Do you know what the traditional Halloween cake is? What will that cake look like and taste like?
On Halloween in Europe, people often make cakes to say goodbye to the deceased because they believe that October 31 is the day the souls will return to earth. Later, when this holiday became more and more popular, the cakes served on this day also became more diverse, carrying many different meanings. Join Mykingdom to learn about the 4 most common types of cakes.
Traditional cake at Halloween: Soul cake
On the feast of the soul, also known as Samhain, people often light fires and listen to prophecies. However, this practice began to gradually decline. Instead, tourists from other countries will venture to visit each house on the night of October 31. If they are lucky, they will be treated by the host with a plate of delicious, hot cakes.
Guests who visit on All Souls' Day will be offered Soul Cakes
There are many legends about the origin of the traditional Halloween cake . Some people say that soul cakes were baked on the bonfire night of Samhain. The unfortunate person who chooses the burnt cake will become the villagers' sacrifice to ensure a good harvest next year. This legend is somewhat scary and cruel, so we have a lighter version.
Soul cakes will be thrown around a designated area to appease wandering souls wandering in animal form. The cake will be a precious gift to the hungry ghosts, so they will stop bothering the people and their crops.
In the 8th century, the traditional Halloween cake - soul cake was deified and civilized. The cake was used to feed beggars on the Night of the Devil's Feast. The beggar will receive bread and pray for the deceased in that family. When a Halloween cake is given away, it also means that a soul has been saved.
Soul cake is a traditional cake during masquerade festivals
We cannot know the exact origin and recipe of a traditional Halloween cake that is passed down by word of mouth. That's why there are dozens of recipes for making this type of cake. Some varieties are leavened and rise beautifully, while some recipes result in cakes that are as flat and dense as tombstones. However, the recipes all have in common the filling of pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, dried grapes or Zante grapes and before baking, a cross is made on the top of the cake to indicate that this is from charity.
Dumb cake: The cake that opens destiny
The name Dumb cake does not refer to a cake, but instead represents a baking ritual performed by young, unmarried women throughout the Kingdom. Britain and North America from the 1700s to the mid-1900s.
Two or three girls gathered in the kitchen late at night. They have to bake a simple cake consisting of flour, water and salt in absolute silence. Each girl would mark the cake with her initials, then put it in the oven without saying a word. After taking the cake out of the oven, the girls broke it apart, each took a bite from time to time, and then began to walk back toward their beds. Legend has it that, after placing the traditional Halloween cake under their pillow, they can dream of their future husband.
Dumb cake is a famous Halloween cake in the past
In the past, this cake was similar to customs such as summoning the image of the loved one in the mirror, throwing apple peels over the shoulder so that the apple peels form the first letter of the husband-to-be's name... all for the purpose of discovering destroy the identity of your future spouse.
Barnbrack Cake - Traditional Irish Halloween cake
Barnbrack literally means a speckled loaf of bread because it contains a lot of raisins. Another version of oral tradition claims that the cake's name comes from the ingredient it is made from - a type of foam from fermented beer called barn. This type of foam was used as a substitute for baking powder in baking because baking powder was not widely available in Ireland until the early 19th century.
A special feature of the traditional Halloween cake is that many different objects are placed in the loaf before being baked and were used by people at that time as a divination tool. In the cake there will be: a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin (originally a silver sixpence), a ring and a pea. Each item has meaning to the person who chooses it.
- Pea: That person will not get married within the year;
- Stick: That person will have an unhappy marriage or constantly quarrel;
- A piece of cloth: That person will encounter bad luck or live in poverty;
- Coin: That person will have good luck or become rich;
- Ring: Represents that the person will be married next year;
- Pea: Signals a miserable future, no money;
And there are many other items that symbolize religion. However, this practice is just superstition and is no longer common to this day. So if you want to try traditional cakes during Halloween , don't hesitate!
The Barnbrack includes additional objects that will be used as divination tools
Witch finger cake
The witch's finger cake is considered one of the scariest cakes during the Halloween season. They are simply cookies made with pale colors and the same wrinkled, ugly shape of the witch's fingers. Usually, people will spread a little red jam on the top of the cake to add more horror to the cake.
Actually, there aren't too many legends about this traditional Halloween cake . They were simply created to test the reactions of the guests who came to play at the Carnival. People's interesting reactions when seeing the cake have made the cake increasingly popular.
Witch finger cakes were created to test people's reactions
Above are 4 traditional cakes at Halloween festival . The ancient stories hidden in each cake are truly extremely interesting, right? If your child wants to make lovely cakes themselves, they can practice with Play-doh, then display cakes with this special shape on Halloween night or give them to friends as gifts. Mykingdom wishes you a meaningful Halloween.
