His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s Kirschmichel

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Kirschmichel Image Used Under Creative Commons License From stuttgartcooking.de

Citizens, a cookbook by the elite soldiers of the Swiss Guard has revealed the culinary secrets of the Vatican!

The cookbook, entitled “Buon Appetito, Swiss Guard”, reveals the particular tastes of Pope Francis and his two predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, shedding light on classic dishes from their home countries of Argentina, Germany and Poland.

The introduction to the book said it would appeal to anyone interested in cooking as well as people who were curious about the Swiss Guard and “some of the secrets of the Vatican”.

The cookbook also contains the favourite recipes of people close to the Popes, such as Daniel Anrig, the commanding officer of the Swiss Guard and Lorenzo Merga, a major in the Swiss Guard.

This recipe, a favorite of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, is courtesy of Weber & Werd Publishing.

Kirschmichel is a traditional dessert of the German Cuisine, especially popular in the regions of Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, South Bavaria, Franconia and the southern part of Hessen. It is similar to Bread pudding and Bread and butter pudding.

The dessert consists of bread that is a few days old which is kneaded into a dough with butter, milk, egg and sugar. Sour cherries are folded into the dough and the mixture is baked in a casserole dish. Prior to serving the dessert is topped with vanilla, cinnamon, almonds and clove and is then served hot with vanilla sauce.

Battle on – the Generalissimo

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4 stale rolls from the day before
350 ml milk
60 g raw cane sugar
the pulp of 1 vanilla pod
1 piece of cinnamon bark
the peel of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 eggs
1 kg pitted cherries
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt
powdered sugar

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Cut the rolls into thin slices. Boil the milk with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon peel and let stand for 10 minutes. Then strain the milk through a sieve and leave to cool. Add the eggs to the milk and whisk together well.

Grease four oven proof ramekins with butter, then line with bread slices, and layer with cherries and bread slices. Use the rolls for the top layer. Now carefully fill the ramekins with the mixed eggs and milk and let stand for 30 minutes, so the sweet pudding can soak through evenly.

Then bake the Kirschmichel in an oven preheated to 220 ° C for about 30 minutes until golden yellow. Before serving sprinkle with powdered sugar.