Why the fascination with green on St. Patrick’s Day? Well, the color green shows up in the Irish flag, but is that the whole story? What about poor orange or unsung white? The entire reason might surprise you. The colors of the Irish flag have real social significance. The Green represents Catholicism. The Orange represents Protestantism and the white separating the two stands for the peace between the two belief systems, since white is a mixing of all colors. [photo via tasteofhome.com]
Since Patrick was a Catholic saint, the color green is associated with his Feast Day. That (coupled with the association of green with the Spring Equinox (only three days later), and the color green symbolizing the coming of Spring) is why green takes such a prominent place in our celebrations.
But we decided that we weren’t just going to throw green food dye into everything we’re serving for our St. Patrick’s Day Dinner. In case you’ve forgotten, the March 17th holiday falls on a Sunday this year and we’re looking to have our kids celebrate outside the typical school day. It’s usually green cupcakes, right? Well, this year, we have a regular green cake–and it’s called the Wearing O’ the Green Cake. This recipe gives you a dessert that’s moist, colorful, and the perfect way to round out your St. Patrick’s Day feast!
Ingredients
- 1 package white cake mix
- 2 packages lime gelatin (not sugar free)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
For the Topping
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar free)
- 1 8 oz. carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
- Green sprinkles (shamrock shapes or green nonpareils)
- Follow label instruction on the cake mix for baking. This can be made as a sheet cake or layer cake.
- Cool cake on a wire rack for 1 hour.
- Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Shock with cold water and stir to mix evenly.
- Using a meat fork, skewer or wooden chopstick, poke holes about 2 in. apart into cooled cake. Slowly pour gelatin over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours to allow gelatin to congeal.
- Whisk milk and pudding mix together for two minutes in a large bowl. The mixture will be thick.
- Fold in the whipped topping and spread over cooled cake. Decorate with sprinkles or nonpareils. Keep refrigerated until serving. For an added touch o’ green, serve a la mode with pistachio or mint ice cream.
Directions
- Follow label instruction on the cake mix for baking. This can be made as a sheet cake or layer cake.
- Cool cake on a wire rack for 1 hour.
- Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Shock with cold water and stir to mix evenly.
- Using a meat fork, skewer or wooden chopstick, poke holes about 2 in. apart into cooled cake. Slowly pour gelatin over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours to allow gelatin to congeal.
- Whisk milk and pudding mix together for two minutes in a large bowl. The mixture will be thick.
- Fold in the whipped topping and spread over cooled cake. Decorate with sprinkles or nonpareils. Keep refrigerated until serving. For an added touch o’ green, serve a la mode with pistachio or mint ice cream
This recipe makes 12-15 servings.
