Sometimes I feel as if my family is eating its way through the liturgical year. Cake for the guardian angels, cream puffs for St. Joseph, Mexican food for Our Lady of Guadalupe, king cake for Mardi Gras, Paska bread for Easter, and on and on.
So in addition to our secular yet delicious pumpkin, ghost, and bat butter cookies, we’re enjoying soul cakes, which a couple of my children have been prodding me to make for several years.
In conjunction with the release of the Catholic Teen Books anthology Shadows: Visible & Invisible, my daughters and I and fellow author Catholic Teen Books author T.M. Gaouette had the opportunity to test and tweak several soul cake recipes, finally landing on the one that appears at the end of the Shadows anthology. These cakes can easily be made with pantry staples.
I encourage you to learn more about souling traditions and the entire Halloween triduum by reading Shadows. Halloween has taken a dark turn in our culture in some cases, but it’s fascinating to see its Christian roots. Maybe by noshing a few soul cakes, we can revive some positive traditions from the past, and remind us of the reason for our celebrations.
Baking tips:
- As you add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, the batter will seem very dry. Hang in there. The butter will soften things up.
- The yield depends on how thin you roll the dough and the diameter of your drinking glass. I only got 16 out of a batch, and they were delicious!
Soul Cakes
Prep time: 15 minutes, baking time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 2 dozen cakes
INGREDIENTS
• ¾ c. butter, softened
• ¾ c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¾ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• pinch of mace
• ⅔ c. raisins
• 2-5 Tbsp. buttermilk
For the glaze:
• ½ c. confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375° F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and spices.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring after each addition.
5. Stir in raisins, then add buttermilk as needed until dough is soft but crumbly.
6. Roll dough to 1/2” thickness and cut circles with a floured drinking glass or biscuit cutter.
7. Using the back of a butter knife, make a cross the length of the circle on each cake.
8. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges turn golden brown.
9. Combine confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Brush cakes with glaze while still warm.
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