Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls

Last year I made these heart shaped cinnamon rolls with whipped cream and berries to serve on Divine Mercy Sunday along bacon, scrambled eggs and orange juice. They were so easy to make and I'm planning to serve them again this year!

Divine Mercy Cinnamon Rolls 

What you need: 

• Ready-to-Bake Cinnamon Rolls (Last year I used the Jumbo Rolls from Trader Joe's. This year I'm planning to use homemade Cinnamon Roll dough.) 
• Whipped Cream
• Strawberries, sliced
• Blueberries

Directions: 

Take each pre-sliced cinnamon roll and completely unroll it. To re-roll it into the shape of a heart, simply roll up both ends at the same time until they meet in the middle. Pinch the bottom to form the "point" of the heart. Bake as usual.

Scroll though all past recipes for Divine Mercy Sunday here. 

Pin It

Divine Mercy Cake

The following recipe was submitted by Susan, from Sole Searching Mama, for the feast of Divine Mercy. Thank you, Susan!

Divine Mercy Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 white cake mix
• 1 small package Jell-O, any flavor (I used strawberry)
• 1 package dream whip (in the pudding/Jell-O section)
• 1 package vanilla instant pudding
• 1 ½ cup very cold milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Dissolve jello in ¾ cup boiling water. Add ½ cup of very cold water to the jello, set aside until it reaches room temperature. Bake the cake in a 9” x 13” pan as directed (I added 1 tsp. clear vanilla to the cake to give it more flavor.). Cool the cake for about 30 minutes. With the cake still warm, poke holes in the cake about ½ inch apart. I used a chop stick and wiggled the stick a bit to create an open hole for the jello to flow into. Slowly pour the jello into the holes. Place the cake in the fridge to chill. In a bowl, blend together dream whip, pudding, cold milk and vanilla until stiff and fluffy, about 4-6 minutes. Frost the cake and garnish as desired.

The following combinations make a lovely cake:
Strawberry Jell-O with strawberry garnish
Peach Jell-O with mint leaf garnish
Orange Jell-O with a mandarin orange garnish
Raspberry Jell-O with raspberry garnish

Additional recipes for Divine Mercy Sunday can be found in the archives!

Pin It

Divine Mercy Cookies

This afternoon, following the completion of our Divine Mercy Novena, my children enjoyed decorating cookies. 

We just used some soft molasses cookies I had in the cupboard, trimming them into the shape of a heart with kitchen scissors, though any heart shaped cookie would work.  Then we simply added red and white cookie icing to represent the rays of blood and water that flowed from Jesus' pierced heart.    

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Pin It

A Paleo Strawberry Coconut Trifle

This post was written by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Amy.

It is a little late for this Easter, but I wanted to share this with you anyway.  It would be a great dessert for many feast days, including Valentine's Day or Pentecost.  Add some blueberries and it would be a fun dessert for Divine Mercy Sunday as well!

In our family we have people with gluten intolerance and one poor little muffin who is lactose intolerant.  So I generally have to get a bit creative with our holiday treats. 

All I could think about was the fact that I wanted to have that wonderful trifle here at Catholic Cuisine we have every year on Easter.  So I searched the net, but nothing looked very good (well to me, that is, I was being picky).  Then I found, on Pinterest, a link on how to make whip cream from canned coconut milk.  With that and a gluten free cake mix from Pamela's I knew I had it!

A Paleo Strawberry Coconut Trifle

• 1 package Pamela's Vanilla Cake Mix
• 3-4 pounds strawberries (you can do less, but we went for it)
• 1/2 to 1 cup almond or coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice  (you could use agave or another sweetener I am sure to your taste)
• 2 cans Native Forest unsweetened FULL FAT coconut milk

Bake the cake according to directions.  Do this the night before and let it cool completely.  I had to hide mine on top of the fridge.  In the morning cut up into 1 inch cubes.  Poor the almond or coconut milk over the cubed cake till it is moist but not soaked.  Cut the strawberries and sprinkle with coconut and sweetener, mix.  Make the coconut whipped cream.  Follow these directions.  They work and it is AMAZING.  I didn't have enough whipped cream for the top because one of my cans got shook up, which was a huge disappointment.  So we only had one layer of the coconut whipped cream instead of two.  I ended up drizzling the other can a little over everyone's servings instead.

On the bottom of your trifle or glass bowl, put half the cake.  Put half the strawberry mixture on top of that, then half of the 2 cans worth of whipped coconut cream.  Repeat.  On top place a decorative strawberry and some toasted coconut.



Pin It

Divine Mercy Cake

This beautiful cake was submitted by Cynthia Engle, in honor of today's feast of Divine Mercy. Thank you Cynthia!

Anyone can make this cake. All you need is a cross cake mold, cupcake pans, letter shaped cookie cutters and a little imagination.   The cross cake was baked in a Wilton Cross Cake mold, easily accessible at any craft store selling Wilton products. It is also available at various internet sites.

We covered the cake in white fondant, but you can frost it with your favorite icing if preferred. The lily is made from pressed gum drops. If you are not adept at sugar flowers, you can either forgo this step or buy a commercial decoration that fits the theme. The rays are mini cupcakes, frosted and then sprayed with Wilton color spray or red and blue. You can also just use food coloring in your icing, but the spray gives it a more ethereal image. The cupcakes surrounding the cake are full sized cupcakes with “Jesus I Trust In You” spelled out with letters cut from pressed gum drops with letter cookie cutters. An alternative is to cut and bake cookie letters and place those on the full sized cupcakes. We chose to use three different flavors for the Cross, the mini cupcakes and the full sized cupcakes, but you can use one flavor, using commercial cake mixes or a favorite homemade cake of you own choosing.

Arrange the mini cupcakes in cascading rays along the side of the cross and arrange the larger cupcake with the letters to form the message around the cake or wherever it fits best in your space. This is a little time consuming, but very easy and extremely impressive when served.

Pin It

Our Lady of Sorrows AND The Exaltation of The Holy Cross

I always get so nervous to post something here on Catholic Cuisine,
I'm in the presence of such holy and creative women and
I think things like "Will I get in trouble for posting 2 feast days in 1 post?"
I hope not.
Today for Our Lady of Sorrows, we plan to bake some brownies.

 I got the idea of putting pretzels in the heart shape cake from Barbara.

We also plan to do 7 almonds, which represent 7 tears. (tear shaped nut) Picture 5 kiddos putting these nuts under their eyes to pretend they are tears....The coloring sheet is from Mathilda.



The Blessed Virgin told St Bridget of the seven graces given to all who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary's and meditating on her tears and dolors.


Here are the seven graces:

1. I will grant peace to their families.
2. They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
3. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.
4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.
7. I have obtained (This Grace) from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Seven Sorrows

1. The prophecy of Simeon.
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. The Crucifixion.
6. The taking down of the Body of Christ from the Cross.
7. The burial of Jesus.

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the  Holy Cross, or the Triumphant Cross

by making a cross cake.  This year, I didn't make a poke cake, (since not everyone likes wet cake) but decided to make a regular white cake and  then I set aside some of the batter and added red food coloring gel, enough to make it a good red, then added it to the top of the cake batter in the pan.  I had no idea how it would turn out, and, well, it didn't turn out as good as I thought it would, I should have poked it down with the end of a wooden spoon or something. (make a mental note of that Jamie, for next year)

 (next year, remember at this point to poke the batter down)

 My kitchen helper...especially when there are bowls to be licked!

 We made the pudding frosting:

1 pkg any flavor pudding (we used chocolate fudge)

1 cup milk

1 small container of cool whip

The heart and glow things are Starburst rolled out and cut into shape.

 I did like the vibrant colors the red batter made, this would work for the 

Feast of Divine Mercy too....or Christmas, add a little green...

(See?  Should have poked that red batter down)

We also enjoyed the Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad.

I used grape tomatoes and added cucumbers and 

cut up the Mozzarella into bite size pieces.

(the cucumbers were from Christine's garden!)
It was delicious!

Pin It

Divine Mercy Cupcakes

These are easy Divine Mercy Cupcakes!

Instructions:

Follow the same instructions for Mardis Gras Cupcakes, dividing white cake mix into 3 colors. Or you may use just 2 colors of blue and red if you like. Use food coloring for red and blue only. (Cake mixture is already white for the middle) I chose to use white for the middle color so that the 2 rays would be more pronounced.  You may also opt out of using the white at all.

My kids loved biting into the cupcakes to reveal the colors of the Divine Mercy Rays.

(For those who live in the United States, these would also make great 4th of July or Memorial Day cupcakes)

 I found these Divine Mercy toppers for $1.50 at out local Catholic Bookstore.

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

+Blessed Pope John Paul II,  please pray for us+

The Official Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession
O Blessed Trinity,
We thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for
allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of
Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. 

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of
Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has
shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life
and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. 

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we
implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints.
Amen
With ecclesiastical approval CARDINAL CAMILLO RUINI
the Holy Father's Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome

Pin It

Divine Mercy poundcake

Ingredients:

1 pound cake, sliced in half

1 cup fresh raspberries, sliced

1 tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam

1 can of whipped cream

Directions:

Slice the pound cake in half. Spread the raspberry jam on the left side of the pound cake and add the raspberries down the line. Spray the whipped topping on the pound cake. Slice a piece of each pound cake and put it together like a sandwich. Serve and enjoy! :-)

Pin It

Rays of Mercy Fruit Platter

~Happy Divine Mercy Sunday and Beatification of Venerable Pope John Paul II~

This is an easy Divine Mercy fruit platter to make, reflecting the rays of mercy.

"The two rays denote Blood and Water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...,

These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.

These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father.  Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him."~Diary of St. Faustina 299~

Simple Instructions:

Just place fruit on skewers to reflect the red blood ray (strawberries) and blue pale water (blueberries) rays of Divine Mercy.  I also used bananas to add to the pale rays that stand for water.  You often see white mixed in with the blue rays to the far right of the image. You can certainly opt out of the banana skewers and just use strawberries and blueberries for the 2 rays only. I then trimmed my skewers to fit nicely on the platter I had.

"Let the rays of grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life."

Diary of St. Faustina~1486

Pin It

Divine Mercy Rice Krispie Treat

For Divine Mercy, we made Rice Krispie bars, (with chocolate chips added after the krispies) put them into a heart shaped pan and used pull apart string licorice for the "mercy" side and white frosting (put into a baggie, corner cut and squirted out) for the "graces" side.

*Our computer was down yesterday, so this is late, but it can be made anytime, right?

Pin It

Divine Mercy Pancakes

This picture was submitted by Robina, at Motherly Loving, for publication here at Catholic Cuisine. Thank you Robina!

We celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday with a lunch of heart-shaped pancakes with strawberries and blueberries for the red and blue rays representing the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' pierced heart.

Hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

St. Faustina, Pray for us.

Pin It

Divine Mercy Cheesecake

Today, we made our favorite Creamy Lemon Cheesecake again in the heart shaped pan and used strawberry pie filling and blueberry pie filling to represent the rays of blood and water. Maybe the blueberries were stretching it, but lemon and blueberry is a wonderful flavor combination!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Jesus, I Trust in Thee!

Pin It

A Cake in Honor of the Image of Divine Mercy

This beautiful cake, in honor of the Image of Divine Mercy, was submitted by Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross.  Thank you Tiffany!

I love the Divine Mercy Devotion! As a family we have enjoyed praying the meaningful novena that started on Good Friday. I learned about St. Maria Faustina, a long with my children, when we began homeschooling 6 years ago. We have come to love this devotion together, trying to live the merciful way.  My oldest son (age 16) has a particular fondness of this devotion so he insisted on baking our dessert in honor of the Image of Divine Mercy that Jesus asked St. Faustina to have made.

We used confetti cake with confetti icing because they both reflected the Divine Mercy colors and then we decorated the best we could to reflect Jesus in his Divine Mercy Image! It's nothing professional but made with love and devotion.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is also a favorite of my oldest son. We look forward to Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend.

We shall pray unceasingly "Jesus I Trust In You!" This is St. Faustina's exclamation of trust. It is our "yes", our fiat, with Mary, Mother of Mercy. This is to express our faith, hope, and love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Pope John Paul II, Mother of the Redeemer [1987], n.14).

Pin It

A Cake for Divine Mercy Sunday

Here is a lovely idea for a cake for Divine Mercy Sunday from Sara at A Shower of Roses.

Sara says in her post, "I just used the shortcake recipe from my BH&G cookbook, doubled it, and made a square and circle. I cut the circle in half to make the heart. Then I covered the seams with the blood and water pouring from Jesus's heart----strawberry syrup made from berries we picked last summer, and blue whipped cream. And it tasted wonderful, too, just like Jesus's sweet mercy!"

Pin It

Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leches Trifle

I've had a number of requests for the recipe for the Strawberry Trifle we made for the feast of St. Joseph.  There really wasn't any particular significance to why we included it on our St. Joseph Altar, other than the fact that my girls were finishing up "S" week and it was a great way to use some Sliced Strawberries!

It would be a great addition to upcoming Easter celebrations, and since it is based on the flavors in a popular Mexican cake, it would be great dessert to make in honor of any of the Mexican Saints. 

Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leches Trifle

Adapted from Pampered Chef's 2010 Season's Best Cookbook

1 lb fresh strawberries, divided
One 16-oz frozen pound cake*, thawed
(*The recipe called for 3 packages of Ladyfingers.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk, divided
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk, divided
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg (3.3 oz) coconut cream* instant pudding and pie filling 
(*The recipe called for vanilla.)
1 tsp Cinnamon

1. Set aside one strawberry for garnish. Hull remaining strawberries and slice. Set aside.

2. Trim Pound cake and dice into 1-in. cubes. Set aside. Whisk together 1/2 cup of the condensed milk, 2/3 cup of the coconut milk and sour cream. Add cake and toss gently.

3. Attach open star tip to Pampered Chef's Easy Accent® Decorator. Fill with 1 cup of the whipped topping. Combine pudding mix and remaining coconut milk; whisk until thickened. Add remaining condensed milk and cinnamon; whisk until incorporated. Fold in remaining whipped topping.

4. To assemble, place half of the pound cake mixture into Trifle Bowl; top with half of the strawberries. Spread half of the pudding mixture over strawberries. Repeat layers one time. Pipe whipped topping over top; garnish with strawberry fan.

5.  Enjoy!  Oh, and be sure to share! ;)

Update:  I just read on Colleen's blog, Footprints on the Fridge, that she is planning to serve this dessert on Sunday night, Palm Sunday.  She says that they will have "passionfruit juice (since this Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday)..." and this trifle "... which we will use to symbolize that even though we are saddened that Christ had to shed His blood for us (the red), we are filled with gratitude that by His sacrifice, we are washed clean (the white)."  Isn't that perfect?!  Thank you for sharing your creativity with all of us Colleen! Pin It

Divine Mercy Sunday

This Sunday, one week after Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy image is one that is full of powerful symbolism of Our Lord's great mercy.

An explanation of the image of Divine Mercy (from Catholic Culture) :

Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina with rays of red and pale light streaming from the area around His heart. His right hand was raised in blessing, recalling the scene of Easter Sunday night (see Jn 20: 19-23).

He asked Blessed Faustina to have this vision painted signed with the words, Jesus, I trust in You!

I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: "Jesus, I trust in you. (Diary, 327).

Jesus explained that the rays represented the blood and water which flowed from His pierced side, and He taught Saint Faustina the prayer:

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You (Diary, 84).

The image could be used to recall His mercy for us in the feast day meal celebrations. I had a couple different ideas I wanted to share. One idea is to incorporate the colors, so symbolic in the image, into a Divine Sunday meal - red and white. Jessica shares her menu from last year - pasta with red sauce, white grape/cranberry juice, and rolls, with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert! A perfectly colorful feast.

My twist on the strawberry shortcake idea is to arrange it like divergent rays as seen on the image.

I also thought the image would make a great decorated cake for dessert. Because the rays are so promiment and meaningful in the image, there are some ideas for making them stand out. My original idea was to make a full sized sheet cake and layer a printed image of the Divine Mercy on it. It could be done with regular paper and removed for cutting and eating (like Anne did for her creative scapular cake) or if you have the availablity of a bakery that will produce an edible image from a picture (or time to order one) go that route. After the image is on the cake I would add rays of colored frosting radiating from the heart in the image - either piped on or spread flat. You could use red and white or red and pale blue since that is how it appears in many images. That pale water color could go either way.

After seeing Jessica's festive Pope Cakes Thursday, I thought of another cake modification which probably is much easier to pull off - and that is Divine Mercy cupcakes with printed images inserted in the back of the cupcake. Then pipe or spread frosting in desired ray colors from the paper image forward.

And remember, these treat ideas (shortcake, cupcakes) could also be used for an afternoon tea any day of the week following the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet at the hour of Divine Mercy.

Pin It