Celebrating Easter with Chocolate

"They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'" (Matthew 21:7-9)

 





This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday for Christians around the world. Traditionally, Palm Sunday occurs between March 15 and April 18. This is an important and solemn day that honors Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. It is the Sunday before Easter, and begins the Christian commemoration of Holy Week.

On Palm Sunday Jesus entered the Holy City of Jerusalem surrounded by a crowd of followers. The palms disbursed by many churches signify the branches that were spread in on the road as Jesus approached. Little did they know the dark road that lay ahead of Him that week. Many who welcomed Him with palm branches would shout, "Crucify Him!" just a few days later.

This last Sunday of Lent is also called Passion Sunday. The Biblical accounts of the last days of Christ's life all agree that as He returned to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with His followers, the crowds who were eager to proclaim him the Messiah, "Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." (John 12:13) 

Today, many Christian churches traditionally hold services on Palm Sunday when leaves of palm, often shaped into crosses to symbolize Jesus' last hours on the cross, are given to the congregation. In many areas there are procession with the palm fronds to commemorate the journey of Christ. In churches that observe Ash Wednesday by giving ashes to their members at the beginning of Lent, these palms are burnt for use in this symbolic ceremony.

Tradition has always played an important part in the observance of Holy Week. In Great Britain, traditional foods served on Palm Sunday include fig pudding, because Jesus is said to have eaten figs on his entry into the city of Jerusalem. (I don't know if He actually ate figs or not, but the Bible says He cursed a fig tree that same week.) In Wales, the day is known as Flowering Sunday because of the association with the flowering of the fig tree. Making split pea soup is another tradition still observed in Northern England and Scotland, derived from the ancient practice of wearing a hard pea in the shoe as penance during Lent. (Ouch! How would you like to wear a pea in your shoe for 40 days?)

In other areas of the UK, pax cakes - along with best wishes for peace and brotherhood - are given out to congregations after Palm Sunday services in a custom said to date back to the 1500's.

In the Greek tradition, Lenten fast is broken with a fish dinner on Palm Sunday featuring bakaliaros or salt cod. In some parts of Italy, homemade fettuccini pasta topped with tomato sauce, bread crumbs and chopped nuts is the customary Palm Sunday dish.

More modern interpretations of appropriate foods to be eaten on Palm Sunday include hearts of palm featured in salads and side dishes to observe the day. (SOURCE: http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/palm-sunday.htm)

As a child, I don't recall any particular "tradition" that my family observed on Palm Sunday, but as I've grown older and been able to study the biblical account of the event, it has been a good reminder to me of Christ's dark week of suffering, leading up to His crucifixion. Both Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday provide times to worship, followed by family dinners and quiet reflection about the price Jesus paid for us.

Growing up, one of the biggest attractions of Easter (besides hunting Easter eggs) was its desserts. I remember Momma baking special buns or hot rolls, and always providing a huge table full of all kinds of great things to eat, but the thing I enJOYed most was her delicious desserts. She always presented us with a homemade cake that never seemed to last very long. Easter desserts have always been an important part of the meal. After the long fasting season of Lent, Easter is the time for feasts and celebrating new life with lavish desserts. Today's Easter baskets would be considered incomplete without sweets, cookies, candies, and chocolate----especially chocolate! Do you know the source of most chocolate products? If you did, would you still want to eat chocolate? Just as we can see a dark side to Passion Week, there is a dark side to chocolate (and I'm not just referring to the color). Let me challenge you to read these articles (links below) concerning child slavery and human trafficing associated with the production and exportation of chocolate. I hope it will be an eye-opener for you (as it has been to me), and that it will make you stop and consider the suffering and sacrifices that still go on today, despite our Savior's defeat of evil that Easter morning over 2000 years ago.  Each time you taste chocolate, let it remind you of Christ's suffering on the cross and the sweetness that we enJOY because of His triumph over the grave on Easter Sunday. This is the most recent article: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/03/the-dark-side-of-chocolate/ This one contains a video: http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the_dark_side_of_chocolate_2010/ This is also a video: http://www.thedarksideofchocolate.org/ You may wonder why I would choose to cook with chocolate after reading and viewing material at these sites. Just as we are not to be "overcome by evil, but we're to overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21), many manufacturers of chocolate are overcoming the abuses and learning how to make chocolate ethically, and make it really well. As Christians, we bear the responsibility to be lights in the darkness (and to be the sweetness that flavors this world of bitterness). Chocolate is a product that most everyone loves and realizing the dark side of its history doesn’t have to lessen your enJOYment of it. It can actually enhance your appreciation. I think the perfect dessert for Palm Sunday is a rich, fudgy chocolate cake that I want to share with you today. I remember when one of my sisters made this cake and served it at a family dinner. It's always been a favorite. But this year, it will be more than that-- it will remind me to be a light in someone's darkness while bringing sweetness to an otherwise bitter world. Gather the ingredients... and notice that I forgot to include sugar in the supplies photo! Chocolate without sugar tastes very different. For better or for worse, chocolate and sugar go hand in hand. Without sugar to sweeten the bitter chocolate, the cake would be inedible. Without Christ's sacrifice on the cross, life's journey would be bitter indeed. Thank Him, today, for all He's done for you! And have a BLESSED Palm Sunday and Holy Week!  COCA-COLA CAKE (Page 107 in "A Pinch of This ... A Smidgen of That" Cookbook.) Here's what you'll need:  CAKE INGREDIENTS: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 2 sticks margarine 1 cup Coca-Cola 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. Vanilla 3 Tbsp. cocoa 1 1/3 cup miniature marshmallows ICING INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 6 Tbsp. Coca-Cola 3 Tbsp. cocoa 1 lb. box powdered sugar 1 cup pecans, chopped and, don't forget the SUGAR! Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an oblong cake pan. Wisk flour and sugar to mix.  Heat margarine and Coca-Cola to boiling; pour over flour mixture. Mix well. (Note that I'm using a spatula to stir this, not a mixer. So easy!)  Add buttermilk, and stir to mix. Add slightly beaten eggs, Stir in baking soda, Add vanilla and cocoa, and gently fold in marshmallows. Pour into greased (and floured, if you prefer) cake pan. Marshmallows will float to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. It will look something like this when it's done: Now, to make the icing. You can actually begin making it a few minutes before the cake comes out of the oven, because you'll cover the cake with it while it's still hot. First, combine butter, Coca-Cola, and cocoa. Heat to boiling. Pour hot mixture over powdered sugar and chopped pecans (if you choose to mix pecans in the icing, instead of on top as a garnish). I added my pecans to the powdered sugar before I added the hot cocoa mixture. Add more powdered sugar or Coca-Cola to thicken or thin, or as needed. Mix well. This needs to be a medium consistency (not thick, but not too thin, either), so you can pour and spread it evenly over the cake. It will firm up as it cools. Spread icing evenly over hot cake. Sprinkle chopped nuts over cake, (if you didn't include them in the icing mixture, as I did). EnJOY!! Have a BLESSED and JOY-filled Palm Sunday and week ahead! COCA-COLA CAKE   CAKE INGREDIENTS: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 2 sticks margarine 1 cup Coca-Cola 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. Vanilla 3 Tbsp. cocoa 1 1/3 cup miniature marshmallows ICING INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 6 Tbsp. Coca-Cola 3 Tbsp. cocoa 1 lb. box powdered sugar 1 cup pecans, chopped CAKE DIRECTIONS: Combine flour and sugar. Heat margarine and Coca-Cola to boiling; pour over flour mixture. Mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, cocoa, and marshmallows. Pour into greased cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. ICING DIRECTIONS: Combine butter, Coca-Cola, and cocoa in a small saucepan. Heat mixture to boiling and pour over powdered sugar (you may add pecans at this time or wait and use them as garnish). Use more or less powdered sugar or Coca-Cola, as needed to form medium consistency (should be able to pour and spread the hot mixture over the cake). Blend well. Ice cake while cake is still hot. Sprinkle chopped nuts over cake (if you didn't include them in your icing mixture).