Apricot kuchen is icing on the cake at Kosher Dinner

The dessert that is now the traditional finale at Temple Beth Shalom’s annual Kosher Dinner almost wasn’t.

Longtime volunteer Lois Rubens says she can’t remember the exact year congregation members decided to serve apricot kuchen for dessert, but she does remember what happened next.

“The printed matter was all done, of course, promising the kuchen,” she says. As members of the congregation began baking for the dinner, they found the kuchen recipe had a flaw.

“It was delicious right from the oven,” Rubens says. “But as it cooled, we realized that it was not edible. So, we went to the store, four of us, and we walked up and down the aisles and we commiserated and commiserated and commiserated and finally came up with this recipe.”

They returned to the temple kitchen with a new plan for the kuchen – and it failed and failed. No matter what they tried the Bundt cake was sinking by an inch or more as it cooled.

“We were frantic,” Rubens says.

Just in time, the bakers realized the cake needed to be beaten longer because of the sugar added to the mixes. The apricot kuchen has been the dessert ever since.

The Temple Beth Shalom congregation is serving its 70th annual Kosher Dinner on Sunday. It has grown from humble beginnings into a feast of traditional Jewish recipes served to some 2,200 people.

The dinner is big enough that the congregation had to enlist help from the Super 1 Foods bakery, which makes the traditional challah bread and apricot kuchen. Temple members still prepare the kosher beef brisket, potato knishes, carrot tzimmes, Mediterranean spiced apples and an assortment of appetizers including, kosher dill pickles, sauerkraut, pickled beets, garbanzo beans and horseradish.

Congregation members bake traditional treats to sell at the deli bar during the dinner, including that initially troublesome kuchen (recipe follows). Many make recipes handed down through families, says Rebecca Lee, the dinner’s publicity chairwoman.

“The wonderful thing about the Jewish desserts, and traditional Jewish recipes in general, is that like many traditions in different cultures, the recipes are handed down from generation to generation,” Lee says. 

“I have my mom’s hamantaschen recipe that was my great-grandmother’s and I will pass it down to my children.  It didn’t come from a cookbook that I am aware of.”

Hamantaschen, a Yiddish term that means “Haman’s pockets,” are triangular cookies with jam in the middle traditionally made during the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is March 19 this year.

It commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from Haman’s plan to destroy them. Hamantaschen are folded to resemble Haman’s three-cornered hat.

Hamantaschen will be sold at the deli bar during this year’s dinner. Desserts also will include rugelach, traditional Jewish cookies shaped like small crescent rolls.

After 70 years, temple members say they still love opening the doors to share a meal and their culture with the community at the annual dinner.

For those who can’t make it, congregation members shared family recipes for some of their favorite desserts.

Apricot Kuchen

Recipe courtesy of Temple Beth Shalom Annual Kosher Dinner.

1 Duncan Hines Deluxe yellow cake mix (no pudding)

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 1/4 cups liquid ( 1/2 water and 1/2 apricot nectar)

1/3 cup apricot preserves, which have been pureed

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat on high speed for 5 minutes (because of the extra sugar). 

Bake in greased or sprayed Bundt pan at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done. Let cool for a few minutes and turn out. 

This cake freezes well.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Rugelach

Recipe courtesy of Muriel Rubens, handed down to her from Bertha Diskin.

For the dough:

1 package active dry yeast

3 cups flour

1/2 pound butter

3 egg yolks

1 cup sour cream

For the topping:

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Sprinkle yeast over flour in bowl. Add butter and cut in using a pastry blender. Add egg yolks to the sour cream and then mix with flour mixture. 

Split prepared dough into 8 balls. Cover each ball individually with wax paper and chill. 

Once the dough is chilled, roll each in the cinnamon sugar topping and roll out into a 9-inch circle.  Cut into 16 wedges. Sprinkle with additional topping, as desired.

Roll the triangles starting at the wide end. Bake on a slightly greased pan at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Yield: 128 rugelach 

Hamantaschen

Temple Beth Shalom members gathered during baking days before the dinner to make goodies, including hamantaschen, for the deli bar at the Kosher Dinner. Recipe courtesy of Temple Beth Shalom Annual Kosher Dinner.

For the dough:

3 sticks margarine

2 cups sugar

6 eggs

4 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

3/4 pound prunes

1/2 pound dates

1/3 pound raisins

3/4 pound walnuts

10 ounces strawberry jam

1/4 (No. 2) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)

3 ounces lemon juice

For the glaze:

6 eggs

Cream margarine and sugar; add eggs, juice and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill dough before rolling out. 

To make the filling, grind prunes, dates, raisins and nuts. Add rest of ingredients, including pineapple juice. Mix with hands until there are no lumps.

When the dough has chilled, roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut circles from the dough with an 8-ounce water glass. Place 3/4 teaspoon filling in center of dough. Pinch dough together in center to form three-cornered hat. Brush each pastry with beaten eggs that have been diluted slightly with water. Place on greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden. 

Yield: 12 to 16 dozen hamantaschen