Robert Staab of Mount Healthy asks: “Would you please explain how to obtain two cups of sifted flour? . . . Does one first loosely pack a dry measuring cup with flour and then sift it, or does one sift, let's say, a cup of flour to then fill a dry measuring cup? When does one sift the other ingredients in this process?”

        All these rules . . . when to sift and how . . . make me want to relax. And what better way to relax than to bake? But then, if I'm baking, I'm right back to Robert's questions, so here goes: Strictly speaking, when written “two cups sifted flour” sift first, then measure. Written “two cups flour, sifted” measure, then sift. Perfectionists might then sift the flour again, in either case, with other dry ingredients like baking powder, cocoa or spices.

        Neither strict nor a perfectionist, I say unless you're using cake flour or something obviously lumpy, skip the sifting. In the Baker's Catalogue, the King Arthur Flour people agree (and they should know). Most flour is presifted, but does settle, so for best results fluff up the flour before measuring by stirring it with a whisk. Or, forget flour altogether with some flourless recipes in time for Passover, the Jewish holiday which begins at sundown today.

        • You want rules, try baking for Passover. No flour, no leavening and in this recipe, no sifting. Thanks to Beth Adam Congregation in Madisonville for answering my questions and recommending this decadent cake from www.hersheykitchens.com. (This Web site also has recipes for Easter.)

Chocolate Cream Passover Torte

        1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Hershey's cocoa
        1/4 cup boiling water
       2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
       1 teaspoon vanilla extract
       6 eggs, separated
        2/3 cup sugar
        1/3 cup toasted almonds, finely ground

COCOA WHIPPED CREAM
       1 1/2 cups whipping cream
        1/3 cup sugar
       3 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa
        3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

        Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of 15-by-10-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Stir 1/3 cup cocoa with boiling water in small bowl until smooth. Stir in butter and vanilla; let cool.

        Combine egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add cocoa mixture and almonds, beating until well blended.

        In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into cocoa mixture, spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 18 minutes or until cake tests done. Dust cake with 1 tablespoon cocoa; cover with a clean, dry towel. Let cool in pan on wire rack. Cut cake into 4 equal pieces. Layer and spread on top and sides with cocoa whipped cream.

        To make cocoa whipped cream combine all ingredients in a cold bowl and beat with cold beaters until stiff. Keep finished cake refrigerated. Makes 12 servings.

        • Let the kids take over the Passover cooking with this easy recipe from The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen (Schocken; $14.95). Thanks to Adath Israel Congregation in Amberly for suggesting this and other books and recipes by Joan Nathan.

        Many groceries, such as Pilder's Deli in Dillonvale or Bilker Fine Foods in Blue Ash, stock kosher-for-Passover items. By the way, matzah, matzot and matzo are all the same thing: Traditional unleavened bread, like a cracker.

Chocolate Covered Matzos

       6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, kosher-for-Passover
       2 tablespoons water
       1 sheet of matzo, cut into 6 rectangles

        Melt chocolate with water in double-boiler. Dip matzah in hot melted chocolate. Place dipped matzah on wax paper on baking sheet. Let harden for a few minutes in refrigerator. Makes 6.

Can you help?

        • Beverly Meredith of Anderson Township would like to find a recipe for hot slaw similar to the one they used to serve at the old Sky Galley at Lunken Airport.

        • Patti Schutte of Hyde Park would like a taste-alike recipe for Panera Bread's clam chowder, which is full of vegetables but has no bacon.

        • Fellow runners, what are your favorite pre-Flying Pig marathon meals and recipes?
        Send food questions, tips, recipe requests and recipes to Saucy Cook, c/o the Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: foodlady@zoomtown.com. Please include name, neighborhood, e-mail and phone number.

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