One Passover, decades ago, we decided to forego Aunt Rozzie’s sponge cake, the dessert we had eaten year after year after year at our Seders for as long as I remembered.
We switched to the newer, modern, au courant flourless chocolate cake.
But after years of that we got bored again with the same old same old.
So I began to bake other stuff. Orange-Almond Cake. A Passover version of our family’s treasured recipe for butter cookies. Toasted Almond Napoleon with Balsamic-glazed Bananas. Chocolate Jelly Roll.
Then I experimented with carrot cake.
Winner!
As far as I’m concerned carrot cake is always a winner. You can add a cream-cheese frosting or top it with whipped cream, ice cream or sorbet, but it really doesn’t need any of those. It’s just wonderfully moist and delicious as is. Even this version, suitable for Passover.
Passover Carrot Cake
8 large eggs, separated
1-1/4 cups sugar
6 tablespoons orange juice (or use mango or apple juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup very finely chopped carrots
1 cup matzo cake meal
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper. Beat the egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer set on medium-high, for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Stir in the juice, vanilla, almonds, carrots, cake meal, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and blend ingredients thoroughly. In a second mixer bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until they are frothy. Continue beating, gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Beat until the whites are glossy and stand in peaks. Stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture. Fold the remaining whites into the yolk mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake on a rack.
Makes 10 servings