Ignacio (St. Ignatius Almond Cake)

July 31: Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Islander sometimes designs logotypes for various organizations. She finds the backgrounds of the logos quite interesting when clients explain what the letters and symbols mean to their organization. When she baked a Spanish almond cake, called Ignacio, for the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, she decided to decorate the top of it with a basic logo of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Catholic order founded by St. Ignatius in 1534 (and recognized by Pope Paul III six years later). I, H and S are the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek—iota, eta and sigma. The cross symbol in the middle of the letters represents our Lord at the center of our lives. And the trinity of nails shows us how He suffered and died for us so that we may be saved. Islander had mistakenly thought that “IHS” was an acronym for “In His Service.” Nevertheless, the logo is an inspirational reminder of how we hope to use our blog to share not only recipes but the love of Christ with others.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 cups almond meal
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• ¼ cup powdered sugar (for decorative topping)

Directions

Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until stiff. Gradually add the sugar. Mix in the almond meal and the flour. Melt the butter and slightly cool before pouring it in the batter.  Mix well.

Pour the batter in an ungreased, 8-inch round cake pan. Smooth the batter with a spatula. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for an hour and a half. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick; if the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool completely before sprinkling powdered sugar on the top.

To decorate the top of the cake with a Jesuit design, print the logo and carefully cut out the pieces using an X-Acto knife. Position the logo pieces on top of the cake. Make sure the cake is still on a wire rack with a pan beneath it to catch the remaining powdered sugar.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top using a sieve. Carefully remove the logo pieces from the top of the cake using tweezers. Present the cake on a platter or cake board. Slice into wedges and serve.

Notes

• Almond meal is also known as almond flour. Blanched or skinless toasted almonds can also be ground in a food processor and used for this recipe.
• The recipe from the cookbook is originally doubled than what we used for our blog.
• The logo used to decorate the cake is from Wikipedia Commons.

Kona Coffee Cheesecake

July 30: National Cheesecake Day

On a family trip to the Big Island, we went on a tour of a Kona coffee estate and picked peaberries and nibbled on coffee cherries right from the trees. We had been to other coffee farms on Kauai and Molokai before, but coffee from the island of Hawaii is rated among the world’s best!

When we bake Kona coffee cheesecake with a mocha crust and swirl topping, we make it with the best ingredients from the islands—100% Kona coffee, Big Island vanilla and Kauai coffee cookies. It is pricey and tastes rich but it is definitely worth the splurge on National Cheesecake Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Holiday Coffee Recipes)

For the mocha crust

• 1 ½ – 2 cups finely crushed cookies (we used a combination of Kauai Kookie brand Kona coffee macadamia nut cookies and Oreo Double Stuff—just the dark chocolate cookies without the “stuff”)
• ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

Directions

Place cookies in a zipper-top plastic bag. Crush carefully into crumbs using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Mix in the cookie crumbs, adding more if it is too buttery. Press mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Set aside to cool while making the filling.

For the Kona coffee filling

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
• ½ cup sugar (we used C&H brand, granulated white)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (we used Hawaiian Vanilla Company brand)
• ¼ teaspoon coffee extract or flavoring
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup 100% Kona coffee, brewed and cooled

Directions

Cream the cheese with the sugar. Add the vanilla and coffee extracts. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the Kona coffee. Mix until the batter is smooth. Pour over the cooled crust. Make the mocha swirl topping.

For the mocha swirl topping

• 1 tablespoon instant Kona coffee crystals (we used Mulvadi brand)
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 squares (1/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
• 1-2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Dissolve the instant Kona coffee crystals in water. Mix in the cornstarch until blended well.  Melt the chocolate. In a saucepan, stir the coffee mixture with the melted chocolate over low heat until thickened. Add the butter and stir until melted. Drizzle decoratively over the top of the cheesecake batter.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover the pan and refrigerate at least six hours or overnight until the cheesecake is set. Run a butter knife or spatula around the edges to loosen, remove from the pan, brush off the crumbs and transfer the cheesecake to a round board or platter. Slice and serve chilled.

Notes

• Beware of the blends! Only coffee grown on Kona can be legally labeled as such. Coffee grown on the other Hawaiian islands must be labeled otherwise. Also, check the package for whether it is 100% or a blend (which might only contain 10% Kona coffee). Prices are set high for premium products!
• Some similar recipes recommend baking the crust in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes. But we skipped this step and the cheesecake still turned out fine.
• If necessary, cover the outside bottom and sides of the springform pan with foil to prevent leaks. Then bake the cheesecake as usual.
• Thanks to our friend Lisa L. for the expensive bottle of Big Island vanilla from Hawaii and for the springform pan from Germany.

Tarte à la Citrouille Sainte-Marthe

Pumpkin Pie St. Martha

July 29: Feast Day of St. Martha

St. Martha is the patron saint of cooks! She tried her best to be the “hostess with the mostess” and hospitable to the holiest of house guests, Jesus, and was upset that her sister, Mary, didn’t offer much help with the preparations (Luke 10:38-42). St. Martha appears again in Scriptures serving dinner in the Lord’s honor just two days before His Last Supper (John 12:2).

We can relate to the ever-dutiful St. Martha wanting to make sure our family and guests are well fed. But we need to be reminded that we should be nourished not only physically but spiritually as well—as we do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuternomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).

Now taste and see the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 34:8) and make some mini pumpkin pies for the Feast Day of St. Martha.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin purée, unsweetened
• ½ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon (1 ½ envelopes) gelatin/gélatine
• pie crust, pre-baked (we used Keebler brand graham cracker Ready Crust minis)

Directions

Remove the pie crust from its packaging and bake according to the manufacturer’s directions. For the mini-pie crusts we used for this recipe, we brushed egg whites on them and baked in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for five minutes to seal in the graham cracker crumbs and give it a little shine. Let the crusts cool while preparing the pumpkin pie filling. Whip the egg whites until peaks form and then add 1/3 cup of sugar until stiff and shiny. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with 1/3 cup of sugar. Blend in the pumpkin purée, milk, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger and  nutmeg, mixing until smooth. Pour the mixture into a double boiler and cook for about five minutes or until the mixture thickens. In a cup, dissolve the gelatin into the cold water and stir. Add this to the pumpkin mixture and mix until smooth.

Let the pumpkin mixture cool to room temperature. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour the mixture into the pie crusts. Refrigerate for at least four hours or until the pies are firm. Yield: Approximately one pie or a dozen mini pies.

Notes

• This recipe originates from Québec, Canada. See the French language recipe here.