Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
October 31
Saint of the day:
Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
Patron Saint of apoplexy; carpenters and wood carvers; paralysis;
Regensburg, Germany; stomach diseases; strokes
Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg's Story
The Legend:
According to legend, St. Wolfgang tricked the devil into helping him build the church, promising him the first soul that came through the church doors. The devil agreed, and after the construction was completed, a wolf was the first to cross its threshold, thus tricking the devil.
His Life:
St. Wolfgang (934-994 A.D.), also known as the Great Almoner, was a Benedictine monk, reformer, and Bishop of Regensburg, Bavaria. He was born into the noble class and had an excellent education. As bishop he worked to reform the monasteries and convents in his diocese. He is remembered for his teaching abilities, his oratory skills, and his charity towards the poor. He was also integral in the missionary efforts to evangelize the Magyars in what is today modern Hungary. Towards the end of his life he withdrew to a solitary spot to build a church and hermitage at what is now called St. Wolfgang's Lake in Austria. Before settling he prayed and threw his axe into the wilderness, and built his cell on the spot where it landed. A town grew around the saint's hermitage which still exists today.
https://sacredheartseward.org/events/saint-of-the-day-saint-wolfgang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_of_Regensburg
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-wolfgang-of-regensburg
Prayer:
Visit
St. Emmeram's Abbey
Emmeramspl. 3, 93047 Regensburg, Germany
Recipe:
Black Velvet Cake
For cake
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1.5 cups brown sugar (firmly packed)
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1 3/4 cups cake flour
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1 cup black cocoa*
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2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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2 eggs, at room temperature
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1 cup buttermilk
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1 cup hot water or coffee
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1/2 cup neutral flavored oil (grapeseed, rice bran)
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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100g/3.5ozs. finely chopped dark chocolate
For frosting
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375g/13.3ozs. butter, room temperature
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190g/6.7ozs. caster sugar
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115ml/4flozs. water, room temperature (test on wrist)
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3/4 cup black cocoa
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To decorate
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6 black cherries
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6 blackberries
Directions
*This will of course work with regular cocoa but it won't achieve that inky black shade.
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Butter and line 2x20cm/8inch round tins. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, bicarb and baking powder in a large bowl. In a large jug measure the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat in the eggs and then the water. Mix gently into the flour mixture in 3-4 lots along with the chopped chocolate. Divide among the two tins and bake for 30 minutes.
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Fit a beater attachment to your mixer and beat the butter, sugar and cocoa together on low speed for 1 minute and then increase it to a speed of 3 out of 10 for 3 minutes. Add the water and vanilla in at low speed and beat on the same speed (3 oout of 10) for another 5 minutes or until the sugar no longer feels gritty between your fingers.
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Trim the tops off the cakes (I made cake pops with the extras) and then slice each cake in half horizontally using a cake leveller (I am pretty hopeless at achieving a straight slice with a knife). If you have time, please cover and freeze the cake layers so that they are easier to ice. Spread the buttercream between each layer of cake and then coat with more buttercream (the cake isn't overly crumby so I didn't really need a crumb coat).
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Fit a piping bag with a 1A tip and fill with some of the buttercream and pipe dollops around the edge of the cake. Then top with black cherries, blackberries and sprinkles.
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*If the chocolate is not black enough and if wanted add a few drops of black food coloring.
