from: The Jewish Chronicle London April 4, 1997 What a Plava ------------ COOKING: Evelyn Rose had only five minutes to demonstrate the art of Passover baking on TV. She rose to the occasion, even if the cakes didn’t... It was a case of "and here are some I made earlier" when I was given exactly five-and-a-half minutes to put over a little of the flavour of Pesach baking to a mainly non-Jewish audience of cable TV viewers. So I used the camera time to mix up a batch of cinnamon balls and only talked about how to make the magnificent sponge cake and chocolate cake, the recipes of which I give below. I knew I’d hit the target when one of the backroom boys complained that the camera crew had left him only the crumbs -- but they were delicious. So if you have limited time for your Pesach baking, I suggest you make one -- or both -- of these cakes. Both of them freeze well. CITRUS CHIFFON PLAVA -------------------- Keeps 1 week in an airtight container. Freezes 3 months. This beautiful moist cake dates back to the Golden Age in Spain and is probably of Moorish origins. It’s known as a plava by Ashkenazim, pan d’España by Moroccan Jews and pan di Spagna by Italian ones. All the recipes are virtually identical. Ingredients: 3 oz ( 75 g) potato flour 2 1/2 oz ( 65 g) cake meal 5 oz (150 g) caster sugar 5 egg yolks 2 fl oz (50 ml) oil 2 fl oz (50 ml) orange juice 1 teasp grated lemon rind 1 teasp grated orange rind 5 egg whites 1 pinch salt 2 oz (50 g) caster sugar Method: Preheat the oven to gas 3 (325 F, 160 C). Grease a 9- or 10-inch (22.5 or 25 cm) ring tin, about 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep. Sieve the potato flour, cake meal and the 5 oz (150 g) caster sugar into a large bowl and mix well. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks, oil, orange juice and the lemon and orange rind. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the egg yolk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until smoothly and evenly mixed. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff, glossy peaks, then whisk in the 2 oz (50 g) caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition. Spoon this meringue on top of the first mixture, then fold the two together gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Spoon into the prepared tin, smooth level, then bake for 1 hour until firm to gentle touch. Put the cake, in the cake tin, on a cooling rack and leave until it feels cool to the touch. Loosen from the edges of the tin with the tip of a knife and gently ease out. Store in an airtight container. TORTA DI CIOCCOLATA CON GRAPPA (CHOCOLATE BRANDY CAKE) ------------------------------------------------------ Makes one 10-inch cake. Serves 10-12. Keeps 1 week in an airtight container. Freezes 3 months. Note: for an 8-inch (20cm), cake use two-thirds of all the ingredients but bake in exactly the same way. The nuts and the brandy can be omitted if preferred. Ingredients: 6 oz (175 g) unsalted butter (or margarine) 6 oz (175 g) caster sugar 9 oz (250 g) plain chocolate 6 large eggs, separated 2 oz ( 50 g) lightly toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped 3 tbsp Passover brandy 1 scant level teasp Passover baking powder 3 oz ( 75 g) potato flour 1 pinch salt Method: Preheat the oven to gas no 4 (350 F, 180 C). Grease the inside of a 10-inch round loose-bottomed or spring-form cake tin and line the base with a circle of silicone paper. In a sturdy 8-inch (20cm) pan, melt the fat, then add the sugar and broken-up chocolate and continue to heat over a moderate light, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Immediately take off the heat and stir in the egg yolks (put the whites in a large bowl), brandy and nuts, followed by the potato flour and baking powder sifted together. Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold floppy peaks, then stir a quarter into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Finally, spoon the remaining meringue on top and fold the two mixtures together, most easily with a rubber spatula. When it’s an even colour, pour into the prepared tin and smooth level. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is firm to gentle pressure and a skewer comes out clean from the centre. If the top seems firm after 40 minutes yet you can see a little uncooked mixture peeping out, turn the oven down to gas no 3 (325 F, 160 C) for the last 10 minutes. Don’t worry if the top cracks -- you can always use the bottom as the top if necessary. Place the cake tin on a cooling rack and leave for 30 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin. Dust with icing sugar when the cake has cooled.