At the risk of getting ahead of myself, the garnish for this slice of Scripture Cake is straight from the Good Book: "And she gave the King one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones." (2-Chronicles 9:9)
So let's rewind a bit. Steve brought home a pile of vintage church cookbooks. Scripture Cake turned up in lots of them. The idea is all the ingredients are found in verses of the Bible. Some of the recipes, like the version from The Parish Cookbook of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Astoria, Queens, don't list the actual ingredients. They give the chapter and verse and you have to look up what they're referring to. Fun!
The good folks behind the The Amish Homestead Cookbook and A Vermont Cookbook by Vermont Cooks were more accommodating, listing the ingredients along with the Biblical source.
Not all the recipes line up exactly as there are numerous references to stuff like figs (Samuel and Nahum), spices (Kings and Chronicles), and almonds (Genesis and Numbers). I did notice that the Methodists cut some corners, such as leaving out the salt — not the whole pillar of course, just a smidgeon of what was left of poor old Lot's wife.
The no-nonsense Vermonters were rather terse when it came to instructions, offering only "Follow Solomon's advice for making good boys (Proverbs 23:14) and you will have a good cake." I'll save you the trouble of looking that one up. "You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell." Ouch.
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Yet still there was a glaring omission in every version. Where was the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden? (Genesis 3:6). So I added a sliced, sugared apple on top. And if you want to get creative, take inspiration from Revelations 22:2 — "The tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month." Harry and David 's Fruit of the Month Club would be a real Godsend here. I suppose I have the Jesuits to thank for these liberties.
So back to my garnish o' bling. The diamond cross, the gold Star of David and assorted precious stones were obvious choices. But who's that figure bottom right in the picture you ask? Why that's the beggar Lazarus. Remember the rich man who dined sumptuously every day but wouldn't even give poor Laz the crumbs off his table? Look closely and you'll see the dogs that came to lick his sores before he perished. (Luke 16:19). If you don't remember how this parable ends, I'd advise a refresher — things don't turn out so well for the rich guy.
"Man shall not live by bread alone." (Matthew 4:4). Luckily, "Behold there was a cake baken." (1-Kings 9:16). Click here for Scripture Cake recipe.
