Enjoy these Soul Cakes as a more traditional Samhain celebration food! You’ll love the flavor and how they’re the perfect biscuit-like foods to go with cider, ale, tea, coffee or even wine. Save the recipe today!
@sugarmaplefarmhouse Soul Cakes for Samhain, All Souls’ Day and Halloween! #soulcakes #halloweenfood #samhain #allsoulsday #witchyvibes ♬ Halloween Moon – Vladimir Takinov
As I’ve spent some time learning about the origins of Halloween, I came across Soul Cakes. Halloween was originally celebrated as Samhain, an ancient Celtic end of harvest season commemoration and entrance to the darker half of the year. Many aspects of Halloween that we see today have their roots in Samhain – even trick-or-treating.
What is the history behind Soul Cakes?
Soul Cakes are biscuit-like cakes that were once given out to children and poor people who went “souling” in Europe. They would visit the wealthier families on Halloween and offer to pray for their souls or to keep the malevolent spirits away in exchange for the baked goods. The practice dates back to the Medieval period and continued until the 1930’s in some parts of the country.
In some countries the giving of soul cakes is still seen today and generally associated with Halloween, or All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 1 & 2), which were moved closer to Halloween in an effort to combine holidays as the Christian religion took root.
In Portugal, souling is known as Pão-por-Deus and coincides with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The Philippines has a similar practice called Pangangaluwa, which happens on Halloween. In the United States some church celebrate Allhallowtide and invite people in to pray while handing our sweet treats.
But what are Soul Cakes?
The cakes themselves are small, round shortbread or biscuit-like cakes that were sweetened with fruit and flavored with spices. They were marked on top with an X or a cross to signify that these were cakes meant for the poor. Sometimes the tops are also decorated with dried fruit too.
Soul Cakes are similar in texture to Irish Soda Bread, which is actually one of my most popular recipes on this blog. You can find it {HERE}. It always seems to get more views in October and after learning about Samhain, I understand why.
And while I know that these Soul Cakes don’t look like the most appetizing biscuit/cakes you’ve ever seen, they are so good! I’ve been so excited to share this recipe with you because I actually cannot stop eating these. Frankly, they’re ruining the low-carb thing I try to do and I’m not mad about it. Soul Cakes are going to be a tradition in our home each October from here on out.
Traditional ingredients vs Non-Traditional Ingredients
I use sour cream in my recipe which is not a traditional ingredient in Soul Cakes. However, as with most recipes from England, Ireland and Scotland that are historic, I find that without the sour cream they are a little too dry for me. When I originally made this recipe I made it three times over the course of a week because I wanted them to have a little more moisture and wanted to love the recipe. They will be a drier biscuit even with the sour cream, but that should add enough moistness that they are truly enjoyable.
Also, while Soul Cakes are typically made with dried fruit, I used fresh apples in mine in conjunction with dried cranberries. I did this because I wanted to add another fruit component but only had prunes. I have to say, I love the fresh apples being in there. It gives them a burst of flavor and I think helps to keep the cakes moist. If you are worried about the apples making the dough too moist, skip them in favor of dried fruit.
Tips for making Soul Cakes
- I added my Tik Tok video above so you can see the process of making these and how the dough should look.
- You can use plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream if you like.
- Make sure your apples are not overly moist.
- Feel free to try variations on this recipe. You can use raisins instead of cranberries or whatever dried fruit you like including dried apples, mangos and more. If you prefer nutty fruit cakes you can use cut pecans or walnuts too.
- The bottoms of these will sometimes come out a little browned around the bottom edges thanks to the milk. Just an FIY. It should not be the whole bottom of the cake though. Just the edges. This happens with other dough like recipes where milk or buttermilk is added to the baked good throughout the cooking process. Double the parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat on your cookie sheet. The darker the cookie sheet, the darker bottoms of all baked goods will get.
- Please keep in mind these are biscuits and not cookies. If you want a cookies, try my Moon Spell Cookies (HERE). Biscuits – especially those that originated in Europe – are often very dense, not as sweet and sometimes a little crumbly. This is why the addition of the fruit and sour cream was important to me.
- To store the Soul Cakes, place them in an air tight container on the counter. They will last about 4-5 days.
What to serve with these cakes
I made a whole Samhain fest when I set up my Samhain Halloween table. Within that there’s some beautiful recipes that will compliment Soul Cakes for your celebration. Try some of the following:
- Moon Spell Cookies {HERE}
- Roasted Beet Soup {HERE}
- Spiced Cherry Apple Cider {HERE}
- Butternut Squash Soup {HERE}
- Hot Buttered Apple Cider (HERE}
- Caramelized Wile Mushroom Pasta {HERE}
- Braised Apple Cider Pork Tenderloin {HERE}
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Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope that you love my recipe for Soul Cakes and that you come back to visit again. You can find the full, printable recipe below!
Soul Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. salt
- 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt with full fat
- 1/2 cup whole milk or milk preference
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 apple diced, patted dry (optional) I used Pink Lady apples but Honey Crisp or Fuji would work well too.
- Additional milk and sugar for topping
- Additional 1/4 cup of flour for rolling out dough.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Cream together sugar and butter with a hand mixer.
- Then add in sour cream, milk and vanilla extract and mix.
- Next add in baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice and mix.
- Add in the flour one cup at a time and mix well. Dough will be piece-y.
- Fold in the dried cranberries and apples and then chill dough for 20 minutes.
- Roll out dough on parchment paper and use extra flour on your hands, rolling pin and parchment paper as needed. You may beed as much as 1/4 cup extra flour depending on the moisture in your apples. Roll about 1/2 inch thick.
- Using a cookie cutter or a biscuit cutter, cut the Soul Cakes out and place them on a cookie sheet that's lined with parchment paper. Double line the cookie sheet if you are worried about browning or use a silicone baking liner.
- Cut the X in the top and decorate with dried fruit if you want to. Brush the tops with milk. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and brush the tops with milk again and then sprinkle on sugar. Bake for another 11-14 minutes until the tops have started to brown a bit. Do not bake them for longer than 26 minutes total.
- Transfer to a cooling rack right away and let them cool completely. Then serve them with coffee, tea, cider, ale or even wine!
After sitting 20 minutes the apples totally juiced with all that sugar… The deal was so sticky I could hardly use it and then when I put it in after the first 12 minute session, they were burned on the bottom… Not a first go around with soul cakes skip the apples!
Hi Rebecca, Thank you for the feedback. The apples got juiced in the dough? The sugar shouldn’t have that much impact on them when it has already been mixed well with the flour into a dough. Additionally, sometimes the milk on the top can burn the cakes around the edges a bit but it shouldn’t be too bad on the parchment paper. I’m hoping I can help you figure out what happened if you let me know a little more info. However, yes, you can skip the apples if you want or you can add dried apple bits instead.
Followed the recipe exactly (other than the use of soy milk in place of regular milk, both in the dough and to top the cakes) and these came out absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you loved them!
These were absolutely delicious! I had to bake them less time in my oven and keep a close eye but they were perfect! I am going to make them every year!
Thanks, Kristen! How long did you end up baking them for?
Hi! I’m coming back a year later to answer your question because I’m making them again and they are delicious again. I bake them about 20 min or so. I’m sure it depends on my oven and just if I make them a little thicker or thinner. Wonderful recipe!
Thank you, Kristen! I’m so glad you enjoy them!
So good!!! I made these for Halloween then made them again just to have another batch to eat when the first batch went too quickly. I’ve tried a few soul cake recipes on the internet but this recipe has been above and beyond the best. I love the addition of the apples. I substituted dried currants for the cranberries and I think any dried berry would be delicious.
I’m so glad you loved them!
Would you recommend sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries?
Unsweetened. Anything that is already sweetened might alter the flavor.
Hello, do you think these could be made as a sheet pan or bar type recipe? Would love to be able to kind of get them done all in one go!
You could probably make them in a different shape like a bar, but I wouldn’t;t make them in a sheet. I do not know what the cook time would be for making it like that.
Im giving 5 stars because I’m not trying to ruin anyones small business. But what the actual heck? The dough was completely unmanagable, it was a sticky muck.
The 425 oven burnt them to a crisp. I dont see where I went wrong in the recipe. I see someone else commented with the same problem.
They taste like breakfast cereal. Ill try again some day when im less discouraged but dang im kinda sad.
Hi Crystal, You do not have to give it 5 stars if it did not turn out. I’d love to understand if anything was changed in the recipe from what I have above. I also added my video from Tik Tok above so people can watch the process of making them. Also, they are drier. They are not a cookie. They are a biscuit. but they should not be overly dry as you can see in the video above. At any rate, I’m so sorry you had issues with them. If you would like to email me we can chat through it if you want.
I followed the recipe exactly but after adding three cups of flour, the dough was way too sticky and wet so I added another cup of flour. This fixed the problem and made the dough less wet/tacky, however after adding the apples I was back to a soggy mess. I had to add another cup and flour and this fixed the problem. I was wary of such a high oven temperature, but they baked well and turned out really nice. I will make this next year, however I will adjust the flour amount or use dried apples instead.
These are lovely, quite tasty, and perfect for Holloween/Samhain/All Saints Day but the cooking time is off. My first pan full nearly burned and had I not checked 5 minutes into the second bake,after brushing on more milk and sugar, they would have been inedible. My oven temp is accurate as I have an oven thermometer. Next time, I will either lower the temp or put the milk wash sugar sprinkle on from the start and bake about half as long as suggested.
Otherwise. These are great!
These were perfect! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out beautifully. The dough rolled out and cut nicely. I did have to watch the cook time on them carefully but they were delicious. I loved the addition of the fresh apples. Definitely will be making again next year!
Thank you, Kristi! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
I followed the recipe exactly and the dough was SO STICKY! I felt like I needed to add double the amount of flour to make it look like the dough in your video. I ended up doing 4 cups and it was still unmanageable but I went ahead and baked them and they tasted fine. So if you’re in the same situation, just bake ’em!!
However, I couldn’t use a cookie cutter because of how sticky the dough was so they’re not pretty but hey they taste good!
Hi Lindsey, I’m sorry the dough was sticky for you! Did you use the fresh apples? I wonder what the difference is between the people who don’t have an issue with it and the people who do. I’m going to try making them again shortly and see if I can figure it out. Nevertheless, I’m glad you were able to make it work!
Has anyone frozen the dough?
Hi Sharon, I’ve not done this. We always make it all.
I want to make these for the Feast of Simon and Jude at the end of the month. I did a trial run with a recipe I found from Britain – trying to approximate the measurements from the metric system. The ones I made this weekend tasted a bit like spiced shortbread. They weren’t nearly as thick as what you show in your recipe.
What I really wanted to ask, though, is how big of a cookie cutter do you use? I think the one I had was way too big. Also, what is the yield for this recipe?
I’ll probably just eat the ones I made this weekend. I do want to get this right since it’s for other people to consume.
Hi Alane, These are the cookie cutters I used, just one of them in the middle size. https://amzn.to/4mVLUNE I think it was about 3 inches across. You can also use a glass if you do not want to get/or don’t have a similar cookie cutter. When I have made these I am about to get about 12/13 biscuits. I’m going to make a YouTube for them this weekend so if you come back mid-next week then I will hopefully have that up.
I love these! I’ve made versions of them before but I feel like I like your recipe even better. I only used what I had so I did not use apples and I used a mix of raisins and sweetened craisins.
I love making press cookies and thought I would try these in a press cutter since they hold the cross shape – and they worked so well – even though I know a circle with a cross is traditional (I wish I could post a picture to show you). I cut the baking time and did 10min, 5min, 5min on the pan out of the oven.