Ideas wanted: Passover desserts

[redbird]

My aunt called a couple of hours ago, confirmed that we'll be at the seder, and asked me to bring a dessert.

Now I need to think of something. cattitude pointed out the existence of suitable bakeries; the problem is that most of them have been taking pre-orders for weeks, and may or may not have anything available for someone who just learned that she needs to bring dessert to a seder, especially since they will be closed during the actual holiday. (A side point here is that this is for Friday, and I'd have to pick up any cake from a kosher bakery no later than Tuesday evening.)

I am looking for suggestions of either things that would be easy for me to prepare, or sources of suitable desserts that I (living and working in Manhattan) can get to. I will almost certainly try the place I normally get rye bread, tomorrow, but they may not have anything. I may also try Zabar's and/or Fairway, because what's to lose?

If possible, the dessert should be parve. It also needs to be something that I can transport sanely on a rush hour train Friday morning, that will survive without refrigeration for a few hours if necessary. (Yes, there is an office refrigerator; whether there will be space in it for a middle-sized box next Friday is a separate question.)

Addendum: If the recipe contains flour and you don't specifically know it's suitable for Passover, it almost certainly isn't. Also, while I may consider sorbet as a fallback, there's a perfectly good supermarket a block from my aunt's house, so if we want something along those lines, she can get it there.

Comments

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

FLourless Chocolate Torte (not really a torte but that's what the recipe was called when I got it)
1/2 c. pareve margarine
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
5 eggs, separated
3/4 c sugar + 2 t. for garnish
1 c. ground almonds (I use a coffee grinder)
Preheat over to 350F. Grease 9" springform pan. Line bottom and sides of pan with foil; grease foil as well. (I usually just make it in a glass pie dish and serve it right in that pan, instead of messing with the foil and double greasing.) Heat margarine ad chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat (I use a double boiler or small pot set in larger pot full of water.) Let cool. Beat egg whites in large bowl at high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form. Beat egg yolks and sugar in another bowl until pale. Blend in chocolate mixture. Stir in almonds. Fold in egg whites one third at a time and mix until no white streaks remain. Scrape into pan. Place 8" baking pan with 1" of water on bottom shelf of over. Bake torte on center shelf of oven for 45-50 minutes or until pull away from pan. Cover loosely with foil for last 20 minutes of baking. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto plate. Garnish with pulverised sugar and berries, if desired.

As noted I usually just bake and serve it in a glass pie dish and skip the inverting part. This is not a touchy recipe; it's fine if quantities are a little off or if you want to add a glug of Amaretto or Kahlua. This comes out rich and dense and intensely chocolatey, and is good enough that I make it any time of year, not just at Passover.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

This looks very like the cake my father used to make with ground hazelnuts. He also called it a torte. I thought a torte was defined by having ground nuts replace some of the flour, so I don't see why it wouldn't count. Do you have any idea how transportable it is? (I just had an unsettling thought about making it myself, and bringing it on the bus from Boston. You know...we left in such haste that there was no time for our bread to rise, and all we could do was beat egg whites.)

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

It's reasonably sturdy. Whether you use the springform pan or a pie dish, I'd advise leaving it in the pan for transport. It would be best to carry it flat, but since it's not an iced cake, if you wrap it well in plastic wrap so it can't fall out of the pan, just carrying it on eedge in a bag ought to be OK.

I'm sure it would work well with hazelnuts instead of almonds, just a subtly different flavor. Whichever you can find and grind.