… i suppose my Jewish heritage mainly rears its head when i’m talking about food and as any good Jewish boy will tell you, food is the essence of life in any Jewish household…
… on the day that Moses (he of the 10 Commandments fame… although not yet, they come after this little bit of history…) led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt, it turns out they weren’t quite as prepared as perhaps they should have been… history tells that they didn’t have enough time to wait for the bread they’d baked to rise… yes, they had to take un-leavened bread on the long trip to freedom… and so as part of the celebrations of passover we remember this act of un-preparedness by eliminating anything everything that contains yeast or flour from our households and from our foods, … this act of cleansing the house is reflected in many of the religions, including Lent where we cleanse our bodies and souls of temptation and has even become what we now all call the annual ‘Spring clean’ …
… what this means for all of us foodies is that we’ve had nearly 3000 years to get creative on baking without flour…
apple and almond passover cake
the beauty of this cake is that not only is it yeast free but its dairy free too… sure there is a bucket of eggs in there but its so light and moist it tastes so divine… the recipe draws its heritage from a Nigella recipe found in Feast and also her classic Clementine Cake but it’s also very similar to one of my mum’s passover cakes… it’s more than possible they both got it from the same old jewish lady…
3 apples – I used braeburn for the tartness – peeled, chopped and cored
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
8 eggs
325g ground almonds
275g caster sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
– place the apples, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and gently heat until the apples turn to mush. this should take about 10 minutes with the lid on.
– pour the eggs, ground almonds and sugar into a food processor or large bowl, add the cooled apples and blitz until well combined
– scrape this into a pre-greased and lined 25cm spring-form tin, sprinkle with the sliced almonds and bake in the oven at 180c for 45mins or until golden and risen
– this cake is divine served warm or cooled, so if you have little or no patience… yes Viking, I am talking to you… then go ahead and cut into it once it’s cooled down a bit…
i’m entering this into this months Tea Time Treats, hosted alternatively by Kate from What Kate Bakes and Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme for this month is Easter and I thought that rather go with the traditional I would make it my traditional Passover celebration which falls at the same time of year.
eat and of course, enjoy!
YUM! I am gradually being converted to baking…this food blogging business is TOO bad for me!
Ahhh! You know? I just love cakes … and a pretty cake is as close to heaven for me as …
well, let's just leave that one alone!
I was just looking at a new cookbook that came in the mail… by Diana Henry. It's called 'roast figs sugar snow – winter food to warm the soul'. She is my new foodie goddess. Anyway, she has an apple bread that looks heavenly … do you know of this woman, Dom?
i've not Susan but i'm about to google her now!… thanks for the tip x
I need more cake in my life, Dom. NEED! You hear me?
oh yum, yum, yum! I hope you gave it all way Dom or just had a tiny slice 😉
Love cakes with almonds. Taste fantastic and a great texture too. I'm with Fiona on this blogging and baking lark though. Much as I love the learning, I'm missing not being able to see my toes!
Looks gorgeous. Definitely time I made another cake!
It looks so moist. How could it be anything but delicious with 8 eggs and apples in it. The color is gorgeous too.
Wow, what a dense, moist creation. Just lovely! Wish I had a slice for afternoon snack.
OH YESS! What a fabulous cake for our Tea Time Treats challenge this month, and I LOVE almonds and apples together in all forms of baking and cooking……LOVELY LOVELY cake thanks Dom, now PASS it over okay?!
Karen
A moist and delicious cake for afternoon tea!
Almond cakes are the best aren't they? Particularly when they look as moist as this x
lovely recipe and photos Dom, but shame on you for encouraging so many uses of the word 'moist' (…ugh, shudder… that word, accurate though it may be, gives me the heebie jeebies)
: )
What a seriously good looking cake. What could be better than apple & almonds together? Mmmmm! x
Sounds delicious, & a change from my usual wheat free offer of orange & polenta.
Oh I simply must try this – I've made Nigella's Clementine Cake so many times and love it, so I'm looking forward to making this apple passover cake. Love a bit of history to accompany my cakes too.
First this looks amazing! I watched a special on PBS last year about 4 Jewish sisters who were in their late 80's & early 90's and did all the holiday cooking for their family gatherings – they were amazing – like your cake!
I wish I had a slice right now!!! I wouldn't believe this cake was yeast & dairy free if you didn't mention it, it looks so light! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! I think I'll make it for our next family get together!
I'll bet your home smelled amazing while this was baking in the oven! The smell of baked apples alone are yummy!
Thank you for your comment on my Peanut Butter and Chocolate pie too!
The cake looks so moist and wonderful! Wish I had a slice of it to enjoy right now!
This looks like a great gluten free cake. Nigella's Feast is one of my favourite books but have to admit I have not attempted her Clementine Cake, will definitely have to brush up on my baking skills. I have been reading a bit about Diana Henry lately but for the life of my can't remember where. You might also add to your list The Monday Morning Cooking Club if you don't already have it – I think it might be up your alley given the Passover Cake.
Well, this is definitely a fine alternative to the more usual apple cakes. Love the sound of it.
I was amazed to read through the list of the ingredients: simple yet delicious.
I think we've done quite well in 3000 years with our flour less cake inventions! 🙂 Apple and almond is a great combination – yum!
This looks lovely, BUT what is the second tablespoon of lemon juice used for?
good point!… ignore it!… not sure what happened there, Dx
Ooh yum Dom. You can't beat a good flourless almond cake and I love the idea of using apples – haven't come across that one before.
Sounds marvellous, I look almondy cakes and don't usually associate them with apple. Can I have a slice please?
Dom, I'm behind in my reading again, but I didn't realize you had Jewish heritage. I've never learned to bake without flour, but if I would to take the challenge (I'm still too timid) this cake would be high on the list. It's simple enough and love the use of apples and almonds…
This looks so damn tasty – I love the fact it's perfectly flat – courtesy of lack of raising agent. Definitely going to make this one 🙂
Oh this looks delicious and so perfect!
I would like to know by which ingredient could I replace these 8 eggs ?