October 22th, 2011

As I mentioned yesterday, Mom got a CD of Halloween music, one song of which was about Samhain. It talked of Soul Cakes, an old Pagan snack made and offered on Samhain Eve. Curious, I did a bit of research and found a website (URL at the bottom of the post) that tells both the history of and a recipe for Soul Cakes.

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By the 8th century, Soul Cakes were sunny yellow cakes rather like a cross between donuts and cookies. Some were simply plain, others marked with symbols (pentagrams, runes, crosses, and the like). On the night of Samhain, they were given to beggars and mummers, the first trick-or-treaters. Others were offered to the ghosts of the dead, who wandered the earth this one night of the year. The site's recipe is as follows:

Makes 12 to 15 2-inch soul cakes

For the Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground fresh if possible

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground fresh if possible

1/2 teaspoon salt

Generous pinch of saffron*

1/2 cup milk

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup currants (optional)**

For the Glaze:

1 egg yolk, beaten

To Bake:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Mix well with a fork.

Crumble the saffron threads into a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until they become aromatic, taking care not to burn them. Add the milk and heat just until hot to the touch. The milk will have turned a bright yellow. Remove from heat.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon (or use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment). Add the egg yolks and blend in thoroughly with the back of the spoon. Add the spiced flour and combine as thoroughly as possible; the mixture will be dry and crumbly.

One tablespoon at a time, begin adding in the warm saffron milk, blending vigorously with the spoon. When you have a soft dough, stop adding milk; you probably won't need the entire half-cup.

Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead gently, with floured hands, until the dough is uniform. Roll out gently to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a floured 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can and set on an ungreased baking sheet. You can gather and re-roll the scraps, gently.

Decorate the soul cakes with currants and then brush liberally with the beaten egg yolk. Bake for 15 minutes, until just golden and shiny. Serve warm, with cold pumpkin juice.

If desired, one could etch designs into the dough before brushing with the egg.

*Saffron is an amazing spice, and is great to use if you have it. However, it can be really pricey, so if you don't want to spend a ton of money on your Soul Cakes, the saffron could be replaced with yellow food coloring.
**One could also use dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, etc.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15536354