Passover Dessert

After such a lovely dinner it's hard to know how we had room for dessert. But we did. Unlike the dinner, the desserts were all gluten-free, not just unleavened. So everyone could eat everything. And everyone did.

I made two cakes and two cookies. Of course I made classic coconut macaroons--as good as Manischewitz macaroons, if I do say so myself. I also made chocolate and walnut cookies. These gluten-free cookies are brownie-like both in flavor and texture--I love them and have been meaning to make them for the cousins for a while, but for some reason I only ever make them at Passover.

I made the same gluten-free almond cake I've made for the cousins before. For some reason it came out better this time. I don't know what I did differently, but it was higher and even cakier than usual. Actually, it may be the oven; I've never made it in this oven and it's much better than my last one. Regardless of the reason, I'm happy. Since there is citrus zest in the cake, I topped it with some orange scented whipped cream and some orange zest.

The piece de resistance was the almond flour version of the chocolate olive oil cake I practiced (I'd practiced with wheat flour) a week or so ago. It's a delicious, moist cake with a delicate flavor. But it's ever so slightly boring, especially with the almond flour. So I figured I needed an interesting topping. I decided on sugared strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar (since strawberries go with chocolate and vinegar goes with olive oil). I served it with a scoop of mascarpone cream; since the cake was so rich and the strawberries added a bit of a punch, I figured a nice, light, mild cream rather than trying to go for ice cream would be nice. It was amazing! Perfect for Passover, but I'd make it any time of year (I might try it with wheat flour again...but then again the gluten-free version is delicious!)