A Baptism Cake

This beautiful baptism cake was submitted by Rose Ripplinger, who created it to celebrate her daughter's baptism.  Thank you Rose! 

"We used blue piping gel to make a river, and surrounded it with candy rocks. The dove was made with white chocolate and a bird candy mold." 

If you have a Baptism Cake you'd like share, or are looking for inspiration for an upcoming Baptism Reception, be sure to visit the Baptism Cake Link-up here at Catholic Cuisine!

Pure White Punch for Celebrating the Sacraments

This past January our family celebrated the Sacraments of First Confession and First Holy Communion for two of our daughters, immediately followed by our new baby boy's Baptism.

I wanted to make a white punch to serve along with the Baptism and First Communion Cakes at the reception, since white is a symbol for purity.  I ended up modifying a recipe for White Holiday Punch from Food.com, cutting back on the amount of ice cream.  It was perfect!

Pure White Punch

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon almond extract
6 (2 liter) bottles carbonated lemon-lime beverage
2 (½ gallon) carton vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Over medium heat, mix the sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, add the evaporated milk and almond extract.   Chill until you are ready to serve your punch.  (I did this step the night before the big day.) 

When you are ready to serve the punch, combine the milk mixture and lemon-lime drink (I used 7-up) in a punch bowl.  Add the scoops of ice cream, and stir to break up the ice cream, incorporating it into the punch.

Note:  This makes a lot of punch, enough to fill my little punch bowl about 6 times.   It would have been easier to have a much larger bowl, but instead I just filled it with one liter of 7-up at a time, adding 1/6th of the milky mixture, and then finishing it with 1/3 of a carton of vanilla ice cream.  

"My Baptism" :: Scallop Shell Baptism Favors

In addition to making the Baby's Baptism Cross for on top of the cake, I also decided to make some Baptism Favors for the reception following our baby's baptism.  These were also inspired by Cupcake's Baptism Reception. The challenge was finding white candy melts, since the local store was completely sold out of them after Christmas and New Years, and I had used my stash for our Gingerbread Fun on New Year's Eve.  I was finally able to get to Michaels, when I went to town to order the cakes, and then started making a few candies at a time, when I had free hands.  Thankfully they are quick and easy to make, and between Sunday-Wednesday I had found the time to make about 50 Baptism and First Holy Communion favors. (This ended up being not nearly enough, but I had no idea we would have nearly 100 guests on a Friday morning!  Who says there isn't enough interest for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in our area?!)

There are a number of candy molds to choose from, but like Charlotte I decided to go with the Seashell Chocolate Mold, since it is the symbol of Baptism.

"Scallop shell: the sea shell, especially the scallop shell, is the symbol of Baptism, and is found frequently on Baptismal fonts. The dish used by priests to pour water over the heads of catechumens in Baptism is often scallop-shaped."

Charlotte made her shells a beautiful pink and white swirl.   They just didn't look right with blue and white, and I wanted to make them as quickly a possible, so I decided to make ours solid white.

I packaged the candy shells in Clear Treat Bags, tying them with White Curling Ribbon.  I then made my own tags for the favors.

I decided to create some tags that read "My Baptism...Deo Gratias!" and some that were customized with "God Bless (Baby's Name)"at the top, and the Date of Baptism on the bottom.  Here is the link to my document for the "My Baptism" tags, which I printed out onto white card stock, in case anyone would like to use them in the future.  These could also be used for cupcake toppers.

"My Baptism" Blue Printable Tag
"My Baptism" Pink Printable Tag

I just used scissors to cut the circles, which really didn't take long,  but I would love to purchase a 2" circle punch for the future.  I cut the 2 1/2" scalloped backgrounds using my Cricut, Winter Woodland Cartridge, and silver card stock.    I placed the favors in one of our Easter Baskets, placing the Joseph's Studio Baptism Wall Cross I found for the baby at our local Catholic Book store next to the basket.  I was very pleased with the results!

Here are additional Baptism themed candy mold options. I'll be back soon with pictures of the First Communion Favors we made for the girls.

Baptism Cake and Link-Up

This past Friday, on the traditional feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, our newest little blessing was baptized by his Uncle, a priest with the FSSP who flew in for this occasion, in the extraordinary form of the sacrament following a traditional Latin Mass during which our two daughters received their First Holy Communions.  It truly was a day filled with blessings for our family!

Since it had been just over 3 weeks since I delivered our little one, we opted for a simple Cake Reception in the hall at our parish.  I decided to order cakes from Costco, adding my own little touches as well.

For the Baptism Cake I ordered Costco's White cake with vanilla cheesecake mousse and iced with white buttercream.  For the decorations I choose their "Roses" design with White Roses and Dark Green Leaves.  I had them leave the center blank.

Inspired by Charlotte's recent baptismal cake, I ordered the Baptismal Cross Candy Mold to create for the center of the cake!   Charlotte suggested using Dark Blue Candy Melts, which she and her husband even sent us (along with those beautiful flowers for their Godson!) since they aren't available here locally.    I used approximately 1/2 of the 16 oz. bag of candy melts for the cross.   It turned out gorgeous!

Now it is your turn.   If you have made a cake for a Baptism reception, we'd love to see it! Please add your link below.

Nacho Stuffed Shells

This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Since the christian symbol for Baptism is the shell, we can easily tie this into our dinner plans by making a meal with pasta shells. One of my favorite recipes, using jumbo shells, is Nacho Stuffed Shells.

I also plan to pull out some sea shells and our children's Baptismal candles, like Mary suggested last year, and light them during dinner. What a perfect time this will be to tell the children about the Baptism of Our Lord and their own special Baptismal days as well!

Nacho Stuffed Shells

Picture & Recipe Source: National Pasta Association

32 to 36 Jumbo Shells (12-oz. package), uncooked
3/4 pound extra-lean ground beef
1.25-oz. package low-sodium taco seasoning mix
1 cup water
16-oz. can refried beans with chilies
1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup mild, medium or hot picante sauce
8-oz. can low-sodium tomato sauce
2-oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Optional Garnishes:
Low-fat sour cream
Low-fat grated Cheddar cheese
Chopped jalapeños
Chopped cilantro
Salsa
Guacamole

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, saute beef in a large skillet until browned; drain well. Add taco seasoning mix and water; simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in beans and cheese. Cook until smooth and well mixed. When pasta is done, drain well. Fill shells with beef mixture (1-2 tbsp. per shell).

Combine picante sauce and tomato sauce in a saucepan. Cook until heated, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread 1/2 cup sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Place filled shells side by side on top of sauce; pour remaining sauce evenly over shells. Sprinkle with olives. Cover with aluminum foil; bake 35 to 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with green onions. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve immediately.

Garnish as desired. Serves 8.


(This recipe could also be made in honor of St. James the Greater, who is also symbolized with a scallop shell.)

Christ's Diapers

This coming Sunday the Christmas season will come to a close as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of The Lord.

In her cookbook A Continual Feast, author Evelyn Birge Vitz shares a recipe for making a special treat called Christ's Diapers (Diples). She tells us that, "Diples are "folds" in Greek. These cookies are sometimes shaped in bowknots or other fancy shapes, but for Christmas they are made in a shape suggestive of the swaddling clothes—or actually the diapers!—of the infant Jesus." Even though our Lord was grown when he was baptized by St. John the Baptist, the sacrament of baptism reminds us of infancy. In addition, this feast closes the Christmas season, making these a perfect treat to serve on this special feast.

Photo Source

Christ's Diapers (Greek Diples)

Source: A Continual Feast

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• Vegetable Oil or shortening for deep frying
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Chopped pistachio nuts (*I plan on substituting Pecans)
• Confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

With an electric beater, beat the eggs until light and fluffy.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually stir the flour into the eggs.

Turn the dough onto an unfloured board. Add the olive oil, a little at a time, and the grated orange rind. Knead the dough until it is smooth—about 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out paper thin on a well-floured board. Cut it into squares about 1 1/2 inches across. Fold these into triangles, then join the ends to form diapers. Press the corners together gently but firmly. (If you don't press the corners well, the diapers will come undone!)

Drop the diapers, a few at a time, into hot fat (360º-370º F. on a deep-fat-frying thermometer). Turn once or twice and fry until golden brown. Drain thoroughly on paper towels.

Bring the honey and water slowly to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the cinnamon and lemon juice. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes.

Dribble the honey syrup over the diapers, and sprinkle them with chopped pistachios, then with confectioners sugar.

When the diapers are fully dry, pack them in a tin and cover tightly. These keep well, if well covered.

Yield: about 4 dozen


I am looking forward to trying out the recipe this coming weekend. Don't they sound delicious?!

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year's,
and that you are able to enjoy these last few days of the Christmas season!