Tori Avey’s Passover Potluck is a unique annual online event. I’ve invited my friends, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to share recipes that are kosher for Passover. My goal is to foster mutual understanding between different cultures, to introduce you to my foodie friends, and to share yummy recipes and cooking ideas for Passover! To learn more about the Passover holiday, click here. For more Passover recipes, click here.
I’m thrilled to introduce you to my friend Aida Mollenkamp of Salt + Wind, the gorgeous food and travel website. Aida has an admirable talent for whipping up creative and beautiful recipes that reflect her worldly perspective. Her cookbook Keys to the Kitchen has a permanent place on my cookbook shelf. I know you’ll love her as much as I do! Prepare to be amazed by this gorgeous dessert recipe Aida created for our #PassoverPotluck.
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Aida says:
Tori and I only met a few years ago but it was clear from the get-go that we spoke the same food language. Her love for understanding history through food was only rivaled by my adoration of seeing food through travel. I like to think our passions both come from the same place – a craving for cooking our way to a more delicious understanding of the world.
I credit mine to my UN-esque family that’s at once Italian, French, Dutch, Lebanese, and, in turn, (almost) every religion imaginable. And that was only reflected by the friends I grew up with in Los Angeles, where Spring brought tons of celebrations from Easter to Persian New Year and, of course, Passover.
My desire to bring all this to the plate is what inspired me to create my new food-travel site, Salt & Wind, where I share stories of food travel and dishes from my own travels that act as sort of edible souvenirs of my adventures. One such recipe are the rochers inspired by Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, where I used to live. When I first moved to SF, I had just left culinary school in Europe and was missing classic desserts like meringues. In a delicious twist, Tartine had created rocher, which are basically meringues except they’re a little gooier and not as perfectly round, perfect for an occasional, imperfect baker such as myself.
But regular meringues are just too sweet for me so I added in some cocoa powder (kosher for Passover, of course) and some cacao nibs to tame the sweetness. And, because Passover happens at the start of Spring, I couldn’t help but make the most of the season’s first berries which is why I tripled down and swirled them in the meringue, drizzled it on top, then finished it with fresh berries.
For more Passover recipe ideas, check out the Pinterest boards.
Recommended Products:
Keys to the Kitchen by Aida Mollenkamp
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Raspberry Cacao Ripple Rochers
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 teaspoon superfine aka caster sugar* see note
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Rocher Ingredients
- 2/3 cup superfine aka caster sugar* see note
- 1 tablespoon kosher cocoa powder such as Gefen brand (optional)
- 3 large large egg whites about 1/2 cup, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste
- pinch salt
- 1/3 cup cacao nibs optional
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds optional
For Garnish
- 1 cup raspberries
NOTES
Instructions
For the raspberry sauce:
- Place the 2 cups of raspberries and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the raspberries just begin to break down.
- Transfer sauce to a food processor or blender, add the lemon juice, and process until smooth. Pass the puree through a fine-mesh sieve and discard seeds and set sauce aside. (Sauce can be made up to 4 days ahead of time. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.)
For the rochers:
- Heat oven to 250°F and arrange the rack in the middle. Trace 8 (2-inch) circles onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn over paper and place on a rimmed baking sheet.Combine sugar and cocoa powder (if using) in a small bowl and whisk until no lumps remain.
- Place egg whites in an impeccably clean bowl and beat on low speed until frothy, and little white uniform bubbles appear, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and increase speed to medium, continuing to beat until the mixture doubles in volume and there are soft peaks when you remove the whisk from the bowl, about 1 minute more.Add the sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, until firm, glossy peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add vanilla and salt and allow mixer to turn a few more times just until the ingredients are incorporated. Test if the meringue is adequately whipped by pulling the whisk out of the bowl and turning the whisk upside down. If the meringue leaves a peak that stands up but gently folds back on itself at the end, it’s ready.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer stand, and add the cacao nibs and almonds (if using). Using two large spoons, immediately spoon the meringue by heaping tablespoons, nicely spaced apart, onto the circles on the parchment paper. Add a small spoonful of the sauce (about 1/2 teaspoon) to each meringue then use a skewer to gently swirl in the sauce, being careful to not deflate the meringues.)Place the baking sheets in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 200°F. Bake until the meringues are somewhat dry to the touch on the outside and firm, about 60 to 90 minutes total. As the meringues cool they will dry out more and harden on the outside.
- When the meringues are ready, turn off the oven and let them sit for at least an hour (or up to 3 hours) in the oven.For garnish, top each meringue with some raspberries and raspberry sauce and serve.
Nutrition
I made these for Passover. They turned out really good. I added lemon zest to the raspberry sauce and used chocolate scrapings instead of cocao nibs. I whipped those whites like crazy until they got lovely and glossy but they did seem to deflate a bit when I mixed the nuts and sauce to it. I will totally make these again. They are super easy and the results are pretty.
These were such a pretty addition to my Seder, light and sweet, perfect finish to a heavy meal. Toda!
These are beautiful! How do you feel about piping as opposed to spooning these out? Do you think it would work if I put the raspberry sauce down two sides of a piping bag, filled it with the merengue mixture and then piped? Thanks!
Ha, Meg, you crack me up!
Marianna – These are less dry than a traditional meringue so they don’t last as long. I’d recommend making them morning of if you can; otherwise, you should be able to make them the night before and then leave the in the oven (turned off!) until you want to use them. If you need to use your oven for something else, go ahead and store them at room temperature in an airtight container and then, before serving them, put them in a low (say, 200°F) oven to dry them out again.
Sharon S – Yes, feel free to use strawberries as well! As for the grated chocolate, it should work fine – I’ve used mini chocolate chips with no issue in the past!
This is going to be the least graceful comment on this thread…I want to stuff these in my face! Aida you are my hero!
Can these be made a day or two ahead of time? If yes, should they be stored in the fridge? Or freezer? Or out on the counter? They look so beautiful and delicious!
What about subbing strawberries instead? Also may try adding some grated chocolate instead of cocoa nibs.
Looks and sounds wonderful. If using granulated instead of superfine, is it equal measures?
Yes, Helene, it is equal measure!
Looks delicious and pretty!