Potica

• In 1979 our dear family friend Nell Simala taught me how to make potica (po-teet-sa), a well-known commodity in my hometown, Pueblo Colorado, thanks to the local Solvenian community where potica is served at Christmas and other special occasions. Often, it was served with kolbasi. I remember enjoying the contrast of the savory kolbasi and the sweet potica. Back to the story about Nell. She told me to make the dough the night before, let it rise in the fridge overnight, and she would come over the next day to show me how to roll, stretch and fill the dough. Since then, I've made it alone...until November  2015 when my brother, Bob, invited our brother David and friends Lu (my high school chemistry lab partner) and Dave for a New York City potica-a-thon! This was altogether better than any of our chemistry adventures!
• When Nell arrived at our home all those years ago, I realized I had made a mistake: I doubled the butter in the dough and the filling. We used it anyway, and it was the best potica ever. Since then, we always double the butter! The butter in the recipe below is already doubled.
• The original recipe was in From an Adobe Oven to a Microwave Range, published by the Service League of Pueblo. 

  

  Rolling potica with Nell. This one had poppy seed filling

• Today you can find potica sold online. In fact, potica was featured on the Advanced Dough episode of The Great British Baking Show even if they call it povitica. Their recipe has a chocolate filling and considerably less butter in the dough.
• Speaking of filling, we always run out. In 2015, we used canned poppy seed filling for the last third of the dough (2 cans, I believe). In this recipe I increased the filling so I would not run out.
• The original filling called for sugar and honey; we use only sugar. The original recipe called for condensed milk; per Nell's instructions, I use evaporated milk.
• It's a good idea to have a clean sheet dedicated to this project.
• Potica is one of those foods that takes on a new and wonderful flavor on the second day. In other words, try to not eat it all the first day. It's worth waiting for that flavor to develop even if that's what makes it addictive!

Spreading the filling with Lu and Dave.

Dough
½ cup warm water
3 packages dry yeast
8-10 cups sifted flour (my notes say I used 8.5 cups)
¾ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
1 pint warm milk
1½ cups butter, melted (salted or unsalted)
3 well-beaten eggs

Rolling with Lu.

Filling
3 pounds ground nuts
4½ cups sugar
13-ounce can of evaporated milk
½ cup milk
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
5 eggs, well-beaten

Glaze
1 egg, beaten

Mix Dough

• Mix the water and yeast in a small bowl.
• Mix the sugar, salt and flour in a big bowl. My notes say I used 8.5 cups flour.
• In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs, yeast, and half the butter. Add the dry ingredients.
• Knead the dough dipping your hands in the other half of the butter until it's all added. That will be 10 or more minutes of kneading.
• Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

Spreading the filling with Bob.

Mix Filling

• Mix all the filling ingredients except for the eggs.
• Warm the filling. Set aside to cool while you shape the dough.
• After the filling cools, add the eggs.

Paper-Thin Dough

• If you can, expand your table and cover it with a clean sheet. Flour the sheet lightly.
• Cut the dough into thirds. Begin rolling one-third of the dough with a rolling pin.
• Next stretch the dough by pulling it across the back of your hands. This is easier to do with two people on opposite sides of the table. The idea is to get the dough as thin as possible without tearing it, although most tears will never show. Some people never pull the dough; they prefer to only roll the dough.

Fill and Shape

• Remember to add the eggs to the filling.
• Spread one-third of the filling onto the dough. Roll from one end. Lu taught me to roll tightly to avoid air gaps. 
• Place on a greased pan with the open seam underneath. 
• The potica can be straight like a strudel or curled into a circle or backwards "e." This time we made a modified backwards "s" and it worked! 
• Some people bake potica in a loaf pan. I've never used a loaf pan, but if you do, line the pan with greased parchment paper. I would use extra long sheets of parchment paper so you have something to grab when you lift the potica out of the pan.
• Roll, fill, and shape the rest of the dough.

Glaze and Bake

• Brush the glaze over the dough.
• Let rise 30 minutes.
• Bake 1 hour at 350°.

Passover Chocolate Cake 2013 -- à la Robyn

Chocolate cake without chips

• For the last three Passovers, I've adapted a chocolate cake recipe. This year's is the best ever! The batter is similar to last year's Passover chocolate cake recipe with a few changes including doubling the cocoa from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. The addition of chopped dates was inspired by a cake my mom used to make and the topping comes from my cousin Robyn's Famous Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Walnut Cake.
• It fell a little bit. Maybe I did not bake it long enough, but I'm telling you, after you taste it, you won't care what it looks like!
• I used pistachios instead of walnuts thinking they would add color to the topping but they browned so much you cannot tell the difference. I recommend ground walnuts or pecans -- or sliced almonds.
• I ground the nuts fine to prevent them from sinking into the center of the cake, however, I also thickened the batter with more cake meal (than last year) and the addition of potato starch this year. Who knows; maybe with the new thicker batter, the nuts could be chopped rather than ground.
• Knowing that making your own whole-wheat cake meal might be a deal breaker, I'm betting you could replace the whole-wheat cake meal with regular cake meal. The two products behave the same when I use them in other recipes including cakes.
• Here's the thing: I used two different pans. Both cakes fell but the one in the wider pan fell more. The cake that fell more was in a traditional loaf pan: 4.5" x 9.75" with tapered sides (and nearly 3" tall); it had chocolate chips on top. The cake that did  not fall was in a pan with straight sides; it is 3.5" x 10.25" (and nearly 2.5" tall); it had no chips. Perhaps the chips made a difference but I really think it had more to do with the width of the pans.
• Getting the cakes out of the pans was a mess. I recommend making some parchment paper handles. See directions below.

Pumpkin Pudding

• It's pumpkin pie minus the fuss and calories of the crust!
• This is an amalgam of several recipes.
• This recipe calls for a can of pumpkin puree but you can easily substitute yams, sweet potatoes, or some other winter squash. You can use store-bought puree or make your own.

Apple Sauce

Chunky pink applesauce

My father had a Jonathan apple tree in the backyard. (See below.) I remember sitting outside with my dad peeling apples with the juice running down our arms and the flies buzzing around. We would try to peel it in one continuous strip . . . just to say that we did!

We gave away bags and bags of apples, but we still had lots for us. Every fall, the whole family would pitch in and make applesauce. This went on for days . . . maybe weeks. My mom would can dozens of jars of applesauce. And, through the winter, we would eat it all! By the time I was in junior high school, I could peel and slice apples blindfolded.

I make applesauce different ways. Different apple varieties give different results. Sometimes I peel the apples, other times not. Sometimes I use only white sugar, other times I use brown, or a mix of the two, or honey or maple syrup. I've even made applesauce without cinnamon. See the Slicing Details below for tips on how to vary the texture (and color!) of your applesauce.

Applesauce can be eaten hot, lukewarm, or cold. It's great as a snack or as dessert. I love to pile hot steamed Macintosh apples over waffles and top them with a shake of cinnamon and a splash of maple syrup!

Peach Cake

• Roasted peaches and peach schnapps are the secret to this recipe. It's a way to get the peach flavor without drowning the batter in peach juice and ending up with a gummy mess.
• I started with a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. They used almond extract in the batter and topping. I used cinnamon and peach schnapps instead.
• I made a few other changes. They said to use light brown sugar but I only had dark brown. I forgot to add the vanilla, and the cake was fine so maybe that's an optional ingredient. I did not have vegetable oil spray and just used vegetable oil.
• The sliced peaches for the topping marinate in a yummy mix of peach juices and schnapps. Do not add those juices to the cake (the batter cannot support all that liquid). Drink it! It is divine!

Chocolate Toffee Matzo

Arg! I wrote it, saved it, shredded my notes. Saved it to post another day....and now it's gone...ARG!!! Blogger I hate you!

Lhassi Pudding with Kiwi

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm posting yet another version of the Lhassi Pudding recipe. This time, I added kiwi and garnished it with black sesame seeds (to play off the black kiwi seeds).

Passover Chocolate Cake 2012

Every year, I revise my recipe for Passover chocolate cake. Here's the link to the 2013 edition -- the best ever! It's even better than this recipe!

This cake is better the second day -- if it lasts that long! And (shhh, don't tell anyone) it's made with whole wheat matzo!

Edits
I started with  the recipe for Mrs. Strait's Passover Chocolate Cake and made so many edits, I decided it was time for a new post. Here's what I changed:

Lhassi Pudding

• My niece and I created this vegan dessert. The plan was to come up with a sorbet but, it was so good we never did freeze it.
• It's important for the mango pulp to be nearly (or completely) thawed. Otherwise, it will become a frozen mass that locks up the food processor.
• Silken tofu is different from regular tofu. To learn more, click on the link below. We used a lite silken tofu to reduce fat and calories.
• While this can be eaten immediately, the nuts take on a nice texture after they sit on top of the pudding (in the fridge) for a few hours. In fact, they were so good, I've doubled the amount.
• If you use pisatchios for the topping, their green color will be more intense if you remove the brown papers before you chop them.
• This recipes makes 5-6 servings -- depending on the portion size.

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From: Minka’s Kitchen
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Robyn's Famous Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Walnut Cake

• My cousin Robyn is my first guest chef! She posted this recipe online in honor of her daughter's birthday. The recipe is clearly a family favorite. Robyn said: “I truly feel there is great joy in sharing special recipes.” Doesn’t it look delicious!?!
• I love the mix of cinnamon, chocolate, and nuts. I wonder how it would be with chopped dates added to the topping.

Plum Torte

This is a very popular recipe . . . because it's simple and delicious.  I've reformatted the recipe to make it easier for me to use and reduced the sugar by a few tablespoons.

Blueberry Buckle for 7x11 pan

• Double recipe is here.
• Blueberry Buckle is basically a coffeee cake with berries in it -- lots of them. This summer, I  increased the berries, again. I'm using 4 cups of berries instead of 3. With the additional berries, the pan is filled more but still plenty big. With 4 cups of berries, it may need a little more baking time. (Sorry. I forgot to keep track.)
• Also, the original version (from my friend Pat) had shortening, which I changed to vegetable oil.
• Blueberry Buckle is great served warm, but I also love it the second day when the cake begins to take up the moisture of the berries.

Batter and Berries
2 cups flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt (I may have used less)
¼ cup canola oil
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup milk
2 to 4 cups blueberries, rinsed (If you use 4 cups, see my note at the top.)

Topping
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup butter, softened

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Grease an 7" x 11" pan. I have also used an oval au gratin baking dish made by Le Creuset, however now that I increased the berries to 4 cups, I doubt it will fit in that pan.
• Mix the batter:
  • Sift/mix together all dry ingredients onto wax paper or into a small bowl.
  • Mix oil, sugar and egg. Cream well.
  • Add half the milk; mix well.
  • Add half the dry ingredients; mix well.
  • Add the rest of the milk; mix well.
  • Add the rest of the dry ingredients; mix well and then beat vigorously.
• Fold-in blueberries.
• Spread into greased pan.
• Mix topping ingredients either with your hands or two butter knives. Sprinkle topping over batter.
• Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until pick comes out clean. (If you use 4 cups of berries, see my note at the top; it's going to take longer but I don't know how long.)
• Serve warm.

Blueberry Buckle -- Double Recipe for 9x13 pan

• Single recipe is here.
Aug 12, 2011: I just updated the recipe. More berries. No more shortening; all oil. It's bigger and will need more baking time now that I'm using 8 cups of berries instead of 6, but I can't tell you how many minutes it will need, because I lost track.
• Long ago, my friend Pat gave me this recipe. Over the years I increased the berries.

Neoclassic Buttercream Frosting

The cupcakes were for a bridal shower at work (the groom is my coworker). I used a white cake mix for the cupcakes (because that's what the groom likes), but I went totally purist on the frosting. To be more precise, I went neoclassic. The frosting was pink because that's what the bride likes. I made buttercream frosting from scratch because that's what we all love!

Passover Brownies - Double Recipe

For the story behind this recipe and a discussion of the ingredients, see the single recipe.



This is a dairy recipe. If you substitute Kosher for Passover (KFP) margarine for the butter, it will be parve.

Passover Brownies - Single Recipe

Click here for double recipe.

These brownies make a delicious Passover treat.  I've been making some variation on this recipe for years -- ever since I noticed that some brownie recipes do not require baking powder or baking soda. This year I used whole wheat matzo meal and they are just as delicious! I suspect the addition of chopped dates would be a great way to make these brownies a little more moist, sweet, and dense . . . and add a little fiber. First, a few comments about the ingredients.

Passover Apple Cake

Note, if you do not like coconut, you may not care for this recipe. On the other hand, if you love coconut but are not supposed to eat it (because of the saturated fats) this recipe may be a Godsend. It has no coconut, but it sure seems like it does!

I started with a recipe from The Kosher Gourmet Cookbook by Mildred Miller and Bascha Snyder and found a few ways to add fiber (typically lacking in Passover foods). Here are my changes:

Mrs. Strait's Chocolate Passover Cake

1935 Seder. Adelyn Strait Raich (3rd from L); Rose and Harry Strait (4th and 3rd from R) Click on photo to enlarge it.

Note: I finally made this recipe, but with so many edits that I've posted it separately over here.


As I recall, this is a moist chocolate cake. The recipe is from Mrs. Strait, my Hebrew teacher's mother-in-law.

My Hebrew Teacher
Abe Raich, worked as a statistical quality control specialist at the local steel mill, CF&I (Colorado Fuel and Iron). I was in seventh grade; Abe's second son, Ken, was my classmate. Years later, at age 57, Abe retired and began a four-year course to become a rabbi. Read more about Abe and Adelyn (Addy), his wife, here. Get a taste of Abe's teaching, by reading this.

1969: Addy Raich; Mrs Rose Strait

The Seders
Perhaps because we lived close by (across the alley and down a few houses) my family was lucky enough to be included in a number of their seders -- lengthy events with 20+ people of all ages. No doubt, that's how my mother ended up asking Mrs. Strait for this recipe.

Strawberry Yogurt Sorbet

Here we go again, another sorbet recipe! The bag of frozen strawberries is larger than the bags of other frozen fruits (mango and raspberry) that I use  for two other sorbet recipes. To prevent a food-processor overflow, I cut the yogurt in half (compared to the recipes for mango sorbet and raspberry sorbet). The result? I think this is my best sorbet recipe!

Mango Yogurt Sorbet

This is another simple dessert -- similar to the raspberry yogurt sorbet, but I used less sugar (1/3 cup instead of ½ cup). Considering that you can easily get 6 servings from this recipe, that's less than 1 tablespoon per serving. Not much in the world of desserts.