“Soul, Soul, a soul cake!”

Soul, Soul, a soul cake!
I pray thee, good missus, a soul cake!
One for Peter, two for Paul,
three for Him what made us all!
Soul Cake, soul cake, please good missus, a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, any good thing to make us all merry.
One for Peter, two for Paul, & three for Him who made us all.

I have never heard of Soul cakes until last Christmas, when I heard Sting’s concert of his newest album, If On a Winter’s Night.   Normally I would not have have paid much attention to Sting but the concert was from Durham Cathedral; I went to Durham University and quite literally lived in the the shadow of the Cathedral for 3 years.   I have a finely tuned Durham-dar and picked up on the concert due to Durham not Sting.    I was astonished,  I had not realised quite how an accomplished musician he is.   The album consists of traditional English folk songs, carols and poems, which are sung and set to music.    He is accompanied by talented musicians, playing traditional British instruments, the Northumbian pipes, melodian and metal string Scottish harp.   I loved it and quickly bought a copy, and played obsessively it for most of last winter.  If you have not heard it I do recommend listening to it.

The Soul Cake track both mesmerised and interested me; research told me that Soul Cakes are small round spiced cakes, made for All Soul’s Day to celebrate and commemorate the dead.   The cakes would be given out to children and the poor who would go from door to door, begging for alms or “Souling”, on All Soul’s Day.  Every cake eaten would represent a soul freed from Purgatory.   The giving and receiving of Soul Cakes started in the Middle Ages and is widely seen as being the origin of trick or treating.

Today is All Soul’s Day and I set about making some Soul Cakes.  Mine do look rather rustic, I think my dough was a little dry.   These were utterly delicious.

Soul Cakes (makes 20)

100g / 4oz butter
100g / 4oz sugar
2 egg yolks (free range please!)
380g / 13oz plain flour
pinch saffron (I had run out so used turmeric for the colour)
2 tsp all spice
1 tsp mixed spice
Milk
2 tbs raisins

Cream the butter and sugar in the food processor until light and fluffy.     Add the egg yolks and mix.    Add the flour and spices and mix again.     Slowly add enough milk to make a stiff dough.

Take walnut sizes pieces of dough, flatten into a disc,  press 4 or 5 raisins into them then fold in half and shape into a patty about 6 cm across.

Bake at 180C / 360F / GM 4 for about 25 mins until golden and firm.

Best enjoyed warm from the oven.