Soul Cakes: Recipes & Customs
It’s that time of year again. In the northern hemisphere, the air cools, the days darken, the nights grow longer, and autumn creeps upon us. For some practitioners of witchcraft, preparations for Samhain and Halloween are already underway. With each passing year, more and more witches are returning to and incorporating folk customs in their magical works and practices, and bringing traditional ways into one’s holiday commemorations is a great way to do this. There are many traditional and folk customs one can partake in for Samhain and Halloween, and one of these practices is that of the Soul Cake.
The origins of Soul Cakes are hotly debated. Some sources say they hail from pre-Christian practices as offerings to the souls of the dead, while other sources cite medieval Christian customs as the true roots. Whatever their origin, the baking of Soul Cakes as an offering or gift to the those of the Otherworld – be they the souls of those passed on, spirits, sìth, or the like – is still practiced in some regions of Europe today and is making a comeback among practitioners of folk magics of Britain and Ireland, those who have ancestral ties to those regions, and among practitioners of folk Christianity, particularly European folk Christian customs, or those who have roots in Christian ways.
These spiced ‘cakes’ or cookies are prepared as gifts for soulers at Allhallowtide (the days of All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day) and as part of the Halloween, Samhain, and Yuletide celebrations and observances of many. In this post, we’ll explore variations of Soul Cakes, sharing recipes and exploring their different purposes. Let’s dig in!
THE PURPOSES OF SOUL CAKES
AS OFFERINGS TO THE DECEASED:
Soul cakes can be prepared and placed on ancestral altars or graves as an offering to the dead.
IN RETURN FOR PRAYERS:
In European Christian customs, some areas partook (and some still partake in) souling. Souling was practiced during the days of Allhallowtide (most commonly on All Saints’ Day or Hallowmas) and Christmastide. Soulers, usually gathered in groups to walk the streets of their neighborhoods, going from door to door and offering prayers for the household, prayers for the souls of the deceased family members and friends of the household members, and singing songs, playing instruments, and chanting. In return, they were given Soul Cakes from each house they visited.
IN EXCHANGE FOR PROTECTION:
In some communities in the United States, particularly Southern communities with ancestral ties to Ireland or Britain, cakes and cookies are prepared to be given as an offering to spirits during the days surrounding Samhain and the thinning of the veil between our realm and the Otherworld. Soul Cakes, or something very similar, are left on windowsills, porches, and stoops as gifts for the wandering spirits in hopes that they’ll then be deterred from entering the household. Likewise, such cakes can be prepared as offerings to land spirits, faeries, the little people, and so on. It’s believed doing this will bring luck to the household as well as protect the home and those within from any malevolent spirits on the roam.
RECIPES
OATCAKE VERSION:
NOTE: Scottish oatcakes are not ‘cakes’ or cookies/biscuits. They’re more like crackers, or hardtack if you added oats.
Oatcakes were given out as Soul Cakes in some areas of Scotland, and in Lancashire and Herefordshire in England. In some of these areas, as well as in Yorkshire, they were referred to as Somas Cakes. The oatcakes are flat and like a snappy, thick cracker. Adding more water can make the oatcakes a little softer or chewier, and baking them a bit longer makes them drier. Typically, oatcakes aren’t sweetened or spiced, but it’s said that those made as Soul Cakes/Somas Cakes were spiced at least a bit and sometimes slightly sweet. We’ll be sticking with the spiced, mildly sweetened recipe here. This recipe makes about 12 small cakes.
Ingredients:
3 ½ cups rolled oats
3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup melted butter/vegan butter/margarine or oil
at least ½ cup of warm water (you can add more if you’re Soul Cake dough is a too dry for your liking)
What else you’ll need:
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Medium/Large bowl
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° (F). Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Whilst the oven is preheating, mix your dry ingredients (oats, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg) together in a bowl.
Press softened butter into the bowl, incorporating with the dry ingredients.
Add water bit-by-bit, mixing as you go, until a dough is formed. Remember, you can add more water for a chewier cake or if you feel your dough is too dry. Sometimes, overworking the dough or letting it sit for too long can dry the dough out, which produces a crumbly texture that flakes and isn’t as easy to work with. If this happens, you’ll want to add more water. We don’t want our dough too dry.
Sprinkle a dusting of flour on your table or countertop. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the surface as you work. Now, take your dough from the bowl and place it on your worksurface. Press the dough out, flattening it and spreading it out across the tabletop, until you’ve achieved the desired thickness of your dough. You’ll want the dough to be spread evenly. This will ensure the cakes bake evenly and all within the same amount of time.
Dust the rim of a cup, glass, or circular cookie cutter in flour. Use your chosen cutter to cut circles into your dough and place each cake you’ve cut onto your parchment-covered baking sheet. Folk Christian customs call for carving the shape of a cross into the top of your Soul Cakes, so now is the time to do so if you like.
Bake. Thinner cakes typically take anywhere from 16-20 minutes, while thicker cakes can take 20-30 minutes. Check your cakes throughout. You can turn them over, if you like, about halfway through, ensuring an evenly golden Soul Cake on both sides. Bake until at least lightly golden.
Cool before eating.
What else can be added to these oatcake Soul Cakes? You can add seeds, dried fruits, and ground nuts to your dough. Dried fruits were a common addition to many variations of Soul Cakes.
COOKIE VERSION
Ingredients:
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. ginger
¼ cup of dried fruit – i.e. raisins, currants, craisins, etc.
zest of a lemon or orange (optional)
½ cup softened butter/vegan butter/margarine
3 tbs. oil
3 tbs. water (can add more later if dough is too dry for your liking)
2 tbs. milk or vegan milk alternative (I like to use almond or cashew milk for these cookies)
What else you’ll need:
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Medium/Large bowl
Directions:
Preheat over to 360° (F). Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix softened butter and sugar together in bowl until a fluffy concoction is formed.
Add the oil and water, incorporating well.
Mix in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Add your milk/vegan alternative and mix. Now, your dough will start to be formed.
Once a firm dough is starting to come together, add your (optional) lemon or orange zest and your dried fruit to the mix and stir. I recommend using your hands to incorporate the fruit into the dough, as this makes it easier (at least for me) to get an even distribution of fruit throughout.
Lightly sprinkle a tabletop or countertop with flour and spread the dough onto the floured surface. Roll or press your dough out to desired thickness.
Flour the rim of a cup, glass, or cookie cutter, and use your prepared cutter to carve out your round cookies. Place the cookies on the parchment papered baking sheet. As with the oatcake version, now is the time to form the cross in the top of these cookies if you’re following a Folk Christian tradition. You can also add more dried fruit to the tops of the cookies in the shape of a cross.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden and cooked throughout.
Other recipes for Soul Cakes: here, here, and here.
Sources & Further Reading:
‘Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time’ -Ditchfield, Peter Hampson
‘Curiosities of Popular Customs and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities’ -Walsh, William Shepherd
‘Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe’ -Cleene, Marcel
‘Popular Antiquities, vol. 1’ -Brand, J.
Keziah (she/her/they/them) | Keziah is one of Crowsbone’s staff writers. She is a diviner, a dream interpreter, a medium, and a practitioner of traditional regional folk magic and medicine from the area she was raised in (the Southern United States) and from the practices of her ancestors (she is Jewish, a second generation Irish-American, and Aniyvwiya, with French, Scottish, and Scandinavian roots). She is a scholar of folklore, mythology, and mysticism, and a would-be historian. Outside of magical craft and all things related, Keziah is a collector of books, antiques, and oddities, and a devoted dog mom who enjoys puzzles, codes and ciphers, baking, reading, and drinking tea.