Soul Cakes for Samhain

Samhain, the Celtic festival celebrating the end of Summer, in its simplest definition, involves eating, drinking, lighting bonfires and as the legend goes, making and using cakes for divination and to appease the spirits of the Harvest. From this evolved the three day celebration comprising; All Hallows' Eve (or Halloween), All Hallows' (or All Saints' Day) and finally All Souls'. 

 

Sin-Eating and Soul-Caking

In going out 'Souling', the children and adults of a village would visit the houses of the wealthiest families begging for soul cakes and in return offer to pray for the souls of departed relatives. They carried baskets in which to collect their booty and often wore masks and disguises. As no doubt you will have guessed, this  tradition, which dates back at least to the Middle Ages, has been cited by various sources as the root of 'Trick or Treat'.

The idea of symbolically eating someone's sins, particularly those who had died without confession and thereby allowing them access to the afterlife was an actual profession practiced right up until the beginning of the twentieth century. The last 'Sin-Eater', Richard Munslow died in 1906 and had lived near to where I was born in the county of Shropshire. Mr Munslow was a gentleman farmer and therefore somewhat unusual in following what was considered the rather gruesome career of eating buns around an open coffin and a job judged suitable only for beggars and those in dire poverty.

So on All Souls' Day a kind of traditional and non-professional form of Sin-Eating was practiced, it was called 'Soul-caking'. There is a rhyme that goes with it, which we as children used to sing in school with neither any idea of its roots, nor any remuneration in cake!

Cake, Bread and Biscuits

As families made their own cakes at home, there were no set rules for soul cake recipes, which often varied from region to region or even town to town. In Whitby (of Dracula fame), the Soul Cake recipe was for a bread mixture called 'Soul Mass Loaves' rather than the more usual cake or biscuit. In other towns, Hereford for example, oatmeal was used rather than wheat flour and often the raising agent changed too, with yeast being chosen over baking powder and white or cider apple vinegar. So here's my version.

TEMPERATURE

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C)
RECIPE
Makes 12-14 large Soul Cakes
1½ cups (230g) of All Purpose aka Plain Flour
1 pinch Celtic Sea Salt
3 tablespoons (40g) Sugar
3 tablespoons (40g) Butter
1 Egg made up to just under ½ cup (130ml) with Milk
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda aka Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (UK) Mixed Spice or (US) Pumpkin Spice
A little extra flour for dusting the board and rolling pin
Cookie cutters
Optional decoration: 12 blackberries or raisins ( a little cream to stick them on)

METHOD

Either by hand or in a food processor add the sifted flour, raising agent, salt and stir in the sugar.

Add the diced butter and rub the ingredients together with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

 

Stir in spice.

Beat the egg with the milk until mixed and slowly (if using one) pour into processor, whilst the machine is running. If mixing by hand use a round-ended knife.  Turn off the machine as soon as the mixture forms into a soft ball of dough. If it looks too dry add a little more milk but the dough should be soft not sticky.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and with a floured rolling pin roll it out to between ¼ and ½ an inch thickness.

Dip the cookie cutter in flour and cut out the cakes.

Using a sharp knife make a sign of a cross on the top of each cake - traditionally this signifies its purpose as alms given in return for prayers for the dead.

At the end of each arm of the cross I made a slight indentation with a chopstick or wooden spoon handle.

Place on a buttered tray or baking sheet and cook in the middle of the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Place on a cooling rack. Decorate.

 

 

 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

These cakes were given as alms, so not actually luxurious but nevertheless rather delicate and tasty. If you want to make them more so then I tried splitting them in two filling them with cream and blackberries, these were sumptuous and rather like scones. I also made another batch split them and filled them with Parma ham, just lightly fried. We ate these for breakfast and they were very, very good!

If you enjoyed this recipe then please feel free to comment and share it with your friends. 

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

All the best,
Sue
©  Sue Cross 2021

Additional Images Thanks to:
The British Library - Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts for:
'Funeral' Leaves from a Book of Hours, containing text for Matins in the Office of the Dead Italy, N. (Bologna); c. 1390 - c. 1400
'Pouvrete' (Poverty) - Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose Netherlands, S. (Bruges); c. 1490-c. 1500