with Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
And it so happened that there was an angel so very precious and so very special that God couldn't bear to go another minute without that her.
Lucy was a very special child, and a very special child needs a very special love. At Lucy's birth, the heavens filled her with so much joy and so much love that there was barely enough room for anything else. Her love and her joy burst forth in a smile that was everlasting.
There were those who scoffed at her and commented on her smile that never went away. She just smiled at them and loved them all the more. Those were the ones who clearly needed her love more than the others.
A very special love also requires a very special care. When one has so much love to share, one tends to forget things like eating and sleeping and, well every day normal things we all do by habit. So a very special family was given to Lucy. They did all they could to care for her while she busied herself spreading her love.
Sometimes spreading love was best done from afar. Poor Lucy discovered that cute little honey bees buzzing around flowers can't be cuddled (as they too had their own job to do). Sometimes, she discovered, you can't save your new love for the next day. That was the case with Jello. It didn't last very long under her pillow and her plans for the next morning's breakfast turned into a sticky mess. Life was wonderful and filled with so many things to love and discover. The list was endless.
There was one thing at the top of her list of "Loves" that Lucy looked forward to every year, Christmas. Her family helped her count down the days remaining until Christmas, usually starting the day after Christmas of the previous year.
"Let's do it again!" she would scream in delight at the end of every Christmas evening. So the countdown to the next Christmas would begin the minute the sun rose the very next day.
There were the sparkling lights, the trees, the tinsel. There were lovely smells filling the house of fresh cookies and cakes. There were the packages under the tree with ribbons and bows. There were friends and family that she never got to visit with enough. They all came to see her every year.
Everything about this holiday screamed love and special-ness. But most importantly was celebrating the birthday of the cutest little baby. The church was crowded on that day more than any other day. She just knew it was the best day ever. She never did understand why they made the baby sleep outside, though.
So, again, Christmas was almost here. It was only a week away and there was so much left to do. Everyone was a buzz in an array of activity. They all reminded Lucy of the bees caring for the flowers. She knew better than to interrupt so she watched lovingly from a distance.
It was that night, very deep into the night, that there was a faint knock at the door. It went unheard at first until one by one the family awoke to open the door. There, on the other side was little Lucy. Snow filled the air and the streets. She looked up at her family smiling and shivering. She stood in the cold with no coat in sight.
They swept her in and warmed her with blankets and cocoa but the shivers weren't going away. More than cocoa was needed, so a trip to the doctors was in order. Her eyes were large and her skin was pale. The family worried and Lucy smiled. It was almost reassuring. If things were that bad, Lucy's smile would be gone, wouldn't it? Her blue-ish tint almost warned otherwise.
"Momma." she whispered.
"Lucy, why? Why go outside without your coat."
Lucy smiled as she slipped into a slumber.
"Baby" another whispered.
The night turned to day and the day turned to night. The worries turned to tears. The tears turned to sobs.
Lucy drifted to a world of dreams. Her mother held on to her. Another moment brought the greatest smile of all. In her dream world, she was seeing something so beautiful, so magnificent, the radiance glowed and the smile grew.
"NO!" Momma yelled.
Lucy awoke, smiling at Momma. She patted her hand.
"It's OK, Momma. They miss me."
Father John appeared at the door with Lucy's sister.
"I followed her footprints through the snow." she began. "They went to the church. Under the big evergreen, in the manger scene, was Lucy's coat. She gave it to Baby Jesus."
Tears welled and tissues appeared.
The coat was left in place, keeping the baby warm as well as all of the hearts that drove by.
The end.
It wouldn't be much of a Christmas Story if it ended there, now would it?
You see, such a special gift given from a pure heart always receives a special blessing.
Lucy returned with a very special message.
God so loves his children and sometimes he longs so very much to be with them again. He cannot bear to go another year without his angels back in his arms. But there's a secret that is so very special and so very wonderful. He knows that we will miss them almost as much as he does. Our longing to be with them again is unbearable. So he lets them be with us too, in a very safe and special place. They are there for us waiting and loving us anytime we miss them and need them. They are so close to us, we don't even realize they are here most of the time. They live in our heart, just as alive and vibrant as we remember them.
Lucy lived in the hearts of everyone she touched and although tears came at first, they turned to smiles, for anytime one remembered her they could not help but remember her everlasting smile. It would do her a great injustice to not smile right along with her.
Finally, the family came home and began to adjust to Lucy living in their hearts instead of her running about. It was difficult but Christmas had come and it was Lucy's favorite holiday. It was the most quiet Christmas ever. Ham and turkey were served and hands were held. Hugs were spread and more tears were shed. God and Lucy were both there doing their best to comfort all. It was, after all, his party.
Packages unwrapped and a few carols were sung. The night was almost over when a piece of ribbon was noticed almost hidden by the big chair against the wall. The smallest child crawled to the ribbon finding it led to a package not one had seen before. They all looked at one another puzzled. It wasn't claimed by anyone. They pulled it out from it's hidden space and slowly unwrapped it.
There, inside was a cake. Confused they all glanced around until a hint of recognition fell upon one.
"Oh!" said the oldest child. "We made this cake together right after Thanksgiving!"
They all stared blankly while the child explained.
"Lucy didn't wanted to bake a birthday cake for the baby in the manger. I told her it wouldn't last and we had to eat it right away. I though she took it to school with her, to share with her friends."
They all leaned in for a closer look.
There was the prettiest winter cake. Chocolate Christmas tress lined the outer rim, powdered sugar was sprinkled like snow over the dark cake.
The evergreens were special to Lucy. The manger was nestled in them at the church.
"It was chocolate gingerbread with cream cheese frosting."
But, how was it not moldy? How did it look like it was made only just today?
They gingerly lifted the cake out of the box.
The smallest child quickly tried the frosting before anyone could stop her.
"Its good, Momma."
A stern look from Mom and the next thing one knew, all had a piece of cake.
It's was a special birthday cake as fresh as it was the day it was made, for of course, a very special birthday.
The end of the night came and it would be another year before Christmas was here once again, but it wasn't too soon to start the countdown.
For those who have lost someone special this year and in years passed,
know our loved ones never leave our side.
May your holidays be filled with joy and remembrance, old traditions and new, peace and happiness.
Chocolate Gingerbread Cake
3/4 Dutch processed Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 cup Coffee, very hot
1 3/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Ginger Paste
1 Tbsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs, room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 oz. Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Butter for buttering the cake pan
1 tsp Cocoa Powder for dusting the cake pan
2 9" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper
Food Processor or Mixer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease the inside of your cake pans with butter.
Line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment.
(Trace a circle using the bottom of your cake pan as your template onto the parchment paper and cut out.)
Combine the three ounces of finely chopped (or grated) bittersweet chocolate with the Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Whisk until most of the lumps have disappeared.
Put the chocolate mixture into the food processor (or mixer). Add the dark brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and ginger paste.
Pulse (or beat on high) to combine well.
Stir in flour.
Combine gently until there are almost no streaks of flour in the batter.
Add the coarsely chopped chocolate.
The cake is done when there are a few moist crumbs that stick to a toothpick inserted in the center.
Let cool on wire racks.
The Chocolate Trees
1 cup chocolate chips, semisweet or a combination of semi and bittersweet
Plastic Bowl
Microwave
Wax Paper
A Piping Bag with a tip
Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
In a food processor, grate the chocolate very fine.
Place the bowl of chocolate in the microwave.
Heat on high for ten second.
Stir.
Repeat as often as needed, going in ten second intervals then stirring until the chocolate is smooth and creamy.
Have a plastic storage bag ready, with tip on and fill it with the melted chocolate.
Store in the fridge until ready to use.
The Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz Mascarpone Cheese, room temperature
8 oz Cream Cheese. room temperature
2 Tbsp Butter. softened
1 Vanilla Bean, split in half and scraped
2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
To Assemble
Place a plate over the cake pan and flip it so it falls out. It is now bottom side up.
Remove the wax paper.
Now, with the plate that you will be using for your finished cake, center it over the cake and flip once again.
The bottom should now be face down on the plate.
Spread about half of the icing on top of your cake.
Remove the second layer from it's cake pan but this time we want to have the bottom of the cake facing up.
Peel off the parchment paper.
Take 1/2 of the remaining frosting and frost the outer rim of the cake.
Using a Piping Tip and plastic bag, make whatever design you would like around the rim of the cake, where the frosting meets the cake.
Pipe a large tree in the center of the cake.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Place the trees on the outer rim of the cake, pushing them gently onto the frosting so they stay.
Store in the refrigerator.
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