Egg Whites Blues

It happened again. The egg white curse. It's fickle. It's maddening. It can render a perfectly beautiful walnut Passover torte into a smoldering ruin. This year it struck twice, so my hazelnut torte ended up in the garbage and my Maida Heatter's Chocolate Walnut Torte, which rose to glorious heights last year, sank as I removed it from the cake pan.

Yes, it's Passover, one of my favorite Jewish holidays--except for the egg whites. Because Passover recipes don't use flour or any leavening products, the success of the cake relies on the egg whites, which are beaten until stiff and folded into the batter. I'm happy to say that the orange cake, pictured above, was a complete success, worthy of being memorialized here. The other two cakes will languish in obscurity. Rightfully so. The surprise in this cake is that it uses whole oranges, which are boiled until soft and then ground up--pulp, rind and all. This makes the cake moist and delicious. Now I'm thinking of other uses for cooked oranges. Any ideas?


Claudia Roden's Orange Cake
from The New York Times Passover Cookbook

2 thin-skinned juice oranges
1.5 cups blanched almonds
1 cup sugar
6 large eggs, separated
Pareve unsalted margarine and matzoh meal for preparing cake pan
Confectioners' sugar, for decoration (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Scrub the oranges well. Place the oranges in a covered pot with a few inches of water and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour, or until they are soft and may easily be pierced with a fork. Remove the oranges from the water and let cool. Cut open and remove the seeds.
3. In a food processor or by hand, mince the pulp and peel of the oranges very finely.
4. In a blender or food processor, grind the almonds with 1/2 cup sugar to the consistency of coarse flour. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, adding the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and minced orange. Blend in the egg yolks.
5. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the orange-nut mixture.
6. Grease a 10-inch springform cake pan with margarine and then dust with matzoh meal. Pour the cake mixture into the pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is lightly browned and the cake feels firm (but not hard) to the touch.
7. Place the cake on a rack to cool. Run a knife around the side, release the springform and remove the ring. Let the cake cool completely before attempting to remove it from the bottom of the pan (or serve from the pan bottom).
8. Before serving, the cake may be dusted with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Makes 8 to 10 servings