Pineapple/Nut Passover Sponge Cake
Submitted by travsancam
Passover sponge cake with pineapple juice concentrate, almonds, lemon and orange zest, made with potato starch and cake meal. Light, airy, and flour-free.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
35 minCOOK
55 minREADY
180 minPassover baking without regular flour is a real challenge, and this sponge cake rises to it beautifully. Potato starch and cake meal replace wheat flour, while ten beaten egg whites provide all the lift. No leavening, no butter, just pure egg power creating a tall, airy cake that happens to be kosher for Pesach.
Frozen pineapple juice concentrate is the flavor secret here. It brings a tropical sweetness and acidity that standard sugar can’t, and it plays off the lemon and orange zest to create a bright, citrusy cake that doesn’t taste like it’s missing anything.
The folding technique is precise: 12 sweeping strokes to incorporate the yolks, 12 more for the dry ingredients, and 12 final strokes for the almonds. This careful counting prevents deflating all that air you whipped into the whites.
Kitchen Tips
- Beat the whites to stiff and glossy peaks, not dry. Overbeaten whites are grainy and collapse when folded
- Lighten the yolk mixture first by stirring in half a cup of beaten whites. This loosens it so the main fold goes smoothly
- Do not grease the tube pan. The batter needs to cling to the sides as it rises. Grease causes it to slide and collapse
- Cool the cake inverted on a bottle or jar for the full 1 ½ hours. Gravity keeps the delicate structure stretched tall while it sets
Variations
- Swap the almonds for walnuts or hazelnuts for a different nut flavor
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder (Passover-certified) to the dry ingredients for a chocolate-pineapple version
- Serve with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries alongside
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
Line the bottom of a 9 inch tube pan with a doughnut shaped piece of wax paper, notching around the cun center circle every inch.
Do not grease pan.
Sift first 4 ingredients. into a bowl.
Set aside.
Separate eggs, droping 4 yolks into one mixing machine bowl and 10 whites into another.
Using whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.
Turn speed up to high.
Sprinkle in half the sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.
Set bowl with yolks on machine.
Beat until light.
Sprinkle in remaining sugar, zests and concentrate.
Beat on high speed until well blended.
Using a wooden spoon, stir about a ½ cup of beaten whites into yolks.
Then pour all of yolk mixture over beaten egg whites.
Fold in by hand in 12 sweeping strokes.
Sift dry ingredients again over all and continue folding for another 12 strokes.
Sprinkle and fold in nuts (another 12 strokes would suffice.) Spoon into prepared pan, smoothing out top.
Run a blunt knife around sides to dispel any air bubbles.
Bake in Center section of oven for 55 minutes.
Top should be lightly browned and toothpick, when inserted, should come out clean.
Remove from oven and invert tube onto a 3-cup mason jar with a 1½ inch neck, or any convenient holder that will fit the tube.
Cool for 1½ hours.
Gently unmold.
Peel off wax paper.
When completely cooled, sift confectioner’s sugar over.
Cut with sharp serrated knife, or pull apart servings with fork.
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