St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture on or around March 17. It particularly remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. He was born in Roman Britain to a wealthy family near the end of the fourth century. At age 16, he was captured by Irish raiders and brought to Ireland, where he spent six years in captivity, working as a shepherd. He became a devout Christian and, it’s believed, began to dream of converting the Irish to Christianity. He then escaped back to England. He wrote that a voice — God’s — spoke to him in a dream telling him to leave Ireland.
After reaching England, Patrick described having a second dream in which an angel told him to go back to Ireland as a missionary. He started religious training to become a priest. He was later sent to Ireland on a mission to convert the Irish to Christianity and minister to Christians already there. Rather than replacing pagan Irish rituals, he incorporated them into his teachings. For instance, the Irish used to honor their gods with fire, so Patrick used bonfires to celebrate Easter. He died in A.D. 461 on March 17, which became St. Patrick’s Day.
Wearing green has become a staple of St. Patrick’s Day, but the holiday was originally associated with the color blue. It’s thought that the shift to green happened because of Ireland’s nickname “The Emerald Isle,” the green in the Irish flag and the shamrock, or clover. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn as early as the 17th century. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, an uprising against British rule in Ireland, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on March 17 to make a political statement.
Legend has it that wearing green makes a person invisible to leprechauns that will pinch someone if they see them. The symbol of St. Patrick is a three-leaf shamrock, not a four-leaf clover. In Ireland, some people still adhere to the tradition of Catholics wearing green and Protestants wearing orange, the colors that represent their respective religious sects on the Irish flag.
St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional day for planting peas. Cabbage seeds are often planted today, too.
Celebrations and Céilidhs are common as is the imbibement of alcohol particularly Guiness and Irish whisky.
Here are 2 recipes: one for Irish Jelly Shots and the second for a delicious Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Buttercream
Irish Jelly Shots!
Green Layer
- 1 small Lime jelly
- 150ml water
- 150ml Sour apple pucker
White Layer
- 120ml coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 packet Knox Gelatin
- 120ml Marshmallow Flavoured Vodka
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Orange Layer
- 1 small packet Orange jelly
- 150ml water
- 150ml Orange liquor
METHOD:
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Add 150ml boiling water to lime jelly mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved.
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Repeat with orange jelly mix.
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Add your liquors to both jellies and set to the side.
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Cool 10 minutes.
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For the white layer, pour milk into a small saucepan.
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Add the gelatin packet to the milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
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Stir the white mixture and break up the gelatin.
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Turn on medium heat, simmer until the gelatin dissolves.
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Stir well, until it comes to a boil.
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Remove from heat and add sugar and vanilla and stir to dissolve.
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Add in your vodka, stir and let cool 10 minutes.
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Pour or spoon lime jelly into plastic shot glass ⅓ of the way full.
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Refrigerate 25 minutes.
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Pour white jelly mixture on top of blue layer ⅓ of the way full. .
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Refrigerate 20 minutes.
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Top it off with the orange jelly.
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Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
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Garnish with whip cream, sour rainbow candy and chocolate gold cake sprinkles.
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ENJOY!!
Still containing alcohol – you may prefer it in the form of…
Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Cream Buttercream
- 225 grams plain flour
- 400 grams granulated sugar
- 65 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 170 grams sour cream or plain full fat yogurt
- 120 ml fresh vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 235 ml Guinness beer
For the Irish Buttercream:
- 450 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 750 grams icing sugar, sifted
- 60 mls plus 2 tablespoons Irish cream, such as Bailey’s
For the chocolate drip:
- 120 gms semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 120 mls heavy cream
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C /350°F/Gas Mark 4. Generously grease two 8-inch wide and 3-inch deep cake pans and line with parchment rounds.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and beer.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in their pans for 30 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- If possible, freeze the cakes while you prepare the buttercream.
Make the buttercream:
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In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar then the Irish cream. Beat the mixture on high speed until very light, fluffy, and smooth, about 3 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a splash more Irish cream. If it’s too thin, add some more icing sugar.
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Assemble: Place one cake layer a cake stand or serving plate. Frost the top of the cake generously, as this will become the filling. Use even more if you’re decorating as a ‘naked’ cake. Top with the other cake layer, flat side up.
- With an offset spatula, spread a very thin layer of frosting all over the cake. This layer is a crumb coat and should act like polyfilla. For the smoothest frosting, return the cake to the fridge or freezer until firm to the touch.
- Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake. If desired, focus the frosting on the top to maintain the ‘naked’ look.
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer then immediately remove from heat and pour over chocolate. You can also do this in the microwave. Cover for a few minutes then stir until smooth.-
Allow to cool until it has thickened but is still pourable, approx. 10 minutes. Don’t place ganache in the fridge to cool. Test the consistency of the drip by pouring down the side of a glass. If it’s too thick, microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. If it’s too thin, allow to continue to cool.
- Decorate classically with chocolate shavings or add green coloured shamrocks & gold coins
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The cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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