Desserts from an Unusual Cookbook

The Bible means different things to different people. For some, it is a divine text. For others, it is a compelling story. But one thing some people don't realize, as Carla Emery points out, is that it is also a cookbook!

That's right, flip through the pages of this scripture and you will find loads of information about food. I had never really thought of it myself, but take a look. Passages of unleavened bread, fish, lamb and other delicacies fill the pages! What better way to bring the food of the past to our kitchen then by taking it straight from the Old Testament? As Carla references in The Encyclopedia of Country Living, the Bible reads, "And behold there was a cake baken!"-Kings 9:16.

Christmas is just a couple of days away, and we all love to gather around the tree, enjoy our family and friends, open presents, and be merry. However, like any American holiday, we are most certainly obligated to feast upon dessert. Carla gives us her special Pennsylvania Dutch Scripture Cake recipe, filled with ingredients listed in Carla's handpicked verses from the Bible.

Pennsylvania Dutch Scripture Cake Read the verses and bake the (spice) cake.

Mix Judges 5:25 (1⁄2 c. butter); 1 Kings 4:22 (2 c. flour); Leviticus 2:13 (1⁄2 t. salt); 1 Samuel 30:12 (1 c. chopped dried figs); Jeremiah 6:20 (11⁄2 c. sugar); Luke 13:21 (2 t. baking powder); Genesis 24:11 (1⁄2 c. water); 1 Samuel 30:12 (1 c. raisins); Isaiah 10:14 (3 eggs); 1 Kings 10:10 (cinnamon, mace, cloves); Proverbs 24:13 (1 T. honey); Genesis 43:11 (1⁄2 c. chopped almonds). Blend butter, sugar, spices, and salt. Beat egg yolks and add. Sift in baking powder and flour. Then add the water and honey. Put fruits and nuts through food chopper and flour well. Follow Solomon's advice for making good boys (first clause of Proverbs 23:14). Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake 1 hour in 375˚F oven.

Now that you have been given a scriptural recipe, see if you can figure out the ingredients referred to in the passages Carla has provided below! I have included her key, which you can read by highlighting the blank text at the bottom.

Mystery Scripture Cake You've had one to practice on. See if you can figure this one out from scratch! Matthew 10:42, 1 c. Jeremiah 6:20, 1 c. I Samuel 25:18, 1 c. Matthew 25:4, 1 t. II Chronicles 9:9, 11⁄2 t. Psalms 35:23. Isaiah 38:21. Luke 16:24. Then add: I Kings 4:22, 2 c. I Corinthians, 1 t. Luke 14:34, 1⁄4PP t. Genesis 43:11, 1⁄2 c. Isaiah 2:4. Leviticus 26:26. Luke 15:23.

Key to Mystery Scripture Cake Ingredients

1 c. water, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. raisins, 1 t. oil, 1 & 1⁄2 t. spices. Stir. Boil. Cool. Then add 2 c. flour, 1 t. leavening, 1⁄4 t. salt, 1⁄2 c. nuts. Beat. Bake. And eat.