Some people find baking for Passover daunting, but I love it!
Arguably the most essential ingredient in Passover cake recipes is a decent hand mixer. Many people do not have a proper mixer for 1 week of the year, but a hand mixer is invaluable when it comes to whisking all those eggs.
If you don't have a hand mixer for Passover, then I suggest you invest in one. They are relatively inexpensive and if you try some of the cake recipes here you will get good use from it. This year I treated myself to a new Morphy Richards hand mixer which made light work of whisking dozens of egg whites. Many of the cake recipes here follow a similar format. Beat the yolks and sugar. Fold in the other ingredients (chocolate/nuts/carrots etc). Beat the whites until they form stiff peaks, and fold in.
As leavening agents can not be used during Passover, the raising agent in many cakes is the air that you beat into the egg whites. You will get a better volume if the egg whites are at room temperature, so when you are baking for Passover keep your eggs out of the fridge.
Always beat egg whites in a clean bowl with clean whisks – either beat them before you beat the yolks or wash and dry the beaters before you beat the egg whites. I usually beat the egg whites first and then the yolks, thus saving on washing up, but be aware that the egg white will start to soften if you leave them for too long. Make sure everything else is ready, so you can whisk them, then the yolks and then fold it all together. Or, you can leave the egg white whisking to the end, and simply wash and dry your beaters after beating the yolks and sugar.Be careful to fold the egg whites into the other mixture carefully. You don’t want to lose all the air you spend time beating to the whites. So always fold a 1/4 of the egg whites into the mixture first to loosen it, then gently fold the rest in until it is all amalgamated.
Here you will find a selection of Passover cake recipes, Passover chocolate cakes, flourless cakes – there is something for everyone. The only question is how you'll manage to eat them all in a week!
