Soul Cakes & Trick-or-Treating
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Canon EOS M50 Camera: amzn.to/3amjvwu
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Currants: amzn.to/2T3qItA
Nutmeg: amzn.to/2IGDlcb
Clove: amzn.to/3dyNWRP
Mace: amzn.to/31j625h
Saffron: amzn.to/3560pbP
KitchenAid Stand Mixer: amzn.to/37hsboA
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The Customs and Traditions of Wales by Trefor Owen: amzn.to/37gi6bt
The Book of Hallowe'en by Ruth Eda Kelley: amzn.to/3dDb41i
Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton: amzn.to/348t0xQ
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Editor: WarwicSN - / warwicsn
SOUL CAKES
ORIGINAL 16TH CENTURY RECIPE (From Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book)
To make Cakes
Take flower & sugar & nutmeg & cloves & mace & sweet butter & sack & a little ale barm, beat your spice & put in your butter & your sack, cold, then work it well all together & make it in little cakes & so bake them, if you will you may put in some saffron into them or fruit.
MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- ½ Cup Lukewarm Ale (Below 100°F/38°C)
- 1 Teaspoon Yeast
- 3 Cups (360g) Flour
- ½ Cup (100g) Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Butter Softened
- ½ Teaspoon Salt (if you’re using unsalted butter)
- ¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Clove
- ¼ Teaspoon Mace
- ⅓ Cup Sack or Sherry
- 1/4 Teaspoon Saffron Threads (optional)
- 3/4 Cup Dried Fruit, plus more for decoration. (Optional)
- 1 Egg for Egg Wash (Optional)
METHOD
1. Create an "ale barm" by mixing the yeast with the lukewarm ale and letting sit for 10 minutes. If you are using saffron, mix that into the sherry and let steep.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, clove, and mace together. Add the yeasted ale and work it in. Then work in the softened butter and the sack with saffron along with any fruit you are using. Mix until everything the dough comes together, then knead for 5 - 12 minutes. The longer you knead, the more bread-like the cakes will be, but the more they will rise.
3. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour (it will likely not double in size), then punch the dough down and form into small cakes. Cover and allow the cakes to rise for another 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
4. When the cakes have puffed up, add the optional egg wash and/or additional fruit, or form a cross on the top of each cake using the back of a knife (do not cut the cross in). Then back fro 20 minutes. When baked, allow to cool before serving.
PHOTO CREDITS
Elinor Fettiplace Kneeling at her Father’s Tomb: By Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Appleton Manor: By Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Altar de Día de Muertos en Actopan, Hidalgo, México
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
RubeHM / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Newgrange - TJP Finn en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgran...
Halloween Costumes 1918 - Richard via Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/rich701...
Cliffs of Dover: Immanuel Giel - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_C...
Bonfire Night: Peter Trimming - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
#tastinghistory #halloween #soulcakes
What's everyone's favorite Halloween candy? I'll start. Snickers!
Peanut butter cups FTW
Carmels.
Almond joy!
Ooooh yes. One of my favorites too.
Branch’s are my favorite.
Max: "Nutmeg & cloves & mace & sack"
John Townsend: *Heavy breathing*
The treat: has nutmeg
The trick: is pre ground 🙀
Babish: *Watches from around the corner longingly.
@@benderrodriguez142 pre-ground!? "SHAME ON YOU!"
Don’t forget the ale barm!
That John Townsend especially loves his nutmeg!
"Why choose 'or' when 'and' is on the table" is an excellent philosophy as a whole. :)
Here here!
@@TastingHistory Cake or death?
@@TakeshiM Death by cake?
@@gewreid5946 Cake by death?
@@TakeshiM No no...cake AND death. :)
Fun fact: I made soul cakes one time when my roommates had a Halloween party. I offered one to some dude who came dressed as Luke Skywalker. He asked me if the soul cakes were vegan. I told him I didn't think so because they're made with real human souls 😏
Very Wednsday Addams of you, I like!!
I think that's OK if they're freely given? According to vegan friend who put breast milk in his tea
but we're the souls free range?
@@Tridd666 I only use gluten-free, cage-free, grass-fred, organic, non-GMO, free-range souls in my soul cakes! 😋🍮🌱🌿
@@squish1267 that's delightful
I'm getting homgry
You should definitely re-hydrate the dry fruit in the alcohol. It makes the texture and flavour so much better, and prevents burning.
Thank you for the hint.
^ this 100%
When I was active duty they would bake you a cake on the mess deck when you would re-enlist. We would refer to these as “soul cakes” because you sold your soul to the Navy for another 4 years for a cake. 😂
🤣 that’s funny. That could actually make a cool episode! Navy food traditions.
@@TastingHistory 16th, 17th century nastiness. And then scurvy until they figured out how to suck on lemons and limes.
@@jayhom5385 and eating raw onions long ago because they lasted longer... That had to make for some great sailor breath.
@@TastingHistory Aren’t they the ones who put salt in their coffee tho? 🥴
@@jayhom5385 or Japanese curry which was introduced to prevent beriberi.
I like the apron buckles that look like cat eyes when he's wearing all black
I definitely didn't wonder what an odd shirt he was wearing before realizing it was an apron...
lol that's what I thought I first
@@dom9406 same 😸
I was thinking the same thing! Lol
I thought the same thing! Thought it was a shirt at first
The little "And who are you supposed to be?!" skit earned you a thumbs up from me! Hilarious! XD
🤣 thank you
If Netflix doesn’t offer this guy a deal to but this show, I’ll be baffled. It’s
phenomenal.
But it needs to stay nearly the same unless he gets to travel
he is awesome!
@@jep9092 Tasting & Touring History.
Agree
Netflix would just ruin it then cancel it.
I was not expecting the little outro musical sendoff.
😆
Unexpected but very much welcome
All I could think afterward was "We're on a buffet from Gahd."
That caught me by surprise but it was the best thing ever! ❤️😂❤️🤣
For a second I thought you were THAT Andrew Huang.
These looki like they'd be similarsh to Hot Cross Buns (I suspect they come from a similar root) - and are probably nice cut, toasted and spread with butter (less dry, too). In Scotland we go guising (from diguising), and the kids to a wee "turn" (a joke, song, magic trick, etc) at each door to earn their sweeties, and along with bobbing for applies (fun with wee ones if you're stuck in the house this year - drop a fork from your mouth to spear an apple if anyone's got a loose tooth) we also have a game involving eating as much soda scone hanging from string and dripping in treacle as possible in 2 minutes - hands behind backs for the over 3s. Sticky, messy, surprisingly savoury, and much beloved by small boys.
Seconding on this! Cut in half, toasted and used like scones with butter and/or any toppings you want, down here in somerset, very typical around easter more than any other time. And also *very* good, when I was a kid i liked mine with peanut butter and marmalade, my mom had hers with marmite sometimes, but they never taste right without lashings of butter and a hot cup of tea.
I thought they looked like hot cross buns too
The soda scone thing is done in the US with donuts! :D
I like hot cross buns without frosting.
I was reminded of Hot Crossed Buns as well, though traditionally in Newfoundland they used to appear during Lent and Easter and the cross is made with icing. But of late I've seen them in stores almost any time of the year. Pity my oven is busted.
“Well, isn’t that nice, have a Baby Ruth.” I died!
I cracked up haha
"Cake or Death!" is a comedy monologue done by Eddie Izzard that I IMMEDIATELY thought of when you mentioned the origin of trick-or-treat!
"Thank you for flying Church of England. Cake or death?"
@@adinaholmes5269 ‘well we’re all out of cake, we only had three pieces and didn’t think there’d be such a rush.’
Sounds like a "heads, I win, tails, you lose" situation for Franklin Finbar.
Yes I will have the penne alla arrabiata.
9:54 - "And who are you supposed to be?" LOLLOLLOL
I’m particularly proud of that one
I bet the costumes of the martyrs were way scarier than the evil spirit costumes...
@@TastingHistory best of the video hahahaha
I laughed insanely hard at this one.
When I have kids and teach them about halloween:
Kids: "So we say trick or treat?"
My Mom: "No you say Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat.."
Me and all of my Welsh Ancestors: "Deca Deca come to the door, and give to the messenger of death..."
Everyone looks at me...
I look at everyone...
Me: "You've come this far... THERE'S NO TURNING BACK NOW...."
I’m welsh and have no fucking clue what you’re smoking
@@thedisturbedpreist Anthracite of course, the best Welsh Steam Coal.
Translation into modern English: "Oi, mate, gimme a cake or I'll kick your wife's head in"
Im not welsh but i know exactly what you're on about. Decca deca under the door, and the wifes head in smithereens.
That's pretty freaking Metal friend. Somebody has to do song about that.
"It might be a little puffy. And that's okay."
Thank you for that body positivity. I feel better about myself.
🤣 right there with you
We never got rid of these traditions in Ireland. We eat spiced buns around Samhain period with dried fruit which are quite bread like. They have a cross on top and are called "crossed bins". We also have big round loaves called barmbrack which is even yummier. It always has a ring / coin hidden inside.
They don't have saffron though. That's a very posh crossed bun you got there 😂
Ps. You're supposed to butter it a little like bread!
Oh, and we're still trying to do away with the bonfires... Getting there 😂
"Rings and coins hidden inside"
Ah yes. Grandma's ole' Kinderjoy.
What's wrong with bonfires?
I think that crossed buns are also served around the holiday of Easter too! ^_^
The apron blends so well into the shirt, I thought the gold rings on the straps were some weirdly placed, exterior nipple rings.
Well, there's two of us weirdos, at least. I kept seeing people saying they looked liked cat's eyes, and didn't want to let anyone see my freak flag...
@@mahna_mahna I thought it looked like a black cats eyes too!! I figured it was a Halloween thing!
I too had some inappropriate thoughts as to what those two gold items were...until I looked at the Pokémon in the background... and went OH! LOL
@@kennashey LOVE the Pokemon.
That's funny I thought they were the yellowy, Halloween eyes of a black cat but I don't think Max did that intentionally
me @ 6:40: "I'm ready to forgive his pronunciation of Samhain. Almost nobody knows how to say it."
me @ 6:43: "Holy shit, he did it!"
🤣 I had to ask an Irish friend. In a couple weeks you’ll hear me butcher Ancient Gaelic.
@@TastingHistory Well, now I'm hype as heck.
Isn’t “mh” in the middle of a Celtic word _always_ pronounced like either “v” or “w” depending on the vowel after it? Come to think of it, so are most digraphs with a consonant followed by “h”.
So it’s Sawan, not Sam Hain, like the name of a freelance handyman?
@@Wackyfox Yeah. Sam Hain belongs in a L'il Abner comic. "Sow-win" is the name of the holiday.
we have something similar in northern Italy, called "Pan Dei Morti"(The Dead's Bread). they're soft cookies made with almonds, dry fruits, spices and wine. They're baked and given out to children on All Saints Day. We also have Ossa Di Morto (Dead man bones) which are similar cookies but hard and have a oblong shape, resembling a bone or finger.
These sounds delicious but the name is a little off-putting.
Oooh...see now I want to try soul cakes with apricots and almonds! Too bad I can't cook for health reasons...
At the end of summer the Japanese have Obon and they make special rice cakes with sweetened red beans in them to offer their ancestors. People are traditionally given the day off of work to travel home and visit their family, clean the family grave, and have a festival with food stalls, a traditional Obon dance, and ending with fireworks.
I LOVE making those! I shape ossi di morti to look like femurs and I usually serve them with tea!
Hello, here in Switzerland there are VERY hard-to-the-bite, oblong cookies, which consist of a dough with grated hazelnuts or almonds, on sale in all supermarkets around the beginning of November.
They used to be served at wakes or after a funeral, and - even on the packages! - were called "Totebeinli" (= legs of the dead) until ca. five years ago. Now they are called "Nuss-Stängeli" (= small rods made of nuts) because the traditional name was deemed too shocking for children.
The cookies former name nonetheless survives in the Swiss version of Jingle Bells, because the resulting song "Zimmetstärn ha I gärn" features a list of formerly common Christmas tide associated cookies and baked goods.
As I am from a part of Germany where the above mentioned custom was not observed (albeit many German regions share traditions with the neighbouring countries along the respective borders), the name and the history behind it at first grossed me out, but I realised it is a good way to casually deal with matters of life and death and thus introduce them into the experience and education of the younger generations.
Now I am not sure that is still customary/ allowed to sing the Swiss version of the song anymore, because nowadays so many things are glossed over to conform to the tendency to cancel out uncomfortable or shocking realities.
If one's teeth can muster the texture of the confectionery, the cookies - regardless of their current name - are still delicious ;-)))
@@Bee-wo5of Except pan de muerto's flavor is on the outside. With an external sugar coating while tasting like plain bread on the inside. Unless there's a more flavored version I don't know about.
“Why choose or when and is on the table?”
This is my new favorite quote.
“& nutmeg”
John Townsend: [heavy breathing]
Nutmeg Tavern forever!
Yeah! Nutmeg!
pretty sure nutmeg, and clove and mace and sack and ale barm is Townsends Bingo
I would send you some fresh nutmegs right from Moluccas islands.
"If you don't use saffron, you should use saffron." Wise words, sir! Wise words indeed!
What is the significance of saffron? Is it just to add yellow color?
@@jennifermcgean6156 Saffron is distinctly unique in flavour, It's quite light, sweet and floral but it's very complex
(turmeric can sometimes be used as an alternative if one doesn't have access any and is sometimes referred to as "poor man's saffron" due to similar colour and slight similarities in taste)
@@jennifermcgean6156 In ancient Ireland, nobility used saffron to dye their robes.
I'm just mad about Saffron! Saffron's mad about me
Thank the algorithm gods for sending this my way. I watched it during breakfast, then got off my couch and MADE THEM. All we had was cream sherry but that just means they’ll be extra sweet? They’re cooling right now. Happy Halloween everyone!
This man has spent a small fortune the amount of times he’s used saffron
We also practice the same in the Philippines. So when we visit our departed loved ones in the cemetery, we cook "Biko" or sticky rice cakes for their souls. We either bring it in the cemetery where families can eat the food there ( tables and chairs for everyone next to the grave of their loved ones) or we can also cook the sticky rice and lit candles in our dining tables at home.
That's a lovely idea ... also, sticky rice cakes for the win.
@@ValeriePallaoro thank you. It's really good. We use coconut milk for it so it's vegan.
What a lovely tradition to celebrate loved ones. Much healthier emotionally than just trying to forget ❤️❤️❤️
@@masuganut2082 thank you. it is a great customary. covid just made it impossible to do this in the cemetery like we used to.
I remember doing that and loved it. Then my lolo died. That was the year I truly considered myself an adult.
Souls Day, isn't that the day where everyone meets online to play Dark Souls?
🤣 sure, why not
PS5 launch!
I've never played that but from reputation isn't that where you go to lose your soul or at least your sanity?
@@jayhom5385 correct on both accounts! Also lose your patience, hair and sleep
@@jayhom5385 But it is worth it, I think
I've been inside that neolithic tomb you showed! It's called Newgrange and it's in Ireland. It is the most interesting place I've ever been. It felt magical. I think this particular tomb actually aligns with the winter solstice. I highly recommend visiting the site if you have the resources to do so/when the pandemic is over. It is an amazing, otherworldly experience.
Thanks! If no one else has mentioned it's alignment, I was going to. ;-) I dream of visiting Newgrange...
@@veshengri Hello, nice alias (although there may some discord about this...).
legit for a second when you said that you were "inside" the tomb i thought you meant you were buried in it lol
I'm irish and my mum used to make us soul cakes for Halloween when I was little, hadn't thought of that in years 💖 Eating barmbrack with a ring, cloth and coin baked in as well as how you're not to pick blackberries after the 31st because the púca (a ghost) has spat on them and it's bad luck are my prevailing childhood memories of Samhain customs x
Can I just say how impressed I am with your pronunciations of Samhain at 6:40 and that mouthful of a saints name (which I’m not typing out lol) at 9:55? I was very excited and impressed when you nailed it!
(Also yay CZcams notifications working for once lol)
Thank you 😁 I do some ancient Irish in an upcoming episode, so I might be butchering that.
@@TastingHistory I've gone through the entire Irish education system and studied it for 13 years. We don't teach it well here unfortunately, and you tend not to care until you are out of school. I cannot pronounce much beyond "teacher can I go to the bathroom please?" I think you have done very well :)
I was thinking about how Soul Cakes reminded me of Pan de Muerto. But then you mentioned it in the video. Cool!
Thinking the same
I used to run the Halloween parties at my place of work before they had the building staff take over. We decided one year to do a trivia game where we had all kinds of Halloween facts. One of them was actual about soul cakes which I read about. No one in the office got the question right, except for a few who told me they just guessed. You are 100% correct that soul cakes have almost vanished from the popular conscience as a Halloween food or something you would do during the holiday.
okay I just found this channel and I'm in love w this guy. food? check. historical story telling? check. humor? cheeeeeeeeeeeeeck. A+++ dude keep it up!!!
Thank you so much!
“The Soul Cakes“ sounds like the backing band for a 70s R&B singer.
Maybe it is a BAKING band.
Someone needs to hop on that 'Tasting History clips out if context' niche
🤣
*Hard tack clip has entered the chat*
Here in Australia, Halloween, and trick or treating, has only really been thing for the last 20 years, or so. This means I missed out on the all fun times, lollies, etc, as a child in the 70s and 80s. As such I have no traditions, favourite Halloween treats, etc. Thank you Max for the soul cake recipe, I've been trying to find an authentic one for ages.
Halloween is pointless in Australia, there’s no proper history, it’s just been adopted from America, who knows why. I never partake in it, and as a teacher, I don’t indulge my students with it either.
In Germany, particularly around the swabian region, bakers make long "rolls" called Seele (or soul) all year round. They are traditionally made from spelt flour and are crispy on the outside, fluffy and light and moist on the inside. They have their origins as mentioned by Max, and are reminiscent of all saints day and remembering the dead. However, in older times, when autumn turned to winter, those who spared some nourishment to the "poor souls" could expect a better harvest in the year to come. Another explanation suggests that a baker during the 30 years war (1618-1648) in Ravensburg vowed, if the Plague would spare his city, he would give each beggar a loaf of bread every year on all Saints day. From such a generous vow, through stereotypical swabian frugality became the (small) Seele in comparison to the regular sized loaves of bread.
Ah ja, Dinkelseelen! Danke für die Erinnerung, dass ich die auch mal backen sollte/ wollte - aber ich mag keinen Dinkel, denn Backwerk daraus gelingt mir nicht, trotz mehr Wasser im Teig. Ich hoffe, dass Weizenmehl ausnahmsweise erlaubt ist ;-)
What did we do to deserve such a wonderful treat - two Tasting History videos in one week!
I didn’t realize Sugar was going to take 2 videos, so chalk it up to my blathering on and on 🤣
Trust us, none of mind your "blathering"!!!
If you like soul cakes abd their history, Sin eating in Wales is also very fascinating! After someone had died, or was dieing, during their wake a 'sin eater" would be contracted to eat bread and drink wine or more commonly ale over them, there by taking their earthly sins on.
Often a sin eater would be paid quite well for this, and traditiong was recorded in Wales right up until the 20th century
That was an interesting thing to learn. Thanks for sharing! 😪
@@monikan2309 my pleasure?
They had this tradition in Appalachia in the US too.
@@TheGrungy1 I believe there was quite a bit of immigration from Wales to there! Also pensylvania! Alot of celtic and Brythonic traditions got carried over :)
Max when it gets closer to Easter I'd love you to do hot cross buns and their history. I've never heard of soul cakes or the other holidays surrounding them. Another great history lesson!
I wonder how far they go back
@@sharroon7574
Medieval at the earliest.
This is the only CZcams community where I actually feel a part of the community and I’ve had an account for 10+ years.
Aww 🥺 Max appreciates that
This comment just made my day. So happy to read it.
"Take Flour & Sugar & Nutmeg...." *Townsend has entered the chat
So basically you go around the neighborhood, knocking on the door, and telling people “Your soul (cake) is mine!” Like in Mortal Kombat?
🤣
Finish it!
Me, a canadian, confused about why smarties arent as good and then remembering smarties are different in the us
Me too! I love Smarties. 🍁
I actually rarely come here for the recipies themselves but mostly for the history time and your awesome description of taste and texture
The metal loops on your apron against your black shirt look like yellow eyes on a black cat - probably unintentional but very fitting hahah
Definitely unintentional but it works!
I was gonna say they looked like nipple rings. Guess I did anyway
Haha exactly what I was thinking! It looked super cool!
I wasn’t aware of Soul Cakes until Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books and their mention of the Soul Cake Duck.
0:55 Lord've Mercy Elinor, what lovely gourds you've got! I don't think the sack is going in cold, I'm afraid.
Thank you for telling of the Pagan origins of Halloween. Many years ago I told an Italian, Catholic co-worker the Pagan origins of Easter, Christmas & Halloween. Plus the fact the Catholic Church stole wholesale from her Roman ancestors. Surprised the heck out of her. So many good, "traditional" foods for Christian holidays have Pagan origins. Food history is such fun.😁
Almost totally incorrect.
I love pikachu’s costume ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ♡
Came here to say the same thing! It was so cute to see Pikachu ready for trick or treating.
Bookachu!
All the monetization goes to getting new pokemon plushes I guess
@@trickvro Pikaboo is right there lol
It has one in the hippocras episode as well I think. Some sort of Christmas episode anyway
Surprisingly enough, the Soul Cake Duck is not so fond of these...
🤣
The first year I made soul cakes, All Souls fell on a Tuesday, and there were ducks on my walk home. I couldn't contain my excitement.
I understand the Hogfather likes 'em, though.
It is rather lovely there are other subscribers here what know about the Pratchett films. Hogfather is our favorite Christmas treat hereabouts, even above Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life.
@@ianmacbrooke4617 films?
My favourite thing about old recipes is how they're basically just "get some ingredients and cook them ❤"
I love the soul cake singing at the end about being a soul cake, with a soul kind of voice 😂
It's a parody of the song 'Soul Man' by Sam & Dave. I, too, found it endearing and funny.
Peter, Paul and Mary did a rendition of the Souling Song, and in the live version on one of their albums, Peter tells a silly funny story about trick or treating. First time I heard it I was about 17, and got the mistaken idea Souling was at Christmas time. Thank you for explaining. Great video!
I was waiting for that song to pop up! I think I'll be singing that all day!
That was my first introduction to it too! (And I saw them in concert back in the 60s!)
something similar was also done on Christmas eve
My grammar school music teacher had the same idea. Had us kids practicing it for a Christmas music review.
Souling is similar to wassailing (Xmas), but the activities' songs are very different - "Here We Come A'Wassailing" is a nice, upbeat group tune while "Souling" is that deliciously spooky minor ditty. It was kind of innovative of PP&M to mix it with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" like they did!
I am Wiccan, and I usually did most of the baking for my coven. One Samhain I did make soul-cakes, which were consumed along with sips of ale or wine, while everybody pretended they could sing like Peter Paul and Mary.
I know exactly what song you're talking about & I was singing it while watching this video lol
Check for a recipe fro Parkin, it was a traditional Samhain cake, and I still make it for my Coven…very tasty.🖤🇨🇦
@@tamarrajames3590
Parkin was not a 'traditional Samhain cake' - Samhain being an Irish festival.
It originates from the North of England, in particular where I live in Yorkshire - and is especially associated with Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night.
And parkin can be readily bought in the local bread shops and supermarkets during that period.
@@Wotsitorlabart Thanks, I do know the origins of Samhain, and yes…I’m certain they didn’t have Parkin in those days. Spending my school years in VERY British Victoria BC, we inevitably came back from “trick or treating” with several pieces of Parkin wrapped in waxed paper. However it began, it did get rolled into the holiday a good many years ago, as my Mother recalled it being the only time in the year my Gran ever baked it.🖤🇨🇦
My grandparents are catholic and my grandfather used to dress up as his favorite saints and all for Halloween even back in the 20s/30s and all. But can I say, the sheer judgement of stating that a child is receiving a baby ruth (one of the worst Halloween candies) truly had me in stitches! Truly a perfect representation of Christianity.
Sounds like the Chinese 7th Month/ Hungry Ghost Festival when we also offer food offerings (and a lot of other things) to dead ancestors and souls! Someone else also mentioned Dia de Muertos. Looks like many cultures have this common thread
It seems fairly universal. Something deeply ingrained I guess.
@@TastingHistory InGRAINED? I see you, Max.
ಠ_ಠ
It’s the strangest idea to want to feed live food to someone who has passed on. I get the whole idea of having your family come and join you again in spirit, but if they’re in another realm, they’re not gonna be able to eat the food from this realm. I think the whole universality of this concept speaks to humans being unable to let the idea of their beloved passed go, unable to accept that they’re not a part of this realm anymore. Also, food is a great mortal comfort.
This explains so much about the Discworld. I kept waiting for you to mention the a duck, but I guess Terry Pratchett had to actually invent that part himself.
The duck confused me into thinking the soul cakes were an easter thing. Now I got that straight.
I made this recipe a couple of times now, it's really good, I love the flavour of these cakes. But I didn't love the texture, so today I made sort of a fusion between these and a scones recipe. They turned out amazing! I used a scones recipe that contained baking powder, egg and buttermilk. I exchanged the buttermilk for ale and sherry and added all the spices and raisins from the soul cakes recipe. Highly recommend you try this! (I used the blueberry scones recipe from Chef Billy Parisi on CZcams as a base)
I bet if you soak the dried fruit in the ale/sherry, that would be tasty.
Thanks for the recipe. That was the way I grew up with, during the souls day the kids would go knocking at every door begging for "bread" chanting "For the love of God give us some bread". The doors were always open and the Lady of the house would come with baked sweet potatoes, hominy freshly cooked, sweet bread, slices of corn bread, and a special milk bread that was super delicious. I found out later on that the milk bread is a sort of a cake. The children would have fun and were happy for the gifts of food, each one would go home with a cloth bag full of goodies. Now, they celebrate Halloween too.
Reminds me of the Mexican Pan de Muerto made for the Day of the Dead (Nov 2).
Edit: and there's the reference!
Definitely a variation on a theme. Celtic culture exists in Spain/Iberia, too, and parts of it certainly made it to the new world. These seem MUCH easier to prepare than pan de muerto, though.
@@pablodelsegundo9502 yeah, pan de muerto is more work than soul cakes. But still delicious.😁
@@4n631ic0b1ivi0n Absolumente! But I have to buy mine...I'm already too busy cooking family favorites in the 48 hrs leading up to DdlM.
The bakery I work for is making pan de muerto this year. It's delicious! I'd come back from the grave for that
he really does deliver :-)
Tuesday really came early this week..
Must be daylight savings time or something.
🤣 doubling your this week.
Soul Cake Tuesday came early this year?
Ducks all over the disc will be none too pleased with this news
Stunned by Max's confidence, showing us the inside of his oven like that. No worries though, it GLEAMED.
I still take credit for cleaning it 😝
Resurgence of Mummering at Christmas time would take holiday parties to epic levels
"And nutmeg"
John Townsend: *Happy noises*
I'll try these, for sure!
Also, I want to thank you for always putting cups AND grams in your measurements, it's so much easy when I don't have to convert everything! Thank you for this :)
A series of books I love, the Discworld, had holidays that were similar to ours, such as Hogswatch instead of Christmas (with the jolly fat man dressing in red delivering presents to all the good little children). One of the holidays was Soul Cake Day, with it's mascot, the Soul Cake Duck. Now the Soul Cake makes sense, I'm just wondering where the duck came into the picture.
What duck? ;)
I appreciate the well timed ad breaks. It’s a small thing but it’s nice
Pikachu is the cutest trick-or-treater!
And likely the only one we’ll get this year.
That's kinda sad, but I know families are doing more together to celebrate and that's nice. Pumpkins at the grocery stores are selling out by noon because so many families are carving to make up for the parties that aren't happening.
why does the apron look like a black cat's eyes with those two rings on each side?
Thanks Captain Obvi... nevermind ;-)
OMG, you saw that as well!
"Something to drink"
Some warmed Hippocris, maybe?
"I'm going to be using saffron AND fruit" *Wailing heard from a grave in Sapperton*
Nice Halloween Pikachu.
Been staring at that pikachu plushie XD
The Halloween costume is adorable!
Bookachu!
I loved that portrait so much that I googled it. It was painted by Sir Nathaniel Bacon, and it is called
"Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit" c.1620-5. It is now on my desktop.
Thank you for watching 😁
@@TastingHistory You are far more than welcome! Your videos are always a pleasure.
I love your channel and I love the history lesson behind the recipes and I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the ever changing plush toy in the background!!! Literally the first thing I look at, seeing what new item is gonna be shown on the channel today. Keep up the great work!!
This sounds like it has the same roots as my grandmother's easter bread--tons of saffron and currants, and delicious toasted with butter and then dipped in hot chocolate or coffee.
I normally do an unleavened cake (think a sweet tea biscuit or a butter cookie, or somewhere in between) for soul cakes, I think I'm going to try these ones this year.
Oooh I love butter cookies!
I'm not entirely sure I can count it as the same recipe, but my husband said I should let you know how much we loved these. (I used de-alcoholized beer for the barm, because it was left over from making the Tudor buttered beer; substituted 1/2 tsp cardamom for the saffron like you can do in St. Lucia buns; used 100g of candied orange peel in lieu of the dried fruit, and used cider in place of the sack à la Townsends). Everyone thought they were awesome. They have been inhaled, and I have already received requests for more.
Kinda reminds me of the saffron buns we have in Norway on Saint Lucy's Day
Ahh yes, I knew about Samhain! And as a Catholic I love learning about how we came to continue and ‘redeem’ various feasts for the multicultural diaspora of the Faith.
Never made soul cakes before - last year I baked pumpkin spice cookies for the first time in honour of St Hildegard von Bingin for the season! ^^ I’ll definitely try to make these next time!
2 videos in the same week and a little song at the end.
You're spoiling us Max! Thank you!
Just got off a nice 13 hour shift and come home to this! What a pleasant surprise!!
That’s a long shift!
Bread on all souls day really made the rounds! Mexico, Spain...there's a great scene at the beginning of the movie November where they're giving bread to the dead on All Souls in Estonia. And then the dead turn into chickens in the sauna. But the point is - BREAD! All over Europe. Amazing to me how widely this particular food tradition is shared. PS - I am definitely trying this recipe. Those look amazing.
Video: "add the sack with the saffron."
My brain: "s a c k f f r o n"
We have hot cross buns here in Canada, they usually come out at Easter and sometimes Christmas. The bread is fluffier and chock full of fruits and spice, delicious toasted with butter. Most come from a similar idea! Always so fun to learn the "back stories" of food.
Ha ha! I shall bake these and stand on my porch in my plague doctor regalia to hand them out on Halloween!
All the kids too terrified to get near me means more cake for me.
Please take pictures of this entire scene 🤣
@@TastingHistory Don't worry, they'll be plenty of video submitted at the trial.
@@TastingHistory there were no trick or treaters to terrorize this year. So I just looked like a fool and ate cake. But at least there was cake.
The two brass rings on his apron make me think of a black cat's eyes.
Was thinking the same thing luhmao
Love this topic! I appreciate your showing an image of Newgrange, an ancient tomb in Ireland, but it is not oriented to the sunrise on Samhain but on the Winter Solstice! ;)
Every year a few days before Halloween, my grandpa's retirement community hosted their own Halloween. They absolutely splurged on the goodies--full-size candy bars, literal living goldfish, and christian kids movies. But one house gave out those wax drinks that were the size of regular water bottles, and they were SO GOOD. Still have no idea where they got them, I've been trying off and on for years, but still no luck :(
When you said Nutmeg, I swore I saw an 18th century youtuber....
Excited Townsends Noises
Sir Francis Bacon
🤣
Twix is my favorite! Loved the "oh...that's nice...here's a baby ruth" lol. Gonna have to try these!
Twix is in my top 5 for sure.
This channel is such a treat in of itself. You bring history into our homes just by putting food on your own table
Had I not been subscribed for months, the song at the end would’ve been what sealed the deal
Thank you for saying Día de Muertos the proper way instead of día de los muertos as many usually call it
My Mexican friends debate about that. I wonder if it’s regional.
Love the impersonation of Christianity xD
In Scotland we call the tradition "guising". You're also supposed to do something first in order to get the treat, whether it be something like singing a song, reciting a poem, something dextrous or acrobatic etc., hence the apocryphal folk etymology of "trick or treat" here (do a trick to get a treat) -- though the phrase didn't actually become associated with the practice of guising here until fairly recently and I didn't use it when I went as a child despite the innundation of American media.
I’m English and I always thought Trick or treating was a tradition we took from the yanks. It turns out it was ours all along. You learn something new every day.
The knocking tradition, dressing up, and giving cakes out is very similar to what we do for Fastelav(Madi Gras) in Denmark, even the traditiomnal buns is replaced with coins(as no one could eat that many buns), but buns is still served, even they elobarate Danish Pastry,
I’ll take coins any day.
I remember on some Halloweens that some people would run out of candy and they would hand out pennies instead. Back then pennies were worth something, so we always hoped they they would run out of candy. This was back when chocolate candy bars cost 5 cents with the larger ones costing 10 cents. (Yes, I live in those prehistoric times LOL) so a few pennies here and there would add up to a chocolate bar!
I'm sorry, the black apron on the black shirt (I think that's what it is?) makes those rings stand out and look like piercings! Or sad cat eyes! I can't look away! XD
Hypnotic 😳
@@TastingHistory wear it again ...
Omg!!! I died on your dramatization of a medieval All Souls’ Day conversation! 😂 and of course the jam at the end! Clever clever!
Btw the pumpkin carving tradition, was based on an earlier turnip carving tradition.
Fires in the home were put out to prevent the spirits form entering. Carved turnips were used to carry embers from the bonfire at the end of the night.