Passover brownies don't need leavening

Associated Press

Passover is celebrated with special songs, meals and customs — and the challenge to prepare great-tasting foods without leavening.

One way of meeting this challenge is with this Fudge Nut Passover Brownie recipe, which uses cake meal in place of flour to produce a moist fudge cake with crunchy texture from toasted almonds. Another advantage: The recipe requires only three simple steps.

If you wish, add fresh strawberries, sliced or whole, to your dessert platter. For variety, make a batch of brownies with chopped walnuts instead of almonds.

Fudge Nut Passover Brownie

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup matzo cake meal
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped
• Fresh strawberries (optional)

Heat oven to 325 F. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil; lightly butter foil.

Melt à cup butter; set aside to cool slightly. Using spoon, beat eggs slightly in medium bowl. Add sugar, beat well. Stir in cocoa and melted butter until well blended. Stir in matzo cake meal, then chopped nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until brownie is set and surface is shiny. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan; remove and discard foil. Cut in squares. Place on serving plate with strawberries, if desired.

Makes 16 brownies.

Note: To toast almonds, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds in thin layer in shallow baking pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown; cool completely before chopping.

Nutritional information per brownie: 150 calories, 8 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated fat), 50 milligrams sodium.