Sunday Sweets: St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2013 Blarney! Today is St. Patrick's Day!
;)
What better way to celebrate than with some St. Patrick's Day Sweets?
Because honestly ... that's about the extent of my celebrations.
I'll admit, St. Patrick's Day is a holiday I'm not quite sure what to do with.
First of all, I don't drink ...
;)
(Although I would totally eat this! It's so fluffy!)
... and B: I'm not Irish.
;)
Submitted by Brenda T. and made by KupKakeTree
Like the olde Irish proverb says: There are only two kinds of people in the world, The Irish and those who wish they were.
And today, I guess that's true, because St. Patrick's Day for me just means watching my Lord of the Dance DVD (don't judge) and wearing green if I happen to remember.
;)
By iambaker
At least there are plenty of flattering shades of green, as illustrated by this fabulous cake. Oh, the time it must take to make a cake like this. That's coloring, baking, and frosting SEVEN separate layers, people.
It reminds me of all those super-moms on Pinterest who have St. Patrick's Day themed breakfasts with stacks of rainbow colored pancakes, or set little leprechaun traps with their kids. That's what this adorable cake is, hence the ladder:
;)
Submitted by Deborah C., made by Not Martha
But you know what? This cake inspires me. I could make a leprechaun trap too. Why not? Yeah! I am OWNING you next year, St. Patrick's Day!
Besides, I will happily celebrate any holiday that gives me a valid excuse to stockpile chocolate.
;)
By Cake Central member Leslie2748
What a genius idea to put the coins inside the cake. I'm pretty sure if I was in charge of a pot-of-gold cake, I would have just smooshed them into some frosting and called it good.
And here's another genius idea: using clover and horseshoe-shaped cookie cutters! You're thinking that doesn't sound very geniusy. Well, scroll down, my friend.
;)
Submitted by Sarah K. and made by Nicole at Life's a Batch
Pretty darn genius.
And these clover-cookies are also doing double-duty as a rainbow over two of the most perfectly precise St. Paddy's day partiers I've ever seen.
;)
By Jill of Funky Cookie Studio
(The background painting was done by the baker's 3-year-old grandson. So cute.)
But if you're looking for a more grown-up good time, then this cake surely won't disappoint:
;)
Submitted by Kelly D. and made by Le Couture Cakery
Unless of course, you try to drink it. Hey, it's so realistically shiny, it could happen. (Love the pretzels too!)
After all these beer and leprechaun cakes, would you believe me if I told you St. Patrick's Day cakes could be elegant and sophisticated too?
;)
NOW do you believe me?
And hold on to your knickers for this one:
;)
Submitted by Rosemary D. and made by Bobbette and Belle Artisinal Pastries
That is one crazy Celtic creation.
Or serious Celtic sensation, depending on how you pronounce it.
And here is one final St. Patrick's Day celebration all rolled into one: rainbows, clovers, gold coins, beer, leprechauns ... the only thing missing is corned beef!
;)
By KC Cakes
Happy Driving The Snakes Out Of Ireland Day!
Have a Sweet to send us? Send it to sundaysweets(at)cakewrecks(dot)com.
Reader Comments (40)
Aww, thank you! A friend alerted me that my 3-piece Leprechaun cookies were part of your showcase today, and I couldn't be more thrilled! These were from two years ago, back before I began watermarking at all, so I guess they traveled into the internet abyss of anonymity.
(editor's note: Thanks for the update! ~Anne-Marie)
Thank you So much for featuring some of my St. Patrick's Day cookies. I am thrilled because I collaborated with my grandson on these!
I know Americans have a lot of very strange preconceptions about the Irish, but seriously where did this corned beef thing come from?!
and it's celtic with a hard C, unless you're talking about Scottish football teams.
Mushrooms are phallic
No matter how hard you try
The rest are pretty.
Definitely Celtic with a hard C - that cake was also seriously awe-inspiring.
(Also actually Irish, and Welsh, too)
Love these cakes! Never thought to make a leprechaun trap!
These cakes are fantastic! But do you not call them shamrocks in the US? All this talk of clovers is quite confusing...
That crazy Celtic sensation (I don't know which way to pronounce it either, so I use C sometimes and S other times) looks like a puzzle of some sort...the kind where you twist each level of it to line up all the openings. It's beautiful.
I'm really very glad I'm not a pinterest mom who has to make rainbow pancakes for her children. Does that make me a bad person?
Makes me long for rolling Irish hills :D
St Patrick's day in any other country than Ireland is tomorrow!
St Patrick's day is a "minor festival" and cannot fall on a Sunday and has to be moved to the next day according to the liturgical calendar
The Irish can celebrate today as he's their patron saint, but the rest of us need to drink Guinness and whiskey TOMORROW (as if you were looking for an excuse.....)
Corned beef and cabbage is tasty tasty stuff! Only one small niggly thing, from one (Northern) Irish to all Americans - it's shortened to Paddy not Patty!! Paddy is the shortened form for Patrick (from the Irish Padraig) never Patty :D
Shamrocks, not clovers!
These are some fantastic cakes!
Actually Irish-- the explanation I've seen for the corned beef tradition is that Irish American immigrants in the 19th century couldn't often afford to buy bacon, but corned beef was cheaper so they paired that with the cabbage instead.
LOVE the green ombre cake! So pretty and feminine!
The one with the shades of green is perfect!
I wonder how much mixing went on to get the colors just right. Amazing.
Awesome cakes. Love them greatly.
http://paddynotpatty.com/
Cakes four,five and six plus Celtic knot cake,yes please.
And I long for the little guy on the second cake,so cute!!!
For Actually Irish and anyone else who's curious: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2013/03/is-corned-beef-really-irish
I appreciate the snake reference at the end, but really -- no snake cakes? What's the baking world coming to?
That is one crazy Celtic creation.
Or serious Celtic sensation, depending on how you pronounce it.
There's no depending about it. Neither Irish nor Scots Gaelic have a soft c sound in the language. C is always going to sound like K, in an Irish context. Which makes a certain basketball team's name particularly painful for me.
pretty cakes for my Birthday. :P
"Celtic" has a hard C unless you're talking about the Boston basketball team.
And that Book of Kells cake is awesome!
Seeing cakes like these makes me want to get out my cake pans & try to be one of those Pinterest moms. But then I realize I would need actual hours of time to work on such an awesome piece of art & also some magical help from leprechauns & perhaps some fairy dust.
However, in our house St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with the traditional (apparently the American Irish-immigrant only traditional) corned beef & cabbage dinner but also with our favorite Irish-themed movies. If anyone needs ideas:
~John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara's "The Quiet Man"
~ The Disney Classic starting a very young Sean Connery (yes, I know he's Scottish, but what'cha gonna do?) "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"
~Janeane Garofalo's delightfully geeky & awkward performance in the romantic comedy "The Matchmaker". I don't know anyone else who even knows about this movie, but it's a funny, sweet little movie you can probably find in a Walmart $5 movie bin somewhere.
I'm currently recording Fred Astire's "Finnigan's Rainbow". I have never seen it so will have to paroose it to see if it gets added to the Paddy's Day list. In a pinch you could always throw on the "Muppet Movie". Afterall, Kermit is green & there's that whole rainbow song at the end. :0)
"Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!"
"May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you."
If only I could get something this cool as my birthday cake. I'll be lucky if I get any cake today for my birthday. Just because I'm 32 now doesn't mean I don't want to eat lots of birthday cake!
@Tracy Thanks for clearing that up. I don't know anyone called Patrick or who is Irish but I remember on The Mentalist Patrick Jane being called Paddy so I was a bit confused after reading here "Patty".
O M G.... That Book of Kells cake is to die for! I love Celtic knot work and illuminated manuscripts! This is getting tucked in the "someday" file.
That Celtic wedding cake is absolutely wonderful! I wish I knew somebody Irish so I could make at least part of it.
Paddy is a good name for a leprechaun, but St. Patrick was a bishop and deserves a bit of respect.
:D Lindsey, I had to read "Celtic creation/Celtic sensation" THREE times to get it (yeah, duh). Now, I want to use that whenever anyone's arguing on how it's pronounced.
@MovieMom: It's actually FINIAN'S RAINBOW--one of my favorite musicals. :)
For Moviemom (and anyone else) I must recommend The Secret Of Kells, a visual masterpiece!
I think I've officially converted my son to loving cakes! I just peeked over at my 6 year old and he is googling St. Patrick's Day cakes!! :)
Yes, never ever ever Patty. Never. Patty's from Peanuts. Paddy's short for Patrick. D and T are two different sounds outside the US!
Also, I don't really get the whole world embracing Patrick's Day. If you're not Irish you should feel no need to celebrate it! I'm AM Irish and I feel little need to celebrate - we eschewed parades in the freezing cold this year and stayed resolutely IN. I would have willingly accepted a slice of one of those cakes, of course...
@Tiffany & Vickie - Thanks for the movie suggestions! I will deffinately add those to my Netflix list. Now if I could only watch those films while eating one of these cakes!
MovieMom: Have you ever seen "The Secret of Roan Innish"? it features Selkies, not Leprechauns, but lovely, mystical and sweet-- and Irish to the core. I only own about a dozen DVD's and that's one of them.
The word 'shamrock' comes from the Irish word for 'young clover'. It isn't a separate plant. 'Clover' is fine.
Just had to second the Patty/Paddy thing. Drives me bonkers and I love you too much not to educate you on this. Paddy paddy paddy paddy paddy lol.
St. Paddy's Day doesn't mean much to me, either, as I also am not Irish, nor do I drink. My only way of celebrating St. Patrick's Day is by wearing green and watching SciFi Channel's Leprechaun movie marathon.
Because nothing says "Irish Pride" like a murderous leprechaun played by an English actor with a bad Irish accent.
@Emma - I laughed out loud!
@Elizabeth - I wondered if anyone else was thinking of that basketball team! :-)
I spent my St. Patrick's day selling Girl Scout cookies with my daughter...outside the local Wal-Mart for 4 hours! Thankfully, it's pretty warm down here in Houston. We even got sunburned...and SOLD OUT! (I'm glad these cakes weren't there - we'd have lost sales! :-) One Scout was particularly happy 'cuz she's always wanted to be @ a sold-out booth! Oh, and we were dressed appropriately, in green... (Official Girl Scout colors are green & white, though the various levels are different colors: Brownies are brown (duh), Daisies are blue (shouldn't they be white?!), but Juniors are green.)
When I was little my sister and I would set a leprechaun trap every year . . . We never caught one, and our traps were always pretty awful, but it was fun!
And my mom would make magic green pancakes with us. She put a couple drops of green food coloring in the bottom of a mixing bowl, then put the pancake batter in. My sister and I could watch her stir up the batter, and it would magically turn green! Tricking children is clearly the best part of being a parent!
I guess my point is, even normal, not at all crazy organized pinterest-y parents can have some leprechaun trap and magic pancake fun!
That Celtic knotwork cake is just stunning! I mean, the other cakes are pretty neat, too, but that magnificent knotwork cake...WOW.