Passover isn’t about what you can’t eat. It’s about all the wonderful food you can eat, whether it’s naturally chametz-free or creatively engineered to be that way (ahem, matzo s’mores). Here are 10 Passover dessert recipes, all from reputable sources with lots of positive reviews. Which one will you try this year?
Lemon Swirled Honey Cheesecake with Pistachio Crust
Cheesecake is simply one of the best desserts, Passover or not. This recipe features a lemon curd and creamy cheesecake filling, swirled together in a crust that uses pistachios and matzo meal.
Salted Tahini Swirled Olive Oil Brownies
How beautiful are these? That crackly crust. The tahini swirl. The sprinkle of Maldon salt. Tahini is an ingredient that everyone should be cooking and baking with year-round—and many of us do—but using it to dress up a batch of brownies feels extra appropriate during Passover.
Lighter-Than-Air Chocolate Cake
If the comments are any indication, this showstopper of a cake (four layers!) is one you’ll be making year-round. It’s inspired by the roulade cake Deb Perelman’s mom used to make for Passover when Deb was growing up. Turning it into a layer cake avoids the treacherous rolling step!
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Meringue cookies are made with very few ingredients, but there are lots of ways they can go wrong. This recipe has photos to accompany each step so you can make sure you’re doing it right.
Passover Apple Cake
This apple cake is super tender and tastes even better in the days after you make it. So even though you can eat it the day of, based on the testers’ comments, you might want to just consider it a make-ahead recipe and give it a day to hang out before you do.
Mixed Berry Crisp with Matzoh Streusel
Matzo is used in lots of different ways in Passover desserts, but it’s especially good when used in something like streusel. This recipe is also packed with fruit, so it’s perfect as a lighter dessert after a heavy meal.
Coconut Macaroon Brownies
Rich, fudgy brownies meet chewy, sweet macaroons in this mash-up from Jake Cohen’s brand-new cookbook, “Jew-ish.” There’s even a video of him making these scrumptious brownies so you can see exactly how it’s done.
Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch
No list of Passover desserts is complete without a matzo brittle recipe! This version is a great slate for your favorite mix-ins, such as the nuts of your choice (this one uses almonds), a dash of cayenne, cacao nibs, dried fruit or whatever else you think up.
Dorie Greenspan’s Coconut Patties
Dorie Greenspan is known for her sound technique and impressive baked goods. This recipe, which was originally included in “Dorie’s Cookies” in 2016, would make a great alternative to the traditional Passover coconut macaroon.
Lemon Curd with Berries
This very lemony curd is made with whole eggs instead of just the yolks, which gives it an extra-light texture. Bonus: It can be made two days ahead. Double bonus: Look how pretty it is!
