Build The Ultimate Passover Chocolate Cake With Coffee-Soaked Matzo

For Jews observing Passover, matzo is a must-have for the holiday. Not only as the ideal vehicle for fruity, spicy haroset, or of course, ground into a powder and formed into the quintessential, traditional matzo balls, but as an ingenious hack for baking rich desserts without the leavening. During Passover, food made with leavenings, or "chametz" — such as pasta, crackers, and bread — are avoided for the duration of the eight days, meaning traditional cake ingredients like baking powder and soda are off limits for observant Jews. This decadent cake is made with matzo combined with rich melted chocolate and bittersweet coffee, creating a delicate, stunning layered dessert that will impress your guests or elevate your traditional seder meal. If you're a fan of scooping into a rich tiramisu or a chocolate torte with towering layers, you'll want to bookmark this rich Passover treat.

Like most Passover recipes involving matzo, it's a simple one — you'll only need heavy cream (non-dairy varieties will work too), a cup of brewed coffee, a box of matzo, and dark chocolate. If you're busy in the kitchen, this is one thing to check off early as it can (and should) be made ahead of time, giving the flavors of chocolate and coffee a chance to richen overnight in the fridge as the layers soften and flavors soak into one another.

To make, microwave 1 ¾ cups of chopped dark chocolate until fully melted, then fold in 1 ¼ cups of heavy cream until you have a smooth mixture — this will become your frosting. Beat an additional ¾ cup heavy cream into soft peaks, and gently combine with your frosting. 

For the "cake" itself, dunk sheets of matzo — five in total — one at a time into a cup of coffee poured into a flat platter or dish. Let each sheet fully absorb the coffee before removing and assembling your cake, lasagna style. Layer a sheet of matzo then coat with a dollop of the chocolate cream, continuing this alternating pattern with all five sheets and topping your cake with chocolate frosting. Be sure to cover with a lid of some sort or a sheet of plastic wrap so the layers retain their moisture and don't dry out when sitting in the fridge overnight. 

While forgoing many pantry staples like bread, cereal, and crackers might sound restrictive, necessity is the mother of invention. The holiday has inspired ingenuity in the kitchen, prompting those who observe it to innovate with decadent and satisfying substitutes over the eight days. Such as this cake and a host of other treats like the essential chocolate dipped matzo — an addictive crunchy chocolate treat so easy to make that it barely counts as a recipe. And if you were wondering, luckily, coffee is fair game for Passover, even for Orthodox Jews – as traditional, plain coffee is Kosher.

Admittedly, matzo might not be a star on its own — it's the most basic of foods made with only flour and water and is akin to an unsalted plain cracker. While it may be lacking in flavor on its own, and intentionally so, it's rich in religious significance. Matzo (or matzah as it's also sometimes spelled), is eaten each Passover for symbolic reasons, to commemorate the plight of the Jews who fled from Egypt in ancient times.

And modern-day cooks don't let matzo's less than exciting flavor profile deter them — because much like other foods that are plain jane on their own but transform with a little boost from seasoning and proper preparation (looking at you, boring-on-its-own tofu!) matzo provides the perfect blank slate to be reimagined into all sorts of dishes both savory and sweet. With some creativity and imagination, it can be used in place of off-limits chametz in nearly any dish you can imagine — from saucy lasagna, to a stand-in for sandwich bread, to this rich layered chocolate cake.