Day 34: 2/3/13 - Celebrate Little D.'s Baptismal Anniversary

Day 34: 2/3/13 - Celebrate Little D.'s Baptismal Anniversary                  
New Thing- Make Coventry God Cakes
Inspiration: Little D., Britain    
Time: 30 mins.                 
Bottom Line: 5 years with a little Christian!

Reflection: Today is D. 5th Baptismal Anniversary! If you would like to read the crazy story about that day you can find it here. So, today I wanted to try something different to mark the occasion. My search lead me to the Blog: "Baking for Britain" which had a really neat food tradition called Coventry Godcakes:

Godcakes seem to be peculiar to Coventry. Both Godcakes and God's Kitchels were handed out at the beginning of the year (or Easter), by godparents to godchildren. The idea was that when a godchild approached their godparent to request a blessing, they would come away with a double-whammy - a blessing and a cake. A fair deal for the godchild, I think. Historically, Godcakes ranged in size and price, depending on the pocket and generosity of the godparent. The triangular shape, along with the three slashes in the top of the pastry, has led to speculation that the cakes were representative of the Trinity. Godcakes are very easy for the heavily pregnant and time-poor cook to assemble. They are also a good way of using up any leftover Christmas mincemeat.

I somehow managed already used up my "leftover Christmas mincemeat" already (that may because I have never even seen any) and all of D.'s Godparents live several hours away, so I had to improvise some things. I used organic blackberry current instead of mincemeat and gave it to D. with a prayer and a blessing as we sang hymns and looked at pictures of the baptism. A tasty new tradition!   

Here is the recipe: 

Puff pastry
Mincemeat
Dash of rum (optional)
1 egg white and some caster sugar to finish

1. Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface.
3. Methods divulge at this point, so you can either cut out squares (4 inches per side), and then cut the squares into triangles; or leave the squares uncut. It depends whether you want to make your Godcake using two triangles pressed together, or using a square folded diagonally. I tried both ways to see what worked/looked best.
4. Place a teaspoonful of mincemeat in the middle of your pastry shape. Don't be too generous, otherwise the mincemeat will squidge out when you press the pastry together. I found that if the quantity looked a little mean in my eyes, then it was sufficient.
5. Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water, and press either the second pastry triangle on top, or fold the other half of the square over to form a triangle. Press the edges of the triangle to form a seal/eject mincemeat all over the worktop.
6. Cut three slashes in the top of your Godcakes. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake for approx. 15 minutes, or until golden and well puffed up.
8. Cool on wire rack.