Bishop's Cake

This afternoon our family had hoped to travel and attend The Ordination of Bishop Liam Cary, the priest that married my husband and I back in 1999.  Unfortunately, my husband had to work today after all, and we had to cancel our travel plans. Thanks to the internet and live streaming, we will still be able to watch the Ordination Mass online!

To celebrate this special occasion we decided to bake a "Bishop's Cake!" This is an old fashioned pound cake, which would also be suitable to make for any of the feasts of bishop saints.

Bishop's Cake

adapted from both The Silver Palate Cookbook and Catholic Culture

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound(2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 whole eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar gradually in mixing bowl until fluffy.

Add the sifted flour to the butter mixture.  Add the lemon juice and vanilla, stir well.   Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  (After the first 30 minutes, cover loosely with Aluminum Foil) 

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.   Remove from pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Note:  As a variation, sprinkle crushed blanched almonds over the top of the cake right before putting it in the oven to bake.

Beehive Buns for the Feast of St. Ambrose

On December 7th we celebrate the feast of St. Ambrose of Milan.

"St. Ambrose is also known as the "Honey-Tongued Doctor," a pun on the saint's name (the word for honey in Latin is ambrosia); his preaching was said to be mellifluous, as sweet as flowing honey. Also according to legend, when Ambrose was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his mouth, an omen that he would be a great orator. St. Ambrose is the patron of bee keepers, bees, candlemakers, domestic animals, learning, Milan Italy, and students. He is often depicted with a beehive or bees in his iconography, symbols which also indicate wisdom." ~ Catholic Culture

Here is a great recipe for Beehive Buns, which I made this past June for our last Good Shepherd's Garden Party.  The recipe is originally from an Easy to Bake, Easy to Make recipe card.

Beehive Buns

1 envelope (.25 oz) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105F - 115F)
2/3 cup warm milk (105F - 115F)
1/2 cup honey, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) plus 2 Tbsp butter, softened, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 -3 3/4 cups flour (I ended up using just over 3 cups)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in milk, 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup butter. Stir in salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl turning to grease the top also. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease or spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each half of dough into a 12 X 6 inch rectangle.

Cut one inch strips from the long edge of each rectangle. Curl into a behive shape with a wider base and narrower top on the baking sheet.

Cover; let rise until doubled in size again, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake buns until golden, 15-20 minutes.

Combine remaining honey and butter in a small saucepan.  Heat until butter melts.   Brush warm glaze over buns.

Yield: 1 dozen.

Additional recipes for the feast of St. Ambrose can be found in the archives. 

Honey Trail Mix

The following recipe was submitted by Lori, from Busy with Blessings, for the feast of St. Ambrose. Thank you Lori!

The girls and I snacked on Honey Trail Mix this afternoon while we read aloud the story of Saint Ambrose from Once Upon A Time Saints.

Saint Ambrose's words were said to be sweeter than honey from the comb.

To make this yummy snack you need:

2 cups corn chex

2 cups rice chex

1 cup mini pretzels

Mix these together in a large microwaveable bowl.

In a measuring cup, mix together 1/4 cup honey and 3 Tlbs. oil.

Pour over cereal/pretzel mixture.

Stir and microwave for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds.

Serve and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bumble Bees

Today, December 7th, is the feast of St. Ambrose of Milan.

"St. Ambrose is also known as the "Honey-Tongued Doctor," a pun on the saint's name (the word for honey in Latin is ambrosia); his preaching was said to be mellifluous, as sweet as flowing honey. Also according to legend, when Ambrose was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his mouth, an omen that he would be a great orator. St. Ambrose is the patron of bee keepers, bees, candlemakers, domestic animals, learning, Milan Italy, and students. He is often depicted with a beehive or bees in his iconography, symbols which also indicate wisdom."  ~ Catholic Culture

A few recipes for tying in honey or bumblebees in honor of this great saint have been posted here at Catholic Cuisine in the past, including:  Honey-Curry Chicken, Christmas Honey Cookies for the Honey-Tongued Saint, a Sweet Beehive Cake for St. Ambrose, and Bumblebee Cookies for St. Ambrose.

Here is another recipe to make some quick and easy no-bake Peanut Butter Bumble Bees for today's feast.  I made the batter this morning and quickly decorated a few to show you all here, but I'm saving the rest for my children to decorate themselves this afternoon to enjoy as a snack after decorating our Christmas Christ Candle.

Peanut Butter Bumble Bees

Adapted from Kraft Foods

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 square Semi-Sweet Chocolate OR Chocolate Cookie Icing
1/3 cup Sliced Almonds

Directions:

BEAT butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add cracker crumbs; mix well.

SHAPE tablespoonful of butter mixture into 1-inch oval to resemble body of bumble bee. Repeat with remaining butter mixture for additional "bees."

MELT chocolate as directed on package. Drizzle in lines on top of bees to resemble bees' stripes. Insert almonds into both sides of each body for "wings." Store in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Yields: 15 servings, 2 bees each

St. Ambrose of Milan, pray for us! 

Honey-Curry Chicken

Tomorrow, December 7th, is the Feast of St. Ambrose. Since St. Ambrose is also known as the "Honey-Tongued Doctor," I am planning on serving one of our favorite chicken dishes for dinner, which is made with honey. Here is the recipe:

HONEY-CURRY CHICKEN

In a 9x13 pan, mix the following:

4 TBSP butter (optional)
1/2 Cup honey
1/2 tsp curry
1/4 cup mustard
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
Soy sauce to taste (about 1-2 TBSP)


Now throw some chicken breasts (I use six), or chicken tenders (boneless is best), into the pan and mix it all around and bake it at 350 degrees for about an hour. I cover it for the first 45 minutes and then usually uncover it for the last 15 minutes. Best served over rice, as the sauce is VERY tasty and is great over rice with some veggies!! Yum!

Bumblebee Cookies for St. Ambrose

Our tradition for December 7th means that my kitchen is a buzzin', with cookies that is. These were made last year but I am sure this year's hive will look pretty much the same.

To celebrate the patron saint of beekeepers we keep these bees in our tummies! Use your favorite peanut butter cookie dough (or any cookie dough, I imagine), some pretzel twists and sticks and melted chocolate for the stripes. We rolled the dough into balls and flattened them on top of the mini pretzel twist wings then added the antenna and baked them for about 10 minutes. Once they cool, you can pipe the stripes on using a fancy piping bag or just snip off the corner of a ziploc baggie. These are so easy and the kids have a blast making and eating them!

Sweet Beehive Cake for St. Ambrose

As Mary mentioned, St. Ambrose, whose feast day is December 7th, is often depicted with a beehive or bees.

Earlier this year, when I ran across the Crown Cake in a Family Fun Magazine, I also noticed this adorable Beehive Cake and thought it would be perfect for the feast of St. Ambrose. I'm am not sure if I am going to have a chance to make it myself, but I thought I would share the recipe with you all just the same.

Sweet Beehive Cake

from Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients:

• 8-inch round cake
• 6-inch round cake
• Half-sphere cake baked in a 2-cup ovenproof bowl
• 3 1/2 cups yellow frosting
• 13 round cookies (we used Keebler Sandies Pecan Shortbread
• 1 1/2 cups light-blue frosting
• 12 Twix Minis
• 12 marshmallows
• Chocolate frosting
• Large yellow gumdrop

Directions:

1. Use a long serrated knife to trim the tops of the round cakes flat, if needed. To get the smooth look of our cake, first stack the three cakes on a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Heat 3 cups of the yellow frosting in the microwave until it liquefies, about 20 seconds. Stir the frosting, then slowly pour it over the top of the cakes, as shown, covering them completely. Refriger­ate the stack for about 30 minutes to harden the frosting.

2. Meanwhile, frost 12 of the cookies light blue and place a Twix in the center of each. Use scissors to cut the ends from the marshmallows and press on these ends, sticky side down, for wings.

3. Carefully transfer the cake to a platter. To add a door, trim one edge of the remaining cookie, as shown, cover both sides with chocolate frosting, then press it onto the hive. Spoon the rest of the yellow frosting into a resealable sandwich bag, snip off a corner, and pipe markings onto the bees and hive. Top the hive with the gumdrop and arrange the bees around it. Serves 12.

St. Ambrose ~ Pray for us!

Christmas Honey Cookies for the Honey-Tongued Saint

This Advent the feast of St. Ambrose falls on a Sunday (December 7) so is not celebrated in the liturgical calendar, but he is a great saint worth some focus this coming week. St. Ambrose is often called the "Honey-Tongued Doctor," for his preaching was said to be as sweet as flowing honey. There is a legend which says that when Ambrose was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his mouth, indicating that he would be a great orator. The word for honey in Latin is ambrosia, a pun on his name. Of his many patronages he is the patron of bee keepers, bees, and candlemakers. He is often depicted with a beehive or bees in his iconography, symbols which also indicate wisdom.

In looking around there are a variety of honey based cookies that are made during the Christmas season around the world.

Melomakarona are a traditional Greek cookie served at Christmas. These spice cookies are made with cinnamon and cloves, are soaked in a honey syrup, and sprinkled with sesame seeds, walnuts, and cinnamon.

Crispelles, the fried rosette cookies dipped in honey, are a standard Italian fare at Christmas.

Medianyky are Ukranian Christmas honey cookies.

Germany's soft ginger honey cakes lebkuchen (or pfefferkuchen) are possibly the first cookies/cake traditionally associated with Christmas. According to Christmas Cookie Traditions around the World: "Long before there was sugar, monks in the monastery kitchens near Nürnberg, Germany baked Lebkuchen cookies from honey that was brought to them by beekeepers in the nearby forest. Today, Nürnberger Lebkuchen (honey cookies) are still made around the holidays."

Polish Thumbprint Cookies literally have a thumbprint in the middle that is filled with apricot or other jam/preserves. These honey and almond Christmas cookies capture the usual flavor of this region.

And while not necessarily traditional holiday fare, the National Honey Board has lots of dessert recipes that would fit the bill for a honey sweetened treat this season.