1 (750ml) bottle vin santo, or sweet wine
1½ cups sugar
1 large cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
1 vanilla bean
1 orange, zest julienned
1 lemon, zest julienned
10 whole Bosc pears
1½ cups large dried figs
1½ cups large dried apricots
¾ cup large dried pitted prunes

Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baler. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes. Carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are tender.

Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

A bit of a “potchke” but worth it!

12  eggs, separated
2½ cups sugar, divided
1    pound ground almonds
½   pound bittersweet chocolate
2    tablespoons vanilla
1    cup (2 sticks) margarine
2    teaspoons coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat egg whites until stiff.  Slowly add 1-1/2 cups of the sugar.  Gently fold in the ground almonds.  Pour into 9 x 13-inch pan and bake for ½ hour.  In the meantime, melt chocolate and cool slightly.  Beat together egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, margarine and coffee.  Beat in the chocolate.  Pour over the baked layer and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool and freeze.  Thaw 10 minutes before serving.

Crust:
2 cups crushed ladyfingers
2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Filling:
3  (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
5 eggs
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

Topping:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
½ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix together the crushed ladyfingers and melted margarine and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.  Refrigerate.  Beat together cream cheese, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.  Pour half of batter on top of curst.  Add melted chocolate to remaining batter and mix well. Pour over filling in pan and run knife through to marbleize.  Bake for 60 minutes.  Mix together frosting ingredients and pour on top of cake.  Bake an additional 5 minutes.  Cool and refrigerate or freeze.

By Rivka Wilamowsky

5       egg yolks
1-¼ cups sugar
2       cups pareve whip
¾     cup lemon juice
1        lemon zested – optional ( adds a lot of flavor)
2       egg whites
¼   cup sugar

In a small bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg yolks until thick and creamy. Add sugar, continue beating til light yellow.
In another bowl whip the pareve whip. Add lemon juice and zest. Fold whip mixture into the lemon mix.
Pour into a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan. Cover and freeze for 5 hours or overnight.
Preheat broiler.
In a large bowl beat egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form.
Remove cake from freezer and spread the whites over the top. Place on the top rack of the oven. Broil for 1 minute watch the WHOLE TIME. It can burn quite fast; it will brown on the peaks. Cover and return to the freezer. Serve frozen.

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsalted margarine
Matzah
1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Coconut
Sliced almonds
Chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet that has sides with matzah.  Boil brown sugar and margarine until it comes to a rolling boil.  Pour over matzah spreading to cover.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Now sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.  Bake about 5 minutes to melt (the chips will look whole but may be melted).  Spread the melted chocolate chips evenly.  Now sprinkle with your choice of coconut, nuts or sliced almonds.  I do a little bit of each over different parts of the sheet. Put in refrigerator for 2 hours, do not cover.  Break into odd jagged shapes.  Freezes well.

4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup superfine sugar

Chocolate Ganache:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken in pieces
1/2 cup scalded pareve whip

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Beat whites until foamy in an electric mixer.  Add vanilla. While continuing to beat, add sugar one tablespoon at a time. When the mixture stands in stiff peaks on the beater, it is ready for baking. Fill a pastry bag with mixture and pipe onto parchment covered baking sheet, using star tip to create kisses or drop by the tablespoon.  Bake about 1 hour or longer, depending on the size. Do not remove from the oven at once, but turn off the oven, open the door and leave them for at least 5 minutes. Cool gradually, away from a draft. Remove them from the sheet when cool.

To prepare chocolate ganache, pour hot, scalded whip over chocolate. Blend until smooth. Cool.

To fill meringues, crush the bottom lightly with the thumb while still warm. Fill the hollows with chocolate ganache.

This dessert has become a Pesach family tradition in our home and it is the job of our oldest daughter to make it every year.

8 ounces semisweet chocolate
½ cup (1 stick) margarine
8 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar

teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Melt chocolate and margarine over very low heat.  Stir until smooth and set aside. Beat egg yolks with ¾ cup sugar.  Gradually stir in chocolate and vanilla.  Beat whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue beating until stiff.  Gently fold whites into chocolate mixture. Pour ¾ of batter into a 9-inch spring-form pan. Cover and refrigerate remaining batter.  Bake cake for 35 minutes.  Cool completely.  Spread remaining batter over top of cake.  Refrigerate or freeze.  Serves 10-12.

3 cups chocolate (whatever kind you like, depending on your taste preferences and if you would like it to be dairy or pareve)
1-1/2 cups toasted matzah farfel
¾ cup toasted chopped nuts (pecans, cashews, walnuts or almonds or some combination)
¼ cup dried apricots, diced
¼ cup chopped marshmallows
¼ cup dried cranberries

Melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring until smooth.  Add rest of ingredients, mixing well.  Line cookie sheets with waxed paper.  Drop tablespoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto the paper. Refrigerate until hardened.  Remove from waxed paper and place in Ziploc bags.  Store in freezer.

These are fudgy and gooey in the middle and always a big hit.  You can never have enough.  They are best served with vanilla ice cream.

1   cup oil
4   eggs
2   cups sugar
½  cup potato starch
1   teaspoon vanilla
1   cup cocoa
1   bag (2 cups) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients and pour into a 9-inch round or square baking pan.  Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes – until top is cracked.

4 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup potato starch
1 cup finely ground nuts
1 (6 ounce) package of chocolate chips
1 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix everything except the chocolate chips in a mixer.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.  Poke holes in the batter.  Bake 50 – 60 minutes.