Soul Cakes
A soul cake is a little round cake with a texture and look like a shortbread biscuit.
The cakes, which are often called “souls” are distributed to soulers (mostly children) who go from house to house during the All Hallows’ Eve singing and praying “for the souls of the givers and their friends,” particularly the souls of departed family members who are believed to be in Purgatory.
In England, the custom dates back to the Middle Ages and continued there until the 1930s. The tradition has persisted into the present day in Sheffield and Cheshire. Soul cakes, a type of thin parkin (gingerbread cake that originated in Northern England), were referred to as “Harcakes” in Lancashire and the northeast region of England.
In some countries, like Portugal (where it’s called Pão-por-Deus and is celebrated on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day) and the Philippines (where it’s called Pangangaluwa and is celebrated on All Hallows’ Eve), soul cakes are still given and eaten today.
Trick-or-treating is said to have originated from souling in various countries. Some churches in the United States have extended an invitation to the public to come obtain sweets over the Halloween season, along with an offer to “pray for the souls of their friends, relatives, or even pets”.
During the Middle Ages, soul cakes were given out in Britain and Ireland
Comparable rituals for the deceased’s spirits were also observed as far south as Italy.
The cakes are typically loaded with raisins or currants, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and other flavorful spices. In order to indicate that these were alms the cakes are topped with a cross. Traditionally, on All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), All Saints’ Day, or All Souls’ Day, they were set out with a glass of wine as an offering for the dead.
A group of people would go to nearby farms and homes as part of souling. A “traditional request for apples, ale, and soul cakes” would be sung by the revelers. The songs, which were sung in a melancholy tone in the 1800s, were commonly referred to as Souler’s songs.
Soul Cake
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Hand Mixer or Kitchen Aid optional
- 1 Cookie Cutter or Biscuit Cutter optional
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter Room Temp
- 2 cups Flour
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg (and/or Cardamom)
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries optional
- 1 tbsp Powdered Sugar Topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut butter into small pieces and mix with flour using a mixer or fork
- Blend in sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice (and/or cardamom)
- Beat eggs, milk, and vinegar in a separate bowl
- Combine wet and dry ingredients into one bowl and mix together
- Fold in dried cranberries
- Kneed thoroughly by hand or with a Kitchen Aid
- With a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or by hand make biscuit sized Soul Cakes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Cut the X or star into the top and brush with milk and bake for 12 minutes on the middle rack
- Remove from oven, brush with milk again, and sprinkle powdered sugar on the tops.
- Bake for 10 more minutes or until the tops have started to brown a little
- Transfer to a cooling rack, let them cool completely. serve to your little or big monsters.
