PARVE • PREP: 1 hr. 15 minutes• COOKING TIME: 35 minutes•  SERVES: 8

I’m not making Pesach this year. We usually celebrate a portion of the holiday at home, and a portion with family at their homes. This year, we are packing out to both of our parents for the entire holiday, and I’m very much looking forward to spending time with my siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews who are coming together from across the globe.

To ‘pull my weight’, I’m going to be doing some cooking at my neighbor’s (ahemm. Thanks, S.!), and will bring some food with me to my mom’s house.  I’ve taken the liberty of planning to pull my pre-pesach weight, as the post-holiday weight will definitely not be pull-able. (Sorry. Couldn’t help that one.  Really. I’m sorry. I know. I know.)  That said, I’ve been working on Passover recipes, trying to come up with some desserts that my family might appreciate.

It cracks me up that the thing that I came up with is decidedly, unequivocally, glaringly, BROWN. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong anti-brown-food policy.  Centuries of Ashkenazic food has been all brown, and I just think we need to do better. I have been a guest at Shabbos tables where every edible item, and I mean every item, is brown.  Challah, check. Cholent, check. Potato kugel, check. Yerushalmi kugel, check. Coca Cola, check. The list goes on.  I’ve been begging a new generation of  Ashkenazic cooks to take back the color wheel.  My husband will tell guests with a serious face that “my wife color coordinates our meals”.  So now you know how funny it is that I worked on a Pesach dessert for two weeks and it turns out the darned thing is brown.

First, this trifle was a multi-layer buttercream and caramel concoction (too rich), then a Pavlova (ugly as sin), then a trifle without the caramel crunch (eh. Good, not great), and then WHAM it became a trifle to be reckoned with.  It’s got a soft, spiced meringue layer that is nutty and rich, an apple curd that is just heavenly (and can be eaten alone, in large quantities, by the spoonful. I’m not saying how I know this.). The crumbs add some nice crunch, and the ground up caramel candies are the perfect hack to take the dessert over the top.

A note about assembly: the crumb mixture is not as hearty as your standard year-round crumb. After a day or so in the trifle, the crumbs soften as they absorb the liquid from the apple curd. For that reason, it’s best to assemble the trifle right before serving, if possible. Another alternative is to layer the trifle, omit the crumbs, and add the crumbs to the top immediately prior to serving.  The trifle (sans crumbs) and all of its components freeze beautifully.

Enjoy!

Spiced Meringue Layers

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 egg whites at room temperature
• 8 0z. (approx. 2 c.) ground walnuts
• ¾ c. + 2 tbsp. sugar
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whip egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until stiff peaks form.
3. While beating, add the sugar in a slow, steady, stream.
4. Eggs will become firmer and more silken, with a slight gloss.
5. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, beat until combined
6. Fold in the ground walnuts by hand
7. Line a jelly-roll (11×16”) pan with parchment paper
8. Spread meringue mixture into the pan evenly
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until top is lightly browned and springs back to the touch.
10. Allow cake to cool.
11. If you are going to be making individual trifles, use a cookie cutter to cut the meringue into the appropriate size. You will need two cake layers for each trifle.  If you will be assembling one large trifle bowl,  do not cut the cake.

NOTE:

• Meringue freezes well and can be frozen until you are ready to assemble the trifles

Apple Curd

The apple curd has a firmer consistency and more body than apple sauce alone. It’s delicious.  Let’s think up other uses for this stuff- shoot me a note if you have any!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Golden Yellow apples
• 6 Macintosh apples
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 c. water
• ¾ c. margarine
•  3 eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp. salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and slice apples thinly into a large saucepan
2. Add lemon juice, water, cinnamon, and salt
3. Cook on medium heat, covered, until apples are soft and falling apart – approx. ½ hour
4. Remove from heat. Blend with hand blender until completely smooth.
5. Add margarine in ½ inch slices and mix until melted.
6. Remove approximately 1 cup of apple mixture from the pan.  To temper the eggs, add the hot apple mixture into the beaten eggs in a slow stream, whisking constantly.
7. Return the apple mixture to low heat.
8. Mix the tempered eggs into the cooked apples, mixing constantly. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, mixing all the while, until the apple curd is slightly thickened.
9. Transfer to a non-reactive container, cover, and cool.

Crumbs Layer

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
• ½ c. dark brown sugar
• ¾ c. potato starch
• ¼ c. ground walnuts
• ¼ c. margarine
• 1 scant cup chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
3. Combine with fingers until ingredients are well mixed and margarine is completely incorporated
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
5. Spread the crumb mixture in an even layer on the cookie sheet
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Crumbs will solidify slightly – do not worry!
7. Remove from heat and cool
8. Use a fork to separate the baked mixture back into crumbs
9. Store in an airtight container until ready to assemble trifles.

 

Candy Layer

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 pkgs. parve butterscotch or caramel flavored sucking candies

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Unwrap candies and place in the completely dry bowl of a food processor.
2. Process for approximately 1 minute until all the candies are finely chopped. Some larger candy pieces may remain.
3. Store in an airtight container until ready to assemble.

Trifle Assembly Instructions

Beginning from the bottom, in either individual jars/glasses or a clear trifle bowl:

1. Apple curd
2. Meringue, cut to size
3. Apple curd
4. Candy layer
5. Crumbs (if serving immediately – see note above)
6. Meringue
7. Apple curd
8. Candy layer
9. Crumbs