Passover these Wrecks
April 13, 2009 Let's hear it for my Jewish homies: Oyyy yeaaah!
Ok, obviously it's a bit difficult to find professional Passover cakes - Wrecks or otherwise - considering the whole leaven thing. However, I thought these were pretty amusing:
Hey, Passover is a celebration of the Israelites escaping Egypt, right? So Moses parting the Red Sea kind of counts as a Passover cake, right?
Well, I thought it was hilariously creative, anyway, so I had to share. Thanks to Blair T. for showing us how Divinity School students rock the party.
These next ones are more Label Wrecks than Cake Wrecks, but I think you'll agree they're Wrecks regardless. First, Niobe found this nicely packaged "Passover Coconut Cake"...
Complete with a "rich in tradition" greeting:
What's wrecky about that, you ask? Well, nothing. But wait...what's this on the back?
"Not Kosher for Passover?!?"Well, I guess if you are having a "a Passover rich in tradition," you'll just have to hope this cake keeps well for later.
At least they're upfront about it, though. Check out what I found over on Yodster's Flickr stream, titled "How a Russian Baker Makes a Cake Kosher for Passover."
Yodster even breaks it down into two handy steps:
Step 2: Add a star of David.
See? So easy, anyone can do it!
Reader Comments (61)
I'm pretty sure it's just a standard Moses action figure that happens to come with the staff and the tablets, and isn't actually any indication of his carrying the tablets across the Red Sea :)
I have to say, I kinda love that parting the red sea cake, there's just something about it... maybe the extra icing involved since the cake had to be cut in two. ;)
haha
baking powder is NOT forbidden on Passover. What is forbidden is of wheat, spelt, rye, barley or oats that have been in contact with water for 18 minutes without cooking. That is the definition of chametz. leavening is a bad translation. Kosher for Passover baking powder is available
WOW. Just WOW.
To give proper credit, the Moses/Parting-the-sea cake was the brainchild and creation of Betsy Neely, a Vanderbilt Divinity Student, for the Divinity School's annual spring gala in 2008. And I believe the cake was "Red" velvet under the frosting/waves.
Passover cake mixes and pre-made cakes are notoriously bad, so I was thrilled when my mother found the following recipe a few years ago. It's really good, and not just for Passover-- I've made it for the past few Thanksgivings, too.
Chocolate Mousse Cake 12 oz. chocolate chips
1 tbsp. sweet wine
1/2 cup margarine
4 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
~ Melt chocolate and wine in microwave.
~ Add margarine and mix.
~ Beat whites until stiff.
~ Beat yolks until creamy.
~ Add vanilla, salt, and chocolate to yolks and mix.
~ Fold whites into chocolate mixture.
~ Pour into greased and sugared 9" round cake pan.
~ Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
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Re: the "Not K4P" cake:
It actually IS Kosher for Passover in terms of ingredients, but it's probably not prepared under cleansed conditions.
It would fly at my relaxed kosher for passover house, though. We only worry about the ingredients.
This reminds me of the time a friend of mine found a "Great for Passover!" sign in a supermarket... advertising hams.
Sendingtheclowns,
I think you mean the Red Sea, not the Dead Sea. Whole different sea and depth. Let's not forget that the Hebrews (they weren't Israelites just yet) had wagons and the like. You can't pull those in deep nor shallow water. Mud's a big issue, as well as possible floatability or dumpability.
Also, had the waters not been parted, God wouldn't have thrown them back together in order to trap and destroy the pursuing Egyptians.
I hope this helps clear up things. If not, a little research does the trick.
I'm flabbergasted that some people do such possible trickery just to sell a product during Passover. Why provide it at all, if its not Kosher for Jews?
The Dead Sea cake reminds me of that Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson - "Moses Part His Hair..."
And Wreckerating See NO Color, See NO Creed. All are equal in our ability to wreck. Now let's all join hands and sing Kum Ba Ya.
Thanks for the Passover wrecks! Unfortunately, most of the traditional passover cake wrecks involve taste/texture, not appearance :(
*Loved* the Moses one, even if it wasn't technically correct (either religiously or ingredients-wise). And at least that Russian baker tried... failed miserably, but at least had got some of the concept. Better than those tales of hams other readers posted!! (?!?)
If the meal is fish or vegetarian (ie not meat), then dairy can be served. In which case, there are LOTS of options today. I've had great success with the Death by Chocolate cookbook series -- seriously chocoholic decadent options. If it's a fleishic meal (ie meat)... then it's a LOT tougher finding tasty yet parev passover-friendly cakes. There's a few matza-meal brownie recipes out there that are good, and Nigella Lawson's clementine cake (with K4P baking powder) works-- and is so good, I always keep some in my freezer for impromptu entertaining.
Regarding some of the posters' comments about Kosher for Passover (in case bakers read this and get confused):
* Kosher for Passover baking powder has potato starch, not corn starch
* More than just wheat/rye/barley, etc are not kosher. The Eastern European tradition (aka Ashkenazi) also rules out corn (hence the comments about corn starch and corn syrup), lentils, chick peas, soy, rice, etc. The Sephardi tradition (aka descendents of Spanish Jews) says those are fair game.
* if cooking/baking for people who may be religious, you can't use anything made from those ingredients, either-- so no pasta or soy sauce, for example. Or corn syrup.
* you can always use ground up or broken up matza, however. As long as the matza's K4P. (Yes, as crazy as it may sound, there is matza out there that isn't kosher for passover)
* you can technically have hametz (leavened goods) in the house, if you sell it to a non-Jew (and then buy it back). And obviously can't consume any of it during the 8 days of Passover-- since you don't own it! ;)
* passover baking: ground almonds and egg whites are your friends.
There's quite a few other rules & regs, so check with someone before you undertake a Passover dish. I'm not particularly observant, but I learned the rules so that I know and understand what I don't follow. Since I have family who are very observant, I tend to do the baking for passover because it can be such a minefield.