I’m not the world’s biggest fan of pareve desserts, which is why I usually just make brownies. (Bor-ing, I know.)
But if I care enough to make an OMG-THIS-IS-SO-GOOD and Seriously???-Is-This-Really-Pareve dessert, there is only one choice: The Krembo Cake.
I got the recipe from my good friend Mr. WG (he’s the husband of my really good friend WG).
Mr. WG is Israeli, so he sent me the recipe in Hebrew. But because I love you, I have translated it into English. If you want the Hebrew version, email me.
It’s a bit patchkied, but TRUST ME when I tell you, it is worth your effort.
He calls is the Krembo cake. You know — those Israeli chocolate marshmelloy fluff confections? Maybe you can find them in New York kosher grocery stores, but I’ve only ever seen them in Israel.
In any case, the last time I made this, my Shabbat guests said that it tasted like the kosher Swiss rolls and I think there’s something to that as well.
(I’m sorry by the way that I don’t have a picture. I’m clearly not a food blogger at heart. I have to work on that.)
Ingredients
For the Base:
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 package of chocolate pudding (the smaller of the sizes)
- 4 T white flour
- 1 T vegetable oil
For the Filling:
- 1 package of vanilla pudding (again, the smaller size)
- 1 cup of milk (I used rice or almond milk to keep it pareve)
- 1 small container of Rich’s Whip — for the Israelis – 250 mL of שמנת מתוקה
For the Glaze:
- 100 grams of Bittersweet chocolate (I used just shy of 1 cup of pareve chocolate chips)
- 1 T cocoa powder
- 6 T cold water
- 1-2 T of margarine or coconut oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
Separate the egg whites and whip for 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and continue whipping until peaks form.
Gently fold in the egg yolks, pudding, flour and oil.
Pour into a 9×13 Pyrex (I didn’t have one free, so I used two round 9-inch cake pans, and that was fine, too). Bake until firm – I think it was about 10-12 minutes, but don’t quote me on that.
In a separate bowl, combine vanilla pudding, Rich’s Whip and milk (optional). Pour over cooled cake.
Make a double boiler and melt together chocolate, cocoa and water. Once the chocolate is fully melted, add in the margarine and blend until “glassy”. (I did this in the mircowave, by the way, and it turned out fine.)
Pour glaze over filling and allow it to harden – it takes an hour or two.
Serve… and bask in the glory of your delighted guests.
This recipe feeds a lot. Even I, a big dessert lover, could only eat one piece of this – it’s very sweet and rich. I made two 9-inch cakes out of this and ONE of them served 4 adults and 9 children.
Now that I’ve shared the goods, I’d love to hear from you: What is your favorite dessert recipe?
Simple, easy, and kid-friendly (even if I don’t have any):
Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Mix. Form into balls. Flatten with fork criss-cross.
Bake on 350 for 10 minutes.
(Better with creamy than with chunky, but I’m still experimenting with chunky.)
Good for Shabbat or any other day of the week.
i make them with just half a cup of sugar.
you can also add 1 tsp of baking powder to make them fluffier, and add chocolate chips
this recipe is great with tehina golmit- not the spread, i hope to try them with almond butter for pessach.
What a great idea to do these with tehina. I’m going to try that, too!
This sounds incredible! I also have a sweet tooth, you’re not alone! I am at work, but I will try to come back later today or tomorrow night to post my favorite cobbler recipe. You’d think I’d have it memorized by now.
OK, Mara, next time we are in KC for shabbos I’m inviting myself over. 😉
A favorite at our house is apple crisp or blueberry crisp:
For apples:
Peel, core and slice 4 to 6 apples, enough to cover the bottome of a 9 x 13 pan. Granny smith or Jonathans are best. Optional: sprinkle cinnamon on top.
For blueberries:
Pour frozen blueberries into 9 x 13 pan to cover the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch. (I get those big bags from Costco or Sam’s Club.) I’d say about 4 cups?
For the topping:
Mix together 1 c quick oats, 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c flour. Add enough canola oil to make it crumbly, about 1/4 to 1/3 c. (The more oil you add the crispier it will be, but remember the crispiness comes with more fat.) Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.
Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes, until crisp on top. Really, really good if you put it on the blech and serve warm.
My kids would be shocked if this happened at our house, but this is really good with Rich’s whip or pareve ice cream. You can also make it with other kinds of fruits or a mixture of fruits. My sister makes a really great pear crisp.
I once googled “easy yummy pareve chocolate dessert” and found the world’s simplest recipe. Take one box of soft silken tofu (“lite” is fine) and drop it in the blender with a teaspoon of vanilla (or a shot of Kahlua or other liqueur, if you wish). Blend. Meanwhile, melt 1 to 2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each pass until completely melted and smooth. Add chocolate to blender. Blend some more. Pour into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. (It’s very rich. To lighten it: add in a small carton of Rich’s whip or a cup of marshmallow fluff with the tofu.)
Yours sounds right up my alley — easy and chocolatey, so thanks Marnie. I’m going to try this soon.
Pumpkin bread- so easy, so yummy, so versatile and pareve!
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil or margarine (or butter if you want it to be dairy)(it works just as well with whichever you choose)
4 eggs
1, 15 oz. can pumpkin
3¼ cups flour
1 tsp. each of
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
ground cloves
baking soda
baking powder
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Sift together all dry ingredients such that spices are evenly distributed in the flour. Set aside.
Cream fat and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin. Slowly add dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated.
Bake for 20-40 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. This is a large recipe, it makes 24 muffins, or 2-3 cake pans or loaf pans depending on the size of the pan. Just adjust the cooking time for the size of the pan, a larger, deeper pan will take longer to bake. Muffins will bake for a shorter time than loaves. Otherwise, enjoy!
Also Rainbow cookies- those almondy 3 layer tri colored (usually green white and red but I make them every color of the rainbow) cookies. They aren’t hard but do take a little extra time, but they are so yummy and WAY better than those you would find at the bakery.
1 cup butter softened
8 oz. almond paste (I use almond filling)
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs, separated.
2 cups all purpose flour
Food coloring
Seedless raspberry jam
Apricot jam
Chocolate chips, melted
Line 3, 9 x 13 inch baking pans with parchment paper. Preheat over to 350˚ F.
Cream almond paste/filling, butter, sugar, egg yolks together. When mixture is fluffy, add flour.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gently fold into dough.
Divide dough into 3 equal portions, add coloring. (For traditional Rainbow Cookies add red coloring to one, green to another and leave the third natural cake colored)
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely.
Place bottom layer on a large piece of saran wrap and spread with raspberry jam. Top with middle layer and spread with apricot jam. Top with top layer. Wrap all in saran wrap.
Transfer to baking sheet with a heavy pan or cutting board on top to compress. Place in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from refrigerator, remove saran wrap and top with melted chocolate. Refrigerate one more hour.
Slice into small squares to serve. Makes ~9oish cookies
Mara-
I will ship you a box of Krembo overnight, they sell them here in town. What’s your address? 🙂
Zippy
My favorite dessert is mini strawberry shortcakes!
Use any white cake recipe and mix all ingredients together. Pour into cupcake holders and bake.
After the are completely cooled, take a can of whipped cream (I use Parve) and cover the tops.
Next, cut the tops of fresh strawberries and then cut in half length-wise. Don’t forget to make sure there are no bugs! Stick half of a strawberry into the cream on the cupcakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. They are delicious and so easy!!
I was going to link up my perfect pareve cookies only, but Mara asked for babka too! *blush* Here is the babka post:
http://thefrugalima.blogspot.com/2011/01/frugal-ima-super-frugal-recipe-babka.html
And here are the cookies:
http://thefrugalima.blogspot.com/2010/11/frugal-ima-thanksgiving-recipe-perfect.html
xoxoxo
Has anyone used the website holon.com to get food from Israel ( Krembo, Bamba, Amba..etc..) They are based in NY I think. I just ordered from them, but waiting till my credit card gets authorized. Just want to see who has used them and what you think.
They do not sell Krembo where I am at, and I have been craving it. Does anyone know where to get Prickly Pear (red) iced tea ? I have only been able to find it while in Israel and been craving that also..