Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK

Subject: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 06:38 AM

On Saturday 31st. October we have a Halloween evening at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club. We will be lighting the fine open fire in the club-room and bringing candles to create a suitable atmosphere.

Bring songs, tunes and stories for the season. We can adjust the lighting according to need if you are reading a story, but I'll also bring a small reading light if you'd rather keep the darkness in the room. Admission will be £3.

I'll be making soul cakes to the following recipe:

YEAST SOULE CAKES

'Three pounds flour, quarter pound butter (or half pound if the cakes are to be extra rich) half pound sugar, two spoonsful of yeast, two eggs, allspice to taste, and sufficient new milk to make it into a light paste. Put the mixture (without the sugar or spice) to rise before the fire for half an hour, then add the sugar, and allspice enough to flavour it well; make into rather flat buns, and bake.'

This is the recipe of Mrs. Mary Ward, who is known to be the last person who kept up the old custom of giving 'Soul Cakes' at Pulverbatch. She died in 1853 at the age of 101.


Shropshire Cookery Book, compiled by the Shropshire Federation of Women's Institutes, c. 1955

Quoted by Elizabeth David, English Bread & Yeast Cookery, 1977

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 10:32 AM

Oh, cool- I think I'll try the soul cakes recipe, too!

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 02:32 PM

It's pleasant. This is the only yeast recipe I've every found which doesn't include salt: could that be because salt keeps the dead and evil spirits away? As well as being given to the 'soulers' who went from house to house singing the well-known song, the cakes were put outside for deceased members of the family to enjoy.

I brush the buns with a mixture of milk and sunflower oil in equal quantities before their second rising and immediately before baking, then give them five minutes at 200 deg C and fifteen minutes at 180 deg C.

This quantity of flour makes about two dozen good-sized buns.

When they come out of the oven you could brush them with a syrup made by melting a little sugar in a saucepan, as for hot cross buns and things like that, if you want them sweeter.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: SussexCarole
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 03:34 PM

Watch out for the Angel of Death halfway up the stairs. I'm sure you will have a great evening and we're sorry that we can't be there.

Carole & Andrew

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Fergie
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 04:53 PM

Hi Valmai

I'm running a Samhain Singing Session at the Clé Club in Dublin on Wed. I'd love to bake these Soul cakes, but I'm no baker so I need some more information if you can help.

Three pounds flour (Plain flour?)
half pound sugar (caster sugar or granulated?)
two spoonsful of yeast (what brand do you use?)
allspice to taste,   (Approx how much?)
sufficient new milk to make it into a light paste. (what consistancy)

brush the buns with a mixture of milk and sunflower oil in equal quantities before their second rising (I don't understand second rising)
and immediately before baking,
then give them 5 mins at 200C and 15 mins at 180C.

Fergus

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 08:34 PM

Like a lot of old recipes, this one presupposes that we already know how to manage yeast doughs. This is what I do:

3 pounds strong white flour - that's bread flour

4 ozs caster sugar - I find half a pound is a bit much and can make the dough sticky

A heaped tablespoon of ground allspice (not mixed spice)

Yeast: I'd use a double sachet of fast action yeast for this amount of flour. You mix it dry into the flour; you don't have to put it in water and wait for it to come to life before using it.

Milk: beat the eggs with a fork and add enough milk to make a pint and a half of liquid. The milk should be lukewarm, not cold from the fridge, or the yeast won't get going.

Rub the butter into the flour. Mix flour, yeast and egg & milk to make a soft but not sticky dough. Add the last quarter pint of liquid gradually as you may not need it all. It should feel like Playdough. Knead it on a floured work surface until smooth.

Put it in a big bowl sprinkled with flour and cover it loosely with a plastic bag. Leave it in a warm place such as an airing cupboard to rise for 60-90 minutes; it should double in size as the yeast works. This is the first rising.

When it's doubled, put the dough on a floured work surface, sprinkle on the sugar and spice and knead it thoroughly again to mix them in. You might need to add a bit more flour if it goes sticky. Divide it up into a couple of dozen lumps.

Heavily grease a couple of large baking trays. Roll the lumps of dough into balls - you can do one in each hand - and then flatten them slightly. Put a dozen on each tray, well spaced out as they should spread and rise.

Mix a tablespoon of milk with a tablespoon of flavourless oil such as sunflower oil and brush the buns with it. Turn on the oven to 200 deg C and put a couple of shelves in the middle. Keep the buns in a warm place while the oven heats up. They will take about half an hour to double in size - this is their second rising - by which time they are ready to cook. Be guided by the size of the buns, not by the time the oven has reached the temperature set. Brush them with the mixture again, then cook them for the first five minutes at 200 deg. C. Then turn the oven down to 180 deg C and cook them for a further fifteen minutes. Don't open the oven door while they are cooking.

When they are done they should be lightly brown and should sound hollow if you tap them on the base. Give them a few more minutes if necessary. Put them on a rack to cool. You can eat them as they are, or split and buttered.

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Fergie
Date: 27 Oct 09 - 08:48 PM

Valmai

A soul, a soul, for a 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 really appreciate the trouble you have gone to, to lead me through the making and baking of soul cakes. It really is a case of soul-cakes for dummies. Thank you so much

Fergus

PS I'll let you know how they turned out

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: GUEST,Mark Stevens
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 11:57 AM

It sounds great but I think I'll be going to the local CAMRA Beer Festival !
Thanks, MS.

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Fergie
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 12:00 PM

I have the Soul-cakes in the oven

Fergus

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 12:08 PM

I look forward to hearing how they come out! Yeast cookery is fun. I heartily recommend the Elizabeth David book the recipe came from, 'English Bread and Yeast Cookery'. She goes into such detail that she even has a full chapter on salt, but she's very good at explaining the principles involved. Yeast behaves differently from other raising agents.

Tootle pip,

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 02:10 PM

We have an English Country (Playford) Dance on Sunday. I think I'll make them for the occasion- thanks so much, Valmai!

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Fergie
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 03:21 PM

MMMMMMMMMMMhhhhh

I'm eating the first one. They turned out perfect. An old fashioned taste. I like them. I wonder what they'll make of them in the Clé Club tonight. It seems they were usually served with wine. That I am definitely going to try that.

Thank you so much Valmai, you're name will be praised this night.

Fergus

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Fergie
Date: 28 Oct 09 - 08:38 PM

Hi Valmai,

The Soul-cakes went down a treat. Thirtyseven souls are now winging their way out of purgatory and heading straight for heaven. There were committed atheists chewing with vigour. Míle maith agat for the recipe and the advice. It was mighty fun.

Fergus Russell

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 03:08 AM

Delighted to hear it! I must dig out the recipe for another sort of seasonal yeast bun called plum shuttles. They used to be made on Valentine's Day; girls would give them to their admirers, apparently.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: TheSnail
Date: 29 Oct 09 - 05:49 AM

Time for the Lewes Favourites Cook Book?

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 30 Oct 09 - 04:31 AM

I'll think about it! There are also the harvest loaves and Maids of Honour for May Day ... We'd need illustrations ... a few songs to include, perhaps ...

Carole mentions the Angel of Death who lives on the stairs to our clubr-room: here's a picture taken by Will Fly. The one with the jumper is Alan Day. We've been in the Elephant & Castle for nine months now; eventually she's going to summon the courage to do a floor spot, and Halloween could just be the night.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 30 Oct 09 - 02:05 PM

Not forgetting the songs for tomorrow night: Young Benji(Child 87) which includes necromancy, and Willie's Lyke-Wake (Child 26)which sounds as if it's going to and has a chorus, are on the list.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 30 Oct 09 - 02:09 PM

Thanks muchly for the Soul Cake for Dummies recipe Valmai - I'm going to cut and paste that, and try this weekend.. x

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:16 AM

Or cut and pastry? Let me know how you get on, because if the instructions aren't clear I'll adjust them in future.

My soul cakes are having their first rising now. Anyone who greets them this evening with 'Ah, soul cakes' will be beaten to a pulp.

Tootle pip,

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 01 Nov 09 - 08:32 AM

Whew! The Mudcat was down when I got up, and I thought I'd lost the recipe! So I browsed the web and found lots of recipes, some more "authentic" than others. But most of them had currants- so I've converted your recipe to US, added currants, and it's going in the oven this morning. Wish me luck!

Allison

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 01 Nov 09 - 09:08 AM

Excellent! Can you give us the links to the recipes? Let us know how they turn out.

I increased the quantitites above by a third and got 51 soul cakes out of the batch, making each unrisen lump about the size of a golf ball. They all went, especially as I got waylaid by children while carrying the basket of cakes and candles up the street to the Elephant.

Valmai

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 01 Nov 09 - 05:57 PM

Well, they came out small and hard but the dancers loved them! I cut the recipe in half and converted it to US measurements (and added currants):
Soul Cakes

4 c. flour
1 stick butter
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs yeast
1 egg
1 tsp allspice
¾ cup milk
½ c currants

Froth yeast in 1 Tbs milk, 1 T sugar

Mix flour, butter, sugar (minus 1 T.)

Mix yeast mixture with egg, milk & allspice, add to flour mixture. Fold in currants, knead to mix. Set to rise.

Make into “rather flat bunsâ€쳌, rise again for 30 min.

Bake on greased baking sheet at 400F for 5 min., lower to 350F for 10-15 min.

As requested, here are some links for other recipes:
From National Public Radio some interesting info as well as yeast-less recipe.
Several recipes from a Pagan site
Another Pagan source that looked interesting- it used cider vinegar!
Google "soul cake recipes" and find lots more!

Subject: RE: Halloween: fire, candlelight, soul cakes Lewes UK
From: GUEST,Salsta
Date: 01 Jun 12 - 08:51 AM

I just read a book (Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood) with a recipe for soul cakes in it that read:

"Tak yr pure wheaten manchet dough and strew thereon saffron and raisins of the sun, cloves cinnamyn sugar if they be hadde, a handful, pounded wel. Knead soft and make yr cakes as many as there be singers."

I'm very glad to have found your more clearly expressed recipe as I plan to try them. Once I perfect that I might try some variations using this as a guide.