Epiphany of the Lord

Epiphany Cupcakes from last year's celebration!

The Solemnity of the Epiphany is celebrated either on January 6 or, according to the decision of the episcopal conference, on the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. (source)

The word Epiphany means “manifestation.” As such, the object of the Church on this feast is not only to commemorate the historical arrival of the Magi with their gifts for the new-born King, but moreover to adore the same Christ Who continues to reveal Himself to us today.

It is an ancient custom to bless the home on Epiphany followed by a festive meal. The current year and the legendary initials of the three Magi (Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar) are marked above the outside doorway with blessed chalk; crosses are placed between the initials and year: 20+C+M+B+17. The initials C-M-B are also interpreted as the Latin phrase “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” which means “Christ bless this home!”

You can find a delicious recipe for Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog & Rum Buttercream Frosting in the archives.  Scroll through additional Epiphany recipes here.

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St. Agnes Lamb's Wool Drinks

On January 21 we celebrate the feast of St. Agnes, 4th century martyr, known for her consecrated virginity. She is often depicted holding a lamb as her name, Agnes, means lamb or victim in Latin, and pure in Greek. In Rome on this feast day, two lambs are placed on the altar of the Basilica where her relics lie and are then blessed. The wool from these lambs is used in making the pallium, the symbols archbishops wear as sign of their authority. These are given to the new archbishops on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29.

There are so many beautiful details associated with this tradition, as specified in this article from the Vatican News Network:

The small lambs, traditionally less than a year old, are carried to the Pope in baskets, as per tradition, by the Canons Regular of the Cathedral of St John Lateran. To symbolize St. Agnes’ purity, one of the lambs wears a crown of white flowers, while the other wears a red floral wreath to recall her faithful witness even unto death.

Reared by religious sisters in the Saint Lawrence convent in Panisperna, Rome, come Summer these same lambs will be brought to the Saint Cecilia convent in Trastevere.  There, in a custom that has remained in tact down through the centuries, they will be shorn to supply the wool from which the religious sisters will weave the Pallium.

The Pallium are white woolen stoles, decorated with six black crosses worn by metropolitan archbishops around their necks as a symbol of their authority and unity with the Pope. Once woven they are custodied in an urn at the tomb of St Peter until the Holy Father presents them to newly-appointed metropolitan archbishops on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

St. Agnes Lamb's Wool Drink Ideas

With the connection of lamb's wool, St. Agnes feast day lends itself to anything fluffy and white. Whipped cream seemed a fun way to try to replicate the look of wool and with this mid-winter feast, a perfect topping for a warm drink.  It's easy too!  Whether it be hot chocolate, chia latte, or a cappuccino, make it St. Agnes festive with a "woolly" topping. 

And if you are looking for some specific drink recipes with woolly names here are a few that would be fitting as well. 

Lamb's Wool - a type of Wassail ale dating from medieval times, traditionally served on Twelfth Night celebrating the end of the Christmas season. It is so named as the frothy apple mixture resembles wool. It would make a fun drink for St. Agnes feast celebrating as well. Florence Berger has a recipe for Lamb's Wool in her Cooking for Christ cookbook.  There are other versions of this wool-named ale including this one from Miss Foodwise blog.  Can be made as either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.

Warm Wooly Sheep - a sweet, creamy, warm drink for the grown ups. It is made from Scotch, Drambuie, and warm milk. Recipes abound on various mixed drink websites.

St. Agnes, Pray for us!

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Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog & Rum Buttercream Frosting

Eggnog Cupcakes

adapted from Wendy Paul

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup eggnog
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp rum extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix, eggnog, eggs, extracts and spices for two minutes. Batter will be thick. Fill paper cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly golden and springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely.

Eggnog & Rum Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp rum extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp eggnog
• nutmeg
• 5 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and extracts until blended and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar in, about 1 cup at a time, until frosting forms a paste. Add eggnog in between powdered sugar additions until the frosting begins to come together and make the frosting stiff yet spreadable and creamy. Blend in the pinch of nutmeg, if desired.



Frost cupcakes with eggnog buttercream and sprinkle with additional nutmeg.

Meri Meri also makes a set of 48 cute cupcake toppers for the 12 Days of Christmas. 

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A Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party

I mentioned the other day, on the Catholic Cuisine Facebook page, that I was planning a Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party on Twelfth Night for my family! I just finished posting a couple recipes here and all the details over at Shower of Roses, but thought I'd include the menu here as well, for next year.  

Inspired by the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, I came up with twelve menu items for our party. Legend has it that each gift represents an aspect of our faith and it has been said that this song was used to help teach catechism to children when religious instruction was prohibited.  Whether or not this is true, I just love all the symbolism and am always looking for ways to teach my children more about our faith.  (Note:  You can find our Twelve Days of Christmas Lap Book here.)  When creating the menu I drew from both the original gifts and the Catholic aspects of our faith which they symbolize.

.: The Menu :.

Eight Maids-a-Milking Eggnog and/or Pure White Punch

Four Calling Birds Chicken Wings or Salad with Grilled Chicken

Five Golden Onion Rings with Dipping Sauce

Six Geese-a-Laying Deviled Eggs or Egg Salad

Seven Swan's a Swimming Bean Dip

Nine Ladies Dancing Fruits of the Holy Spirit Salad

Twelve Drummer's Drumming Chicken Drumsticks

A Partridge in a Pear Tree Pie 

Turtle Dove Chocolates

Twelfth Night Rum Cake  

Ten (Lord's a Leaping) Commandment Cookies

Eleven Piper's Pretzel Rod Pipes and/or Chocolate Choir of Angels 

I set the table with a red tablecloth and our Silent Night Table Runner, moved our Twelve Days of Christmas Ornaments from the kitchen to the table as well, and used the lovely new little ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures to place next to each food item.

.: A Partridge in a Pear Tree :.

Partridge in a Pear Tree = 
1 Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross

When I saw the Partridge in a Pear Tree Pie over at Taste of Home, I knew I had to try making it... It was pretty simple and turned out so cute and delicious. I didn't have a partridge cookie cutter so I just hand cut a design with a butter knife. I also added some little leaves and cross shapes as well.  I just posted the recipe here. 

.: Two Turtle Doves :.

Two Turtle Doves = 2 Testaments (Old & New) 

Turtle Dove Chocolates!  You can find the recipe here. 

.: Three French Hens :.

Three French Hens = 3 Gifts of the Magi
 and/or 3 Virtues, Faith, Hope & Love

I made our Twelfth Night Rum Cake with three Chocolate Coins hidden inside.  I had a small gift for each person that found a coin in their slice.  (This year it was my husband, Chiquita and Snuggles.)

I also made some Gluten Free Mini Rum Cakes, and used Coconut Sugar for the rum syrup.  You couldn't even tell the difference. (I knew I needed some healthier options for myself or I'd never be able to resist a couple of the treats.  

.: Four Collie Birds :.

Four Collie/Calling Birds = 
4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

I planned to pick up four kinds of Chicken Wings/Appetizers for this menu item, but that was the one thing I forget to get at the store.   Grilled Chicken on top of Salad, or even bird shaped sandwiches would have worked as well.  Our meal was made up of mostly appetizers and desserts, but a chicken main dish could be easily incorporated here too.  Instead, I just ended up pulling our our Church Windows game for the kids to play - tying in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the 4 Gospel Writers.

.: Five Golden Rings :.

Five Golden Rings = 5 Books of Moses: 
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Snuggles (by far our pickiest eater) decided to try one of these "Golden Rings" (Onion Rings). After taking a couple bites he asked "What's inside this?" When nobody gave him a direct answer, just asked if he was going to eat the rest, he said, "No... It tastes odd!" lol Next time I think I might opt for dried apple rings!  

.: Six Geese A-Laying :.

Six Geese A-Laying = 6 Days of Creation

Deviled Eggs made a yummy and healthy addition to the party and tied in nicely to the six geese a-laying!

.: Seven Swans A-Swimming :.

Seven Swans A-Swimming = 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Since the seven swans a-swimming represents the seven gifts of the holy spirit, I decided to serve our Pentecost seven layer dip with chips.

.: Eight Maids A-Milking :.

Eight Maid A-Milking = 8 Beatitudes

I already had some eggnog leftover from Christmas.  

.: Nine Ladies Dancing :.

Nine Ladies Dancing = 9 Fruits of the Spirit

A simple fruit salad made from nine fresh fruits: Kiwi, Banana, Apple, Pear, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Red Grapes, Oranges, and Pineapple. 

.: Ten Lords A-Leeping :.

Ten Lords A-Leeping = 10 Commandments

Pepperidge Milano Cookies with the Roman Numerals written with black sparkle gel.

.: Eleven Pipers Piping :.

Eleven Pipers Piping = 11 Faithful Apostles 

Pretzel Rod Pipes and A Choir of Chocolate Angels to match the beautiful illustrations in our book. 

.: Twelve Drummers Drumming :.

Twelve Drummers Drumming = 12 Points of the Apostles Creed

Originally I was going to make Chicken Drumsticks, but when I saw these Chicken Drumellas at Trader Joe's I thought they would be perfect quick and easy! 

I hope you all have a very blessed and joy filled Twelve Days of Christmas and Feast of Epiphany!

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A Partridge in a Pear Tree Pie

When I saw the Partridge in a Pear Tree Pie over at Taste of Home, I knew I had to try making it for our Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party on Twelfth Night!    I didn't have a partridge cookie cutter so I just hand cut a design with a butter knife.  I also added some little leaves and cross shapes as well.  It was pretty simple and turned out so cute and delicious.

Partridge Pear Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 ounces) pear halves, drained  (I used a larger jar of pears)
• 1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple (I used about 1/2 of a large can)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pastry of double-crust pie (9 inches)
• Additional sugar, optional

Directions:

Set aside five pear halves; chop any remaining pears. In a large saucepan, combine the chopped pears, cranberries, pineapple and sugar.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until some cranberries have popped. Cool for 30 minutes, stirring several times. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and cinnamon. Stir in cooled cranberry mixture.

Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim and flute edges. Spoon cranberry mixture into pastry shell; arrange pear halves on top.

Bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden brown (cover edges with foil for last 15 minutes of baking if necessary). Cool on wire rack.

Roll remaining pastry. Using cookie cutters (or a knife), cut out small leaves, little crosses (optional), and a partridge. Place on an ungreased baking sheet; sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 400° for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Place partridge in center of pie with leaves near each pear, and crosses along the edge.

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Turtle Dove Chocolates

Another fun recipe we made for our Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party were these delicious Turtle Dove Chocolates!   They are similar to the Pretzel Dots, made with Dove Caramels and Pecan Halves, instead of the Hershey Kisses and M&M's.  You just can't go wrong with salty caramels and chocolate.  YUM!!! These things are very dangerous to have in the house, especially with my New Year's resolutions and goals. Thankfully our children made sure they didn't last long!

Turtle Dove Chocolates

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Dove Caramel Milk Chocolates
• 1 bag of Butter Snap pretzels
• 1 bag of whole pecan halves (about 30-40 pieces)
• Pretzel Sticks (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Unwrap each Dove Chocolate. Lay out pretzels and put one chocolate on each pretzel.

Bake in oven for 3 minutes. After removing from oven, gently press pecan into chocolate, but not hard enough for caramel to come out of the chocolate. Transfer pan to refrigerator for chocolates to harden.

Note: Can you tell that I got distracted talking to a friend on the telephone?  They were left in the oven for about 4-5 minutes and I had caramel oozing everywhere... Whoops!

Optional: Before placing the candies in the refrigerator to harden you can insert pieces of Pretzel Sticks to create a head and legs for your "turtles." Or just leave them as pictured above, with the turtle tucked into his shell!

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Gluten Free Twelfth Night Rum Cake

I wanted to make Jessica's Twelfth Night Rum Cake this year but my husband is eating gluten free right now for some digestive health reasons and I felt bad for not making more treats that he could enjoy with us over this Christmas season. So, turning to The Cake Mix Doctor's new gluten free cookbook, I decided to try her Bacardi Rum Cake recipe, just making a few alterations. Here is the recipe as I made it:

Gluten Free Twelfth Night Rum Cake

Cake:

Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pan
1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix (Betty Crocker)
1/4 cup (half of a 3.4-ounce package) vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbl. rum extract
1/4 cup water
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 Tbl. water

1 tsp. rum extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with GF vegetable oil spray.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, rum extract, water, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are just incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter until smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula, and place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 40 to 45 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Place the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Add the brown sugar and water, and stir to combine over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat, stir in the 1 tsp. rum extract and let the glaze cool.

My cake was so pretty and puffed when it came out of the oven and then it collapsed. Sad, but still yummy!

5. Transfer the Bundt pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Shake the pan gently, and invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Carefully put the cake back in the pan. Using a wooden skewer, poke a dozen holes on the bottom of the cake, about 1/2 way through. Very slowly spoon about 2/3rds of the cooled glaze over the warm cake letting it soak into the holes in the cake before adding more. Insert chocolate coins at this point by slicing into the bottom and inserting an unwrapped chocolate coin into the slit. When the bottom of the cake has absorbed most of the glaze, flip cake back over to a serving plate and spoon the remainder of the glaze over the top.

6.  Let the cake cool to room temperature, 20 minutes longer before slicing and serving.

Happy Twelfth Night!

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Twelfth Night Rum Cake

Since we are enjoying and adjusting ;) to having a brand new baby in our home, I haven't been doing much baking this Christmas season.   I did manage to bake a simple cake for today, the 12th day of Christmas and the traditional feast of Epiphany.

For this cake I used the same great Pampered Chef Silicone Crown Cake Pan that I used earlier this year for our Garden of the Good Shepherd Fresh Orange Crown Cake, this time slightly modifying a recipe for a delicious Rum Cake, complete with three chocolate coins, one to represent each of the three gifts brought by the Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  I plan to give a small gift to each person that discovers a coin in their slice of cake.

Twelfth Night Rum Cake

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix (plus ingredients to make cake)
1 tbsp rum extract, divided
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
Nonstick cooking spray with flour
3 chocolate coins
3 small gifts to give to those that find the coins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray inside of Silicone Crown Cake Pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. Combine cake mix, water, eggs, oil and 2 tsp of the rum extract in large bowl; mix according to package directions. Pour batter into pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake pan from oven to cooking rack.

Meanwhile, for syrup, melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and water. Simmer 1-2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining 1 tsp rum extract.

Using dull end of a wooden skewer, pierce bottom of cake 50-60 times, inserting skewer halfway into cake.

Brush bottom of cake with 1/2 cup of the syrup and let stand 10 minutes to soak up syrup.

Using a butter knife, make three small incisions in the bottom of the cake to insert the three chocolate coins, one to represent each of the three gifts brought by the Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Invert cake onto serving platter. Lifting straight up, carefully lift cake pan off cake. Brush top of cake with remaining glaze.  Dust with powdered sugar.

I also happen to have a bag of Peppermint Dipped Snowflakes, which I had purchased with the intent of using for our Jesse Tea this year (which never did happen) that made perfect "Star" garnishes for our cake.

*If you don't happen to have the Silicone Crown Cake Pan made by Pampered Chef, you could bake this cake in any Bundt Pan.   Nordic Ware also has some great pans that would create beautiful crown cakes including their Bavarian Pan, Cathedral Pan, and Fleur De Lis Pan.  Or, if you just don't have time to bake, you could even pick up a store baked cake and just insert the chocolate coins into the bottom of the cake before serving!   Pin It

Happy Birthday Jesus Cupcakes & A Gingerbread Manger

+REJOICE+

There are still a few days left of the Christmas season so I thought I'd share a couple of things we made to celebrate the birth of Our Lord...It's not too late, you know:)

I know there are so many cute ideas for making birthday cakes for Jesus out there, so thought I'd share this cupcake idea...We made red velvet cupcakes and found these little plastic Nativity figures at our local cake decorating supply store.  However,  I noticed they can also be found online, if you care to order for next year:)  They were the perfect size for cupcakes!  The Star of Bethlehem cupcake toppers were found at the cake supply store as well.  I peeked around a bit online but couldn't find them.  I'm holding on to these so we can re-use them next year!

Gingerbread Manger

Can you say repurpose?

We transformed this Gingerbread House Kit into a stable!  

I found these adorable cake toppers so I couldn't resist the big shortcut!

The Claydough Nativity set can be found online here. By the way, mine came in a nice plastic encasement for storage and protection...That makes the price a little more bearable.  Plus, I will mention again that they sure are cute!

Our Dad is pretty good at this kind of thing. He has the patience of a trained professional*wink*  He wanted to create a humble and simple manger, without any gumdrops on the roof.  You know what that meant? Yep, more candies from the kit for the children to eat right away:)

As you can see, they used Nutella for the frosting and the "glue" for the Gingerbread Manger....YUM.  

We browned some coconut for the manger hay and this is the finished project, mostly edible! (Except for the claydough figures of course)

God Bless your final days of Christmas!

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