Our 3-Ingredient Matzo Cake Is A Passover-Friendly Delight

The rich, caramelly flavor of dulce de leche is the perfect match for the bittersweet notes of a really good dark chocolate. Layer these with softened matzos that melt into the dulce de leche but still have a pleasant bite to them, and with no baking involved and only three pantry-friendly ingredients, you have a dessert that ticks all the boxes on easy, family-friendly, and delicious. With nothing but matzo sheets, your choice of chocolate, and sweet, caramelly dulce de leche, this cake is easy to make but looks show-stoppingly complicated and impressive. As you cut into the layers and reveal the colors and textures inside, you'll be reminded of just how good three simple and perfect ingredients can taste together.

Over the years, I've made countless Passover desserts for my family and my blog, At the Immigrant's Table. Many Passover dishes involve copious amounts of eggs or specialty ingredients like matzo meal, and can be rather finicky. So more often than not, I find myself making different versions of this 3-ingredient matzo cake. If you're stressed about what to make for dessert this Passover, our
3-ingredient matzo cake just may be the solution you're looking for.

To make this easy rendition of an old-fashioned matzo cake, you'll need matzo squares, a jar of dulce de leche, and a high-quality chocolate bar. When making this for Passover, make sure your ingredients are labelled specifically as kosher for Passover. If you're making the cake for those of Jewish European descent, avoid any chocolate with soy lecithin. If finding kosher for Passover dulce de leche is proving difficult, making your own is actually quite easy.

Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap.

Fill a shallow bowl or casserole dish with a bit of water. Dip a matzo square in water for 1 second, and then set it in the prepared pan.

Spread dulce de leche evenly over the matzo square, coating it completely but without excess.

Repeat both steps with the remaining matzos: Stack the matzo sheets, and layer them with dulce de leche on every sheet.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top layer. Using an offset spatula, spread it along the sides and all around the cake.

Warm the leftover dulce de leche in the microwave slightly until it is a drizzleable texture.

Drizzle the dulce de leche in lines along the top of the cake, and run a skewer through to create a design.

Refrigerate the cake uncovered 8 hours or overnight, until the matzos soften and the layers set.

Cut with a sharp knife and serve.

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Dulce de leche is a thick, light-brown sauce that is made by slowly cooking sweetened condensed milk until it thickens even further and becomes caramelized. In this form, dulce de leche, which translates to "the sweetness of milk" from Spanish, becomes rich, smooth, and toffee-flavored.

Variations of dulce de leche exist across most Spanish-speaking countries, where they go by different names and with slight variations in color, consistency, and even flavor. It shouldn't be confused with caramel sauce, and is actually rather easy to make at home on the stovetop, slow cooker, or even in a sous vide.

Dulce de leche by itself is kosher for Passover, as it contains nothing other than condensed milk and sugar. However, today there are also several brands that make specifically labelled kosher-for-Passover dulce de leche. When shopping, always check the packaging for clear labelling. If you cannot find kosher-for-Passover dulce de leche and don't want to make your own, you can use caramel sauce or even honey-sweetened chocolate spread in its place in this recipe.

Although this combination of flavors and textures works perfectly together, there are a few other directions to take with the simple 3-ingredient matzo cake setup. In every variation, make sure you follow the basic method, and your results will turn out well.

First off, feel free to switch up the chocolate. White chocolate also works well, or even flavored chocolates with orange or chili. If using a flavored chocolate, we recommend incorporating that flavor in between the layers. Rather than soaking the matzos in water, you can also use milk or coffee, which works really well for flavor.

If you're not a fan of dulce de leche, feel free to switch it for peanut butter, almond butter, raspberry or apricot jam, or even a whipped marshmallow fluff topping. All those combinations go well with chocolate and will give you a uniquely flavored, no-bake cake for Passover.

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