zest. But while there are many different gingerbread recipes, she says, it is still possible to make “bad” gingerbread.

“Sometimes, the spicing can be overwhelming,” she says. “There has to be a balance.”

GINGERBREAD CRESPELLE WITH ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES

Serves 6

Crespelle:

2 cups whole milk

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons maple sugar

1 teaspoon dried ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Pinch nutmeg

Roasted Vegetables:

2 quarts of any combination of seasonal vegetables, such as artichokes, Brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips or pumpkin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Olive oil, salt

2 cups tomato sauce

Bechamel

1/4 pound butter

4 ounces flour

1 quart whole milk

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pecorino romano, to garnish

1. Combine crespelle ingredients and whisk until smooth. Chill for 12 hours or overnight.

2. To cook each crespelle, add a teaspoon of butter or olive oil to a small saute pan over high heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl to form a thin layer. When you can shake the pan and the crespelle doesn’t stick, flip it and cook until lightly browned but still tender.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss vegetables with thyme, just enough olive oil to coat, and salt. Roast, stirring every 5 minutes, until cooked to desired softness. Toss with tomato sauce and set aside.

4. For the bechamel, whisk the butter and flour over medium heat until smooth. Add milk and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Add nutmeg and salt. Strain and set aside.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Spread each crespelle with 1/4 cup of root vegetables. Roll and place seam side up in a roasting pan. Roast for 5 minutes or until browned on the top. To serve, place a crespelle in center of plate, ladle 1/4 cup hot b(c)chamel over the top. Grate pecorino romano cheese over top and serve.

-Sean Baker, Gather Restaurant, Berkeley, Calif.

CHOCOLATE-MARBLED GINGERBREAD

Serves 12

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

11/2 cups water

1 cup unsulphured molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

11/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

Ice cream or whipped cream, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13 baking pan.

2. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in molasses and baking soda. Let cool 10 minutes.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, add the egg and mix until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. On low, alternately add dry ingredients and molasses mixture.

5. Pour a third of the batter into a medium bowl. Stir in chocolate.

6. Pour the plain batter into the prepared pan. Scatter 6 heaping spoonfuls of the chocolate batter on top. Pull a skewer through the batter to marble the batters. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

-Emily Luchetti, Waterbar Restaurant, San Francisco

GINGERBREAD WITH APPLE COMPOTE AND APPLE SABAYON

Serves 8

Gingerbread:

1 cup molasses

11/2 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons ground ginger

11/4 teaspoons cinnamon

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Apple compote:

7 medium Fuji, Golden Delicious or Braeburn apples

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons apple juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch kosher salt

Apple sabayon:

8 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch kosher salt

3/4 cup sparkling apple cider

1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease sides and bottom of a 9- by 13-inch pan.

2. Mix molasses, boiling water and baking soda in a large bowl. Let cool.

3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light; mix in the egg.

4. Sift together the ginger, cinnamon, flour and baking powder. Add salt.

5. Alternating ingredients, add the flour and molasses mixtures to the butter, mixing thoroughly. Spread batter in pan and bake 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool.

6. For the compote: Peel, core and slice the apples 316-inch thick. Cook them with the sugar, juices and salt until apples are soft but still hold their shape. If the liquid evaporates before the apples are cooked, add more apple juice.

7. For the sabayon: Fill a medium bowl two-thirds with ice and water to make an ice bath. In the top of a double boiler, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt and sparkling apple juice until smooth, then cook, whisking constantly, over simmering water until thick, about 2 minutes. Transfer the top bowl to the ice bath and let cool, whisking occasionally, to room temperature.

8. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold cream into the apple mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to several days). Serve gingerbread with warm or room temperature apples and sabayon.

-Emily Luchetti, Waterbar Restaurant, San Francisco

GINGERBREAD BUCHE DE NOEL

Makes one 7-inch log cake

1/2 cup cake flour

3 tablespoon almond flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch baking soda

11/2 teaspoons ground ginger

11/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon dark molasses

11/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoon sugar

Confectioner’s sugar

31/2 cups Dede’s Italian Buttercream (see recipe, left)

1/4 cup chestnut puree

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

Chopped pistachios and meringue mushrooms to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 151/2 by 101/2 baking sheet. Line the bottom with parchment paper and dust it with flour to keep the cake from sticking.

2. Whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda and spices.

3. In an electric mixer, whip the egg yolks on medium-high speed. Add brown sugar and molasses and continue whipping until lightened in color and thick. Pour into another bowl and stir in the vanilla.

4. Wash the mixer bowl thoroughly, then whip the egg whites until frothy. Add granulated sugar and continue beating until the mixture forms soft peaks. Fold about 1 cup of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Gradually fold in the flour mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites until the batter is smooth and light.

5. Pour batter into the pan, spreading evenly. Bake 9 minutes, or until the cake has risen and is light golden brown.

6. Meanwhile spread a clean kitchen towel onto a flat work surface and dust generously with confectioner’s sugar. When the cake is done, immediately turn it out onto the kitchen towel, peel off the parchment paper and, using a serrated knife, trim about 18 to 1/4 inch off the edges. Starting at one of the short ends, roll up the cake in the towel and let cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream, mixing with a whisk attachment on medium high speed until smooth and glossy. For the chestnut buttercream, mix the chestnut spread and vanilla with 11/2 cups of the buttercream and whisk until smooth.

8. For the chocolate buttercream, melt the chocolate and let cool to lukewarm. Whip the melted chocolate into 2 cups of Italian buttercream.

9. Carefully unroll the cake. Frost the cake with the chestnut buttercream, spreading it to the edges. Beginning at the short end, roll the cake to form a log. Set it, seam-side down, on a platter. Using a serrated knife and cutting on the diagonal, cut a 3-inch piece from one of the ends. Spread some chocolate buttercream on top of the log and set the cut piece on the buttercream, flat-side down to form a small branch. Frost the log with chocolate buttercream, swirling to create the bark. Chill 30 minutes.

10. Decorate with meringue mushrooms, chopped pistachios and a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar.

DEDE’S ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM

Makes about 7 cups

1/2 cup water

11/4 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar, divided

8 large egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Bring the water and 11/4 cups sugar to a boil. Place a candy thermometer in the sugar and then, without stirring, cook for about 15 minutes to 248 degrees (firm ball).

2. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, gradually sprinkle in the remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar, and whip to soft peaks.

3. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches the desired temperature, reduce the meringue mixing speed to medium-low and drizzle in the sugar syrup in a thin, steady stream down the side of the bowl. As soon as the sugar syrup is incorporated, increase speed to high and whip the meringue until it is thick and the bowl is cool to the touch.

4. Reduce speed to medium-high and gradually incorporate the softened butter, a tablespoon at a time. Continue whipping until the buttercream is smooth, glossy and light. (Note: If the buttercream breaks down during the beating, becomes curd-like or otherwise alarming, don’t worry. It means the butter was too cold. Heat the mixing bowl with a warm towel and continue beating.) Use immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

MERINGUE MUSHROOMS

Makes 20 mushrooms

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Buttercream frosting

Cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In an electric mixer, whip the egg whites and sugar on high until they form glossy, medium-stiff peaks.

2. Scrape the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe the meringue 1-inch rounds (mushroom tops) and 1-inch-tall cylinders (mushroom stems). Bake for about one hour, or until the meringues are firm and still pure white. Let cool.

3. Attach the tops to the stems with small dabs of icing. Dust tops with cocoa powder.

-Jennifer Linder McGlinn, “Gingerbread: Timeless Recipes”

GINGERBREAD PANCAKES

Makes 14

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

51/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 large egg

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apple butter, maple syrup

1. Whisk together the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and orange zest. Set aside.

2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter and whisk it together with the egg, milk and vanilla. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture and whisk until combined. (Some lumps are OK.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least three hours or overnight.

3. Using the remaining butter, heat about 1 teaspoon at a time in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and pancakes appear slightly brown around the edges, flip and cook the other side. Serve with apple butter and maple syrup.

-Jennifer Linder McGlinn, “Gingerbread: Timeless Recipes”

Q. Can lime juice and lemon juice be used interchangeably in recipes?

A. The taste will be slightly different, of course, but beyond that, there shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t make the swap. Lime is a bit more floral, but if the lemon juice is acting as a thickener, such as in a lemon curd or lemon pie, the lime juice should still have enough acidity to do the job.

One time when you can’t swap is when you are canning tomatoes in a boiling-water canner. Recipes for canning tomatoes call for commercial, not fresh, lemon juice because the percentage of acidity in fresh fruit can vary widely, from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. It can depend on how old the fruit is, the season when it was picked and even how rainy the weather was. You need a dependable level of acidity to make tomatoes safe for canning, which is why you should always use bottled lemon juice if the recipe calls for it. And you certainly shouldn’t swap in lime juice.

One other tip I turned up, on www.baking911.com, is that you shouldn’t swap grapefruit juice for lemon juice in baking, because grapefruit juice is lower in acidity.

(Kathleen Purvis answers questions in her Ask a Cook Q&A at www.charlotteobserver.com/food. Or contact her: 704-358-5236; kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com)

Eating at tearooms can be expensive. If you enjoy the tearoom atmosphere and the food, recreate the experience at home with a group of friends.

Create an online invitation explaining the idea of a Potluck Tea Party and include the general menu and a list of items needed to pull this off in style (reference the list below). Ask guests to sign up to bring one or more items on the menu and the “needed” list.

In addition, each person should bring her own place setting of fine china (tea cup and saucer, luncheon size plate and silverware).

A traditional three-course tea menu could consist of finger tea sandwiches, savory appetizers, fresh baked scones, assorted decadent sweets, clotted cream or lemon curd, seasonal preserves and cheese spreads.

Set up your food buffet style. Forgo the silver trays and tiered servers if you don’t own them already or can’t borrow from a friend. Other items to borrow are tables, chairs and additional linens depending on the amount of people attending (check with your a church or a local community center who might loan them to you for free or a low cost). Borrow or rent damask linens for buffet table and linen napkins.

Add inexpensive floral centerpiece and floral accents for food presentation on the buffet table. Or, instead of flowers, use tall glass cylinders filled with citrus fruit. Sugared grapes make beautiful decorative fillers, which can also be eaten. Brush an egg white wash on the grapes, then dip in sugar while still on the vine. Chill.

Play appropriate background music (classical, jazz, easy listening, or your favorite tunes to match the feel of your event.)

Serve hot tea from an assorted selection of tea bags or loose teas, along with a choice of iced tea, lemonade or ice water.

A tea party is an elegant way to make memories and celebrate friendship. When everyone shares the financial load, they’ll also take ownership of the event and help ensure it’s an enjoyable time had by all.

MENU:

Tea bags or loose teas

Lemonade

Iced tea (flavored)

Tea cakes

Cookies (up to two kinds)

Scones (up to two kinds) and preserves

Clotted cream or lemon curd

Cake or cheesecake squares

Assorted cheese or cheese spreads with crackers

Mini quiches

Savory pastry cups

Muffins or tea breads (up to two)

Finger sandwiches (up to three)

ITEMS NEEDED:

Tables

Chairs

Linens

Linen napkins

Silver trays

Tiered servers

China creamer

Sugar sets

Silver tongs

Silver tea urns

Floral centerpiece

Music selection

(For more savings tips, check out FreeShippping.org’s “Go Frugal” blog at www.freeshipping.org/blog/)