Can a Pesach chocolate cake be better than a chametz one?
It’s the one cake my children will all agree on, Pesach or not. Chocolatey and dense, it makes you wonder why you don’t bake this year-round. Truth is, I prepared one this past Friday (the Friday after Purim) just to make sure all my instructions were easy to follow and on target. And to take pictures, of course. My children came home at around 12 p.m. as the cake was cooling on the counter. Five sets of eyes waited very patiently for it to cool. Lesson learned: Cakes do not cool at all while being watched.
Tatty came home at 1 p.m. and was greeted with shrieks of “Yay! Mommy made Pesach cake!” That, you will agree, is one funny sentence. Usually, Pesach cakes leave lots to be desired.
The excitement was tangible. The cake was finally cool enough to be cut out of the pan.
By 2 p.m. half of the cake was gone.
By Shabbos morning the cake was history, so we pulled out some leftover hamantashen from the freezer.
I like to bake three or four of these as soon as my Pesach cooking begins. Having them in the freezer gives me peace of mind that on those mornings or afternoons where “there’s nothing good to eat” I can pull one out, and save the day.
This recipe is found in my cookbook “Our Table.” Since it went to print, I received lots of and lots of emails. Which is fun! A few women asked me to describe, in greater detail, what it means to whip up whites to a “snow,” how to “fold” two batters and so on. I have to say that I was surprised. Doesn’t everyone already know that? Guess not. Not everyone was lucky enough to learn these things at the kitchen counter, barely reaching the surface, standing on tippy toes trying to see what is going on. With a giant grin on my face and armed with a spatula ready to “lick” the bowl clean, I remember that was the best place to be.
I therefore decided to add a few images here so that you can easily follow along.
So just pretend I am your Savta. And pay attention this time.
When adding sugar, measure 1 cup. But actually use a ¼ cup measuring cup to gradually add the sugar slowly. Using the ¼ cup measuring cup will ensure you do not rush this. I learned this from Victoria and her famous meringues.
Start adding the first quarter cup in what I like to call the foamy stage.
The second time you add a quarter cup it will look something like this.
This is what a snow looks like. See the stiff peaks?
Slowly sift in the cocoa and potato starch.
Give a mix after every addition.
This is what folding looks like. Hang in there and keep working those muscles (yes, folding gets done by hand, and it is not necessarily easy) The key to folding well and not overdoing it is to keep going in the same direction and stopping as soon as the batter is combined. Do not overdo it. You don’t want to lose the whole “pouf.”
Only use aluminum pans (not the dark coated ones) such as these. I cannot stress this enough.
Once your cake is baked, remove from the oven and immediately turn over like this. Don’t be scared. This is how it’s meant to cool. That’s what those spikes are for. Let the cake cool completely. I will sometimes bake a cake right before I go to sleep and cut it out of the pan in the morning.
Cake is ready to be cut out. Use a sharp knife to cut through.
How scrumptious does that look??
- 9 eggs, separated
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- pinch salt
- ¾ cup oil
- 1 heaping Tablespoon instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 Tablespoon water
- ½ cup cocoa
- ¾ cup potato starch
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the whites on high speed until foamy. Ever so slowly, add 1 cup of sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In a second bowl, beat eggs yolks and salt on high speed. Slowly add remaining cup of sugar, little by little. Beat on high until the yolks are a pale yellow.
- Lower speed; slowly add oil and coffee.
- Place the cocoa and the potato starch into a sifter. Ever so slowly and gently, incorporate the sifted mix into the egg yolk mixture. Keep stopping, sifting, mixing, stopping, sifting … little by little. Do not rush this. Scrape down sides as needed.
- Fold chocolate mixture into the whites, mixing as gently as possible, until incorporated and no white is seen. Pour into an ungreased, dry tube pan; bake for 1 hour. (Do not use a nonstick tube pan! Only a metal one will do.)
- Remove cake from oven; invert. Cool for at least 6 hours (better overnight) before cutting cake from pan.
Note: A neat trick I recently learned is to place the cake in its pan, into the freezer, upside down, once it’s cool enough to handle. Cut cake out of tube pan when frozen.
These pans aren’t available where I live. Can I make it in a 9×13?
I never tried. I do think this cake requires the tube pan in order to achieve height, although what could go wrong in a 9×13? If I had to guess, it will come out half the height of the tube pan, and more like a brownie. Let me know if how it went if you give it a try! I’d love to know.
im just curiouse i dnt either have a tube pan did it work in the 9x 13
I make the exact recipe in a 9×13. It comes it quite high and fluffy.
What kind of sifter do you use ?
I own this one http://amzn.to/2nGoK40 practically since I got married and it never broke. There are cheaper versions to be found but I like the fact that its made out of plastic and therefore doesn’t rust
can this recipe be doubled?
No, this cake does not double well.
The link for the sifter is wrong… can you provide the correct link? Thank you!
Click on the word sift and you’ll have a direct link.
Thanks I appreciate that! (I copied the link in Renee’s comment above and that didn’t work)
Would a disposable tube pan work?
I think so, but the results might not be the same….. It may affect the height of the cake
Where can I purchase a tube pan like that?
Click on the word “these” (its highlighted in pink) its a link to amazon to you will be able to purchase there
So I only have a nonstick tube pan. Should I even try or will the cake fail
It will work, but won’t be as high or airy.
I used a nonstick tube pan and it was just as high and airy. I was even able to cool ot upside down without the spikes by elevating the rim a little with pot holders.
I am making pesach for the first time this year iyh. My first thought was gotta buy that tube pan so I can make this cake!! It looks delicious and light.
I have to admit this cake seemed like a lot of work and a bit intimidating. However, once I made it and tasted it, the other cakes just don’t come close to this one!!
It’s tasty and fluffy. Yum!
I take offense to the serving size- I would say 2… ????
Thanks for such a great recipe and all the tips.
Just wondering, where do you beat the yolk mixture. I noticed you have no pictures of that. Do you mix it in the same bowl and transfer out? I don’t feel like spending $50 on another kitchen aid bowl, although maybe I should…
I made a few of this cake for pesach this year. My kids loved it. My almost 5 year old son asked if I can bake this cake for him for his birthday (which is in the summer lol!)
This cake is fabulous! I had my eye on it for a couple of years, but it looked daunting. With your excellent instructions it came out delicious (even if I sifted cocoa everywhere). While it looked like it was deflated when I put it in the pan, it grew beautifully. My son just told me I should make it every Shabbos!
Just wondering … have you ever tried lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper?
We didn’t like it the cake was too dry!! Not a moist yummy cake
This looks delicious! When you cut the cake do you cut into pieces and freeze or do you cut out whole?
Best Pessach cake!!! Just as a tip if making in disposable pans, u can divide the batter into 2 pans and then put it upside down on a seltzer bottle
Thanks for this idea!!!! Love the cake but didn’t know how to flip in disposable, and always had a mess in oven after….I guess regular pan is larger
Don’t know if anyone had a problem with this, but I found the chocolate mixture to be very rich and heavy and wouldn’t mix well with the snow. I ended up ocer
Sorry, sent too early.
I ended up over mixing to get it combined and it flopped. I now add a bit of the snow to the chocolate mixture which makes it not so heavy and then it mixes well into the snow… this cake is so so delicious, I make a bunch of them every year and my entire family enjoys it. To the one that said it was dry- she probably over baked it. It’s a fantastic recipe! Tysm!
Thanks so much for the recipe was so simple and delicious!!!
Worked out beautifully in a disposable 9*13! Delicious, high and fluffy. Thank you!