Easter Passover Baking Times

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. Ours was a fun whirlwind with a belated Passover seder at my parents, an Olsen Easter in Pennsylvania, followed by a Grosvenor Easter.

I decided to continue my baking streak and make a cake for each celebration. I selected a flourless chocolate cake by Maida Heatter called the Queen Mothers Cake, which I doubled for Passover and Olsen Easter, and then selected Barefoot Contessa's Coconut Cake, an old stand by for Grosvenor Easter.

The Queen Mothers Cake was a little labor intensive, but worth the patience and time. It involved toasting sliced almonds, pulverizing them with sugar, separating eggs, tempering chocolate, mixing wet ingredients with dry ingredients, whipping egg whites, lots of gentle folding, and baking. And lets not forget about the rich chocolate and espresso flavored icing that adds a beautiful sheen to the cake. The end result was a decadent, flavorful and rich chocolate cake that was springy and moist with a fudge-like center. The bittersweet glaze with a touch of espresso encased the cake, adding more richness. I recommend pairing the dessert with some fresh fruit to break up the chocolate/sugar dessert bomb. 

For the coconut cake, I ended up halving the recipe, making a single layer. The cake turned out slightly too dense for my liking, although it wasn't dry. I think I stumbled upon halving an odd number of eggs and rounded up to three instead of two-and-a-half. Despite my slight disappointment, the butter and cream cheese frosting with gently pressed coconut flakes makes up for it in folds. And after producing the chocolate flourless cake, this recipe was a breeze.

And now after infusing my body with sugar, alcohol, and tons of other rich meats and foods, Will and I are dedicating a few days for a much-needed detox. But as we transfer from a food-coma-laden weekend into the weekday, I am still curious to know what you made this weekend!