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Corn Latkes

Try switching up your Chanukah menu this year. Make these corn latkes instead of (or in addition to) traditional potato latkes.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ears of corn
  • ½ lb. cottage cheese
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 tbsp. cornflake crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • Olive oil for frying

Directions:

  1. Boil corn, cut kernels off the cob.
  2. Mix all ingredients together.
  3. Heat oil.
  4. Scoop batter into the oil. Fry 3–4 minutes on one side. Flip and fry another 1–2 minutes.
  5. Remove from oil, drain on a paper towel.
  6. Repeat until all batter is fried.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields: 12 medium latkes


Dreidel-Shaped Ricotta Ravioli

Get into the spirit of Chanukah with these unique dreidel-shaped ravioli. You can use the filling and sauce of your choice. I used a ricotta filling because on Chanukah it’s traditional to eat dairy foods to remember the Jewish heroine Yehudit.

Dough Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil

Filling Ingredients:

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese, drained
  • ½ tsp. oregano
  • ½ tsp. basil
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Put all the dough ingredients (flour, salt, eggs and oil) into a food processor and pulse until dough forms a soft crumb. Pour the crumbs onto your surface and bring together into a ball of dough. Cover with saran wrap and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl combine the filling ingredients. Set aside.
  3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Keep the pieces wrapped in saran wrap until you’re ready to use them.
  4. Roll the first piece of dough through a pasta machine until it’s paper thin - between 1/8th and 1/16th of an inch. Place spoonfuls of the filling along the dough, 1-2 inches apart, until half-way down the pasta sheet. Brush the dough around the filling with egg wash and gently fold over the second half of the dough to cover the filling. Gently press down around the filling, as you go, making sure there are as few air pockets as possible.
  5. Use a dreidel-shaped cookie cutter to cut around each pocket of filling and press the edges well, to make sure they are properly sealed. (If you do not have a dreidel cookie cutter, you can cut them free-hand with a knife.)
  6. Set the ravioli aside and repeat with the remaining dough and filling, until there is none left.
  7. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, drop the ravioli into the pot, a few at a time. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until pasta is tender and ravioli have floated to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with your favorite sauce.

Yields: Approximately 20-25 ravioli


Chanukah Party Surprise Cake

Have any Chanukah parties on the agenda? If so, you’ll definitely need one Chanukah Party Surprise Cake. Serve it at your own party, or bring it along to a friend’s. But make sure you don’t tell anyone what’s inside until they cut it open and see for themselves!

Use this recipe, or any other cake recipe—even a boxed mix will do. What makes this cake exciting is the surprise element. You’ll need lots of chocolate coins for the center.

Note: This recipe is for a huge cake that feeds 35-40 people. If you’re making it for a smaller crowd, you can easily halve the recipe and use smaller baking pans.

Cake Ingredients:

  • 2⅔ cups oil
  • 4½ cups sugar
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups cocoa
  • 5½ cups flour
  • 4 tsp. coffee dissolved in 3½ cups hot water
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla
  • 2 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1 tbsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

  1. Cream the oil, sugar and eggs.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.
  3. Pour into three or four 10-inch round pans and bake at 325° until a toothpick comes out clean. Approximately 45 minutes.
  4. Remove the cakes from the oven, and set the pans on cooling racks. When the cakes are fully cooled, gently ease them out of the pans, cut off the tops so they are flat on both sides, and freeze for several hours (freezing allows for easier construction).
  5. Prepare the frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

This is the recipe I used, but again—feel free to use any great recipe you have, or canned frosting for convenience.

  • 1 cup margarine or butter
  • 3 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • ½ cup milk or non-dairy creamer

Directions:

  1. Cream margarine.
  2. Add rest of ingredients and mix until smooth.

To Assemble:

  1. Take the layers out of the freezer, unwrap the first cake and spread frosting around its perimeter.
  2. Unwrap the second layer and cut a hole in the center. Place it on top of the first cake—the frosting will make it stick.
  3. Unwrap the third layer and cut a hole in its center, like with the previous layer. Frost and stack. It doesn’t matter if the holes don’t match up perfectly. If you’re making a smaller cake and want to skip one layer, this is the one to pass.
  4. Fill the hole with chocolate coins (I used a whole box), then frost the edges and stack the final cake on top. Do not unwrap the chocolate coins – you want them shiny.
  5. Leave the cake as is, or frost the outside. Make it as plain or fancy as you like.

This cake is also fun to make with kids. If you’re going to a Chanukah party, make it with your kids and let them enjoy the surprise everyone else gets when you cut it open.




When republishing please cite the author (Miriam Szokovski) as well as Chabad.org/Food. Photos available for download below.

About Chabad.org

Chabad.org is the largest Jewish faith based website with 1.8 million unique monthly visitors and tens of thousands of articles covering all areas of Judaism, it serves as Judaism’s homepage for millions since the late 1980s.

About Miriam Szokovski

Miriam Szokovski is the Australian-born editor of Chabad.org/food, the food site of the largest Jewish information website. Miriam, an author and food writer, has been providing quality Kosher cooking recipes and essays to various audiences for years. She recently launched a blog, Cook It Kosher, on Chabad.org/Food.

Contact Information

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