Delicious desserts can still be kosher

It's not easy to make desserts that taste good and still abide by Passover's dietary restrictions -- no flour, nothing leavened -- but it's not impossible.

Amy Levine, a 34-year-old regional property manager with Bright Horizons Family Solutions, says, "Almond raspberry torte is our official family favorite." Ground nuts replace flour, and beaten egg whites give the cake a lift. "It tastes so good that you almost feel like you're `cheating' and eating something you're not supposed to for Passover," says Levine.

Many Passover recipes call on cake meal to replace flour, giving a dry, crackerlike flavor. In her pineapple-carrot bake, Jessica Kinstlinger, 32, a clinical social worker at Children's Hospital, uses cake meal and potato starch. With most Passover desserts, Kinstlinger says, you ask, "Would I ever eat this any other time of year?" Her carrot bake passes the test.

Other cooks take a different approach. Ilene Hoffer, 33, makes chocolate pots de creme. "There are plenty of desserts that are inherently kosher for Passover -- no substitute ingredients required," says the director of public affairs for Bright Horizons Family Solutions. After learning how to make the chocolate pots de creme in a baking class, Hoffer made them a staple at Seders. Now, she says, "I will never buy a box of matzo meal or a Passover baking mix again!"

KERI FISHER