Rout Cakes and Royal Icing
Delicious Biscuits for the Jewish Festival of Passover
Passover, like all Jewish festivals, has special foods like Cinnamon Balls and Coconut Pyramids. These use just egg whites. This Rout Cake recipe will use the egg yolks.
Passover relates the story of an historical event when the Jews gained their freedom from Egyptian slavery. For many this festival means lots of hard work. All traces of leaven must be removed from the house and synagogue. Leaven is food that will ferment, rise or turn sour and this includes bread, biscuits, cakes or any product that contains yeast or baking powder.
The festival begins with a meal at which the story of the escape from slavery is recited. It is considered a blessing to share food with family and friends and anyone who might otherwise be forced to eat alone. Everything about this meal including the type of food and the order in which it is eaten is set out in a book called the Haggadah.
Forbidden Foods
During Passover only unleavened foods can be eaten. It sounds easy but the forbidden foods include rye, oats, wheat, spelt and barley. In addition, some Jews won't eat rice or pulses during this festival. Only food prepared especially "kosher for Passover" such as matzo should be consumed. This doesn't mean we go without cakes or biscuits or puddings. Indeed, the dietary restrictions mean that the Jewish cook is at his/her most imaginative at this time.
Many of the recipes for small cakes and biscuits use a lot of egg whites so this is a recipe that will use up those left over egg yolks. Although these cakes are called Rout Cakes they are really more like biscuits than cakes.
Ingredients:
Basic mix for biscuits:
- 225g/8 oz Ground almonds
- 225g/8 oz Caster sugar
- 4 egg yolks
Royal Icing for Decoration - Optional
- 225g/8 oz Icing sugar
- Lemon juice
- 1 egg white very lightly beaten
Method:
For the Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/325 degrees F/Gas mark 2
- Mix together the sugar and almonds in a large bowl
- Beat the egg yolks and add only sufficient to make a pliable mixture
- Dredge icing sugar over a pastry board
- Roll out the mixture to about one third of an inch thick and leave in a cool place for at least one hour
- Form the dough into any shape, circles, twirls or half moons, or roll out and cut into biscuits with a pastry cutter
- Place on a well greased baking tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes in a cool oven until firm to touch
- Allow to cool and either decorate with Royal icing or simply sprinkle with icing sugar
Make the Royal Icing:
- Sieve the sugar through a fine sieve
- Make a well in the centre of the sugar
- Beat the egg white very lightly and add to the sugar
- Add the lemon juice
- Beat well until the mixture is very smooth
- Using tongs to dip the biscuits in the Royal Icing to decorate
If the icing is prepared in advance or if there is a surplus after decorating the biscuits you can prevent it from drying out by keeping it well covered with a damp cloth.
Cinnamon Balls and Coconut Pyramids are also very popular during the festival of Passover.
