No matter if one celebrates St. Patrick's Day tomorrow or not, its fair to say that there are few (if any!) amongst us who wouldn't welcome more luck into our lives and by the same token, don't feel extra lucky when spring starts to break out of its cocoon again and suddenly all the world is alive with greenery, sunshine and warm days again (a point I couldn’t be happier about!).
Though that mark may still be a few more weeks in the making for some (very much including for many of my fellow canucks), we start to bring that same sort of upbeat loveliness into our homes with our culinary choices. The very first tender shoots of bracingly crisp asparagus, thimble sized strawberries, tender lettuce leaves, waxy skinned new potatoes, and a little latter on, tart, juicy blueberries and raspberries, amongst many others, will all let us know that winter's icy powers have retreated for a while and that its time to celebrate how lucky we are that such is the case once more.
If you are a fan of getting your Irish on, so to speak, then the shamrock imagery on this classic mid-century vintage chocolate cake and seven minute frosting recipe will appeal to you all the more and would help this dessert make for a fabulous March 17th dinner party star of the show.
{This charmingly lovely Lucky Clover Cake is quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive to make, while also packing a punch on the festive St. Paddy's Day front. You could easily turn it into cupcakes, too, adorning each with its own little green shamrock. Image via Click America.}
As usual when it comes to cakes, if (like me) you walk a gluten-free path, by all means use your favourite GF cake mix or recipe here. If (again, like moi) you aren't able to eat eggs either for medical or personal dietary reasons, ditch the seven-minute frosting and use any icing you prefer here instead. A lovely cream cheese frosting is always a great choice for springtime cakes and I wouldn't be adverse to skipping the icing all together and simply dusting the shape of a shamrock or other sign of spring on top of this cake with a handmade paper stencil and some powdered sugar.
If however, you're really craving the taste of seven-minute frosting, but aren't able to have eggs, then may I suggest using a vegan version of marshmallow cream blended into a fluffy basic white icing as an alternative? I've done this a few times myself over the years and it really is a very good substitute for the real deal that non-vegans/egg-free folks always seem to enjoy tucking into as much as I do. There are a few versions of vegan marshmallow creme on the market (please note that I can't say for sure whether all of them are also gluten-free or not; as always be sure to read labels and/or email or call the company when in doubt), one of which is Suzanne's Ricemellow Cream (which is gluten and dairy-free).
I would mention that the vegan marshmallow creams I've had over the years have all been very, very, very sweet, so I would perhaps cut a little bit of sugar in the cake recipe or forewarn your family/guests to prefer for a particularly saccharine frosting here. Not, mind you, that such a point will put some people off. A big hit of sugar is sometimes just what a special occasion calls for and St. Patrick's Day certainly falls into that camp for many around the world.
May the luck of the Irish be with all of you as the world awakes to a new season - and may each day of spring be as sweet and lovely as this vintage cake recipe is! :)
