Tag Archives: Chocolate

Sweet & Salty Matzoh Crunch

This sweet & salty matzoh crunch is delicious and utterly addictive, as my husband and chief recipe taster discovered this week.

Montreal baker and cookbook author Marcy Goldman is the originator of Matzoh Crunch. The recipe is published in her first cookbook, “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking”. Matzoh crunch is essentially a layer of matzoh covered in brown sugar-butter caramel and topped with a blanket of melted dark chocolate.

This is my adaptation of her recipe. I have elevated matzoh crunch to the next level, by sprinkling on salted toasted almonds, Passover pretzel thins and toasted coconut flakes. I used a total of 4 different kinds of chocolate for this over the top confection. A base of milk chocolate, and then decorative swirls of white, blonde and bittersweet chocolate. It’s fancy AF.

Watch the video to see how it all comes together.

As with anything you bake, if you start with top quality ingredients, you will yield a better outcome. Most recipes I have seen for matzoh crunch call for melted chocolate chips as the top layer. The problem is that chocolate chips are not formulated to melt smoothly. They contain less cocoa butter so that they hold their shape. This is great for chocolate chip cookies, but not so great when you want a velvety smooth coating. So start with a good quality chocolate that is meant for melting. I love Valrhona. I order it online from Vanilla Food Company.

Blonde chocolate, is a more recent addition to the chocolate family. It is essentially caramelized white chocolate. You could make your own, or buy Valrhona’s which is marketed under “Dulcey“. This is not a Valrhona sponsored post, I just really love their chocolate!

Click here to print recipe for Sweet & Salty Matzoh Crunch.

Pretzel Crusted Turtle Brownies

I posted these decadent bars 8 years ago and decided that it was time for a makeover. Here is my image from 2014. I have learned a few things about photography and styling since that time and it’s so rewarding to look back and appreciate my progress.

In addition to new photos, I have also updated the recipe slightly. I replaced the middle chocolate layer with Michael Smith’s brownie recipe, the best ever brownie recipe. And I changed the top caramel layer to a sturdier, chewier consistency, using Sally’s recipe for caramel candies.

I produced a little video so you can watch how they come together.

One bite of these bars transports you through an amazing texture and flavour journey. Crunchy pecans, chewy caramel, fudgy brownies and a salty crumbly pretzel crust. All in one little bar.

Deluxe Matzoh Crunch

Montreal baker and cookbook author Marcy Goldman is the originator of Matzoh Crunch. The recipe is published in her first cookbook, “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking”. Matzoh crunch is essentially a layer of matzoh covered in brown sugar-butter caramel and topped with a blanket of melted dark chocolate.

This is my adaptation of her recipe. I have elevated matzoh crunch to the next level, by piping a decorative topping of white, milk and blonde chocolate. It looks fancy but it’s quite simple to do. 

As with anything you bake, if you start with top quality ingredients, you will yield a better outcome. Most recipes I have seen for matzoh crunch call for melted chocolate chips as the top layer. The problem is that chocolate chips are not formulated to melt smoothly. They contain less cocoa butter so that they hold their shape. This is great for chocolate chip cookies, but not so great when you want a velvety smooth coating. So start with a good quality chocolate that is meant for melting. I love Valrhona. I order it online from Vanilla Food Company.

Blonde chocolate, is a more recent addition to the chocolate family. It is essentially caramelized white chocolate. You could make your own, or buy Valrhona’s which is marketed under “Dulcey“. This is not a Valrhona sponsored post, I just really love their chocolate!

Double Chocolate Almond Butter Bark

Today, an old favourite gets a makeover. I have been making this treat for many years to give away as part of a holiday cookie box. It is always met with awe at how pretty it is and, more importantly, how addictively delicious it is. The original was made with peanut butter but this year, I went rogue and used almond butter.

There is no baking involved and that gorgeous marbling effect on top takes about 40 seconds to create. No skill involved. It’s the perfect last minute holiday present or hostess gift. Everyone loves it and people will be impressed by your mad pastry chef skills.


A few tips to make sure yours comes out perfectly.

  • Line the baking pan with foil and then lay a piece of parchment paper on top of that.
  • Use real white chocolate, not white compound coating chocolate. Real white chocolate is ivory coloured. Compound coating chocolate is white and tasted like wax.
  • Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water, or on very low power in the microwave. White chocolate does not like high heat. You will scorch it.
  • I suggest adding chopped almonds to the mixture for extra crunch. Please use toasted almonds. Untoasted almonds take like sawdust when you chew them. Salted roasted almonds are an excellent choice.
  • Use good quality bittersweet chocolate for drizzling.
  • Don’t forget to finish it with flaky sea salt while the chocolate is still wet.
  • Give the bark at least 2 hours to chill before cutting it.
  • A large sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife is easiest for cutting into nice squares, although no one will complain if they get irregular shards.

Go forth and create. This confection is one of my favourites to make. I feel so artistic when I swirl the wet chocolate and create beauty.

Click here to print recipe for Double Chocolate Almond Butter Bark.

 

Marbled Matzoh Crunch

Marbled Matzoh Crunch is my spin on Marcy Goldman’s “Caramel Matzoh Buttercrunch”, from her classic book, A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking.

Making Matzoh Crunch, on the surface, looks like a fairly simple process.

But, there are a few details you need to pay careful attention to, so that it comes out perfectly.

  1. Make sure you line the baking sheet with foil and then lay a sheet of parchment on top of that. If you use only parchment paper, you will be scrubbing baked on caramel off the pan. If you use only foil, you will have a very hard time peeling the hardened matzoh crunch off of the foil.
  2. Do not use chocolate chips. Buy good quality bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate and chop it up, or buy couverture chocolate callets. Chocolate chips have less cocoa butter in them so they keep their shape during baking, making them more difficult to melt and they have less flavor than bars or callets.
  3. Use real white chocolate. Many products out there that look like white chocolate, especially chips, contain very little, if any, cocoa butter.They will not melt into a smooth liquid, like real white chocolate.
  4. When cutting your matzoh to fit into the baking sheet, cut along the dotted lines the matzoh has, not across them. It will cut into straight pieces.
  5. When cooking the butter and brown sugar, you will get to a point where the butter will separate from the brown sugar and look like an oily mess. Keep stirring and it will come together and thicken and bubble. That’s when it’s ready to pour onto the matzoh.
  6. Do not omit the step where you sprinkle the wet chocolate with the sea salt. Chocolate and caramel are sweet. You need the salt.
  7. Once the chocolate is set, remove it from the fridge and let it sit for about 30 minutes before cutting it into pieces. If you cut it cold, right from the fridge, the chocolate layer will separate from the caramel covered matzoh. If you wait until the chocolate softens a bit, it will stay sogether with the caramel. A very sharp knife is essential. For an alternate version, use milk chocolate and chopped toasted almonds. Also very delicious. 

Click here to print recipe for Marbled Matzoh Crunch.

Click here to print recipe for Milk Chocolate Almond Matzoh Crunch.