Top Three Flourless Passover Desserts

Mario Battali's Torta di Cioccolata (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, separated
5 tablespoons instant espresso
6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder (recommended: Droste)
6 tablespoons dark rum or Marsala
1 1/2 cups ground, toasted, blanched almonds
All-purpose flour, for coating the pan
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Melt the butter in a glass bowl over simmering water. Once the butter melts, whisk in the sugar and the egg yolks, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly so that the eggs become ribbon-like and light in color (don't scramble.) Whisk in the coffee, cocoa powder, rum and almonds, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Transfer the cake mixture to a mixing bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. In a clean, separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until the just begin to stiffen and hold soft peaks. Be sure to stop before they form hard peaks. Gently fold the whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until firm and beginning to separate from the sides, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 30 minutes more. Flip cake over, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into wedges before serving.

Poached Pears Anglaise

This recipe is recommended for those who are less orthodox as it contains cornstarch but not flour, which is considered fine for most Reform Jews of Eastern European descent (see Recipe Notes below).

6 pears, slightly underripe
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
Creme Anglaise Sauce (recipe below)

Peel the pears, leaving the stems on if desired. Drop them immediately into cold water that contains a little lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.

In a large pot, bring the four cups water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind to a boil. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves and the pears. Cover and keep the syrup at a rolling boil -- until the pears are tender. This should take about 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness and the size of the pears. When finished cooking they should be slightly translucent, and easily pierced with a kitchen fork.

With a slotted spoon, carefully transfer pears to a shallow, flat-bottomed dish. Stand them up if possible so that they keep their shape -- they are very pliable and apt to flatten out slightly if they lie on their sides.

If necessary, trim the bottoms when pears are cooler to help them stand up. Pour a little of the syrup over the pears, cover and chill for several hours. Drizzle with Creme Anglaise when ready to serve.

Note: Poach pears such as Bosc or Anjou. They should be slightly underripe. If you use pears that are ripe for eating then they will fall apart during poaching. Watch the pears very attentively as it cooks. If you let if boil it will curdle. To prevent this, stir steadily and keep the pot at a very low temperature.

Creme Anglaise Sauce

1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-inch piece vanilla bean
6 tablespoons sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine the milk, cream, and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Bring just to a boil: let stand 10 minutes to absorb the flavor of the vanilla bean.

In a clean bowl, gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks, and continue beating for about three until the mixture is pale yellow and creamy. Beat in the cornstarch. Stir the milk-and-cream mixture into the the yolks, beating vigorously with a wire whisk.

Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook it over very low heat, without boiling. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the mixture is quite thick and coats the back of a silver spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Remove vanilla bean, cover the sauce, and chill throughly unitl ready to serve.

Note: Use a whole vanilla bean, if you can get it. if not, one teaspoon of vanilla extract added when the sauce has cooled will do the trick. When using a fresh vanila bean, be sure to fish it out of the sauce after it has finished cooking. Then, wash and dry it if you wish to save and use it again.

Pavlova with Mixed Berries

This recipe is recommended for those who are less orthodox as it contains corn starch but not flour, fine for most Reform Jews of Eastern European descent.

4 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe below)
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
Triple Raspberry Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees F.Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper, using a 9-inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won't get a pencil mark on the meringue.)

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Invert the meringue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with sweetened whipped cream.

Combine the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in a bowl and toss with about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce, or enough to coat the berries lightly. Spoon the berries carefully into the middle of the Pavlova, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Serve immediately in large scoops with extra raspberry sauce.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat!

Yield: 1 cup

Triple Raspberry Sauce

1 half-pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup seedless raspberry jam (12-ounce jar)
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur

Place the raspberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

Yield: 2 cups