Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ As Passover quickly approaches the net is abuzz with kosher recipes, both innovative and traditional.  Yet none have been able to catch my eye as much as the ones from Levana Kirschenbaum.  Levana is the author of several cookbooks, including Levana Cooks Dairy-Free and Levana's Table: Kosher Cooking for Everyone, and she is a well-known chef in the NYC area, offering very popular cooking classes.  While I was inspired by Levana’s Sweet Potato Kugel recipe (sent out in her regular newsletter), I have latched onto a luscious recipe featured in one of her recent classes.  The class theme was “A Seder Feast,” and my recipe of choice (among the six incredible dishes) is the Chocolate Pecan Torte with Chocolate Glaze, which just happens to be gluten-free and dairy-free too! No more needs to be said, but the recipe of course …

CHOCOLATE PECAN TORTE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, best quality
2 1/2 cups pecans
1 1/4 cups sugar.
2 sticks margarine.
2 tablespoons brandy
6 eggs

Glaze:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, or 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks margarine
Perfect pecan halves, toasted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the chocolate at very low temperature, or in a microwave. Grind the nuts with a little of the sugar in a food processor until fine but not greasy. Set aside. Cream remaining sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and process just until combined. Add the margarine, brandy and eggs and process a few more pulses. Fold in the nuts with a spatula. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10" springform pan. Bake 30 minutes. While the cake cools, make the glaze
Melt the chocolate and the margarine on a very low flame or in a microwave. Dip the bottom of each pecan halves in the melted mixture. Place on a plate and refrigerate. Spread the remaining chocolate mixture evenly on the cake. Decorate the edges with the dipped pecan halves.

See Levana's website for more great recipes, including another Seder Feast recipe, Lamb Shanks Dry Fruit Stew. 

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons