My partner is in a band and organizes an annual "thank you donors" private concert with a snack potluck, and this year, these Soul Cakes showed up on the snack table. I had no idea what a soul cake was or that they are a traditional Samhain/Halloween time item in England, but I liked them so much that I brought several home with me and tracked down the person who made them, and she was kind enough to share her recipe and methods with me.
Notes:
- SKULL PANS: The ones BurntCookie and I used are made by Wilton, or Holiday Home if you get the knockoff version. It has 6 cavities and the size of each cavity is about 4 in tall x 3 in wide x 1 in thick. The original recipe calls for 3" diameter circles that are 1/4 in thick. I find the cookies made with this pan to be quite big. If you get a different skull shaped pan, remember to adjust the baking time (less time if they're smaller) and check often to make sure they don't get too dark.
- I greased the pan lightly with the paper the butter was wrapped in as a precaution, but I don't think it was necessary. I think they would have released from the pan just fine even if I hadn't. It did make the top surface nice and golden brown though, which made the shape details a little easier to see.
- The person who made them for the party (BurntCookie) made quite a few changes to the initial recipe but didn't have exact amounts for some things, so I have approximated them here. Disclaimer: I did try this recipe as I wrote it below, but halved everything.
- I put in about 1/2 cup dried fruit total, but would use more next time. (If my partner's food mantra is "Yes! Ham!" mine is "More Fruit," haha.) I used dried cranberries and raisins because they're what I had in the house, but I think other dried fruits like apricots, prunes, or cherries would also taste good.
- I think some orange or lemon zest (1 teaspoon or so) would also taste delightful in these depending on what dried fruit you use.
- A teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract in the dough might also be tasty and I plan to try this in future batches.
- I finished them both ways that were described, and while both tasted good, I prefer the glaze since the cakes are already kind of dry and adding a powder to the top adds to the dry feel.
- I might slightly increase the amount of spices next time because their flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked. But the ones I used were kind of old so maybe that was why.
- I would use either lemon juice or vanilla in the glaze, but not both together.
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RECIPE:
Soul Cakes
adapted from Cooking Journey Blog by BurntCookie and me
Makes about 10 (4 in x 3 in x 3/4 in) skull shaped cakes, or about 18 round cakes
Cakes:
175 g butter, room temperature (6.1 oz, about 1 1/2 sticks)
175 g white granulated sugar (about 3/4 cup)
3 egg yolks
450 g all purpose flour (about 3 5/8 cups)
2 tsp cinnamon, or mixed spice (= 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger)
85 g (about 3/4 cup) dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit of your choice, chopped in small pieces
6-7 tbsp milk
Glaze:
120 g (about 1 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk, water, or lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Special equipment (optional): Mini skull shaped nonstick cake pans (see above note for details)
Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Place butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Cream butter with sugar until lightened in color and fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix again until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine flour and spices. Add flour mixture into the butter mixture in 2-3 additions, mixing after each one. Add milk in several additions, until the dough comes together. Mix in cranberries/raisins/dried fruit on low speed (or by hand with a spoon or spatula) until well combined.
Press dough into each cavity in your skull pan about 3/4 full, up to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) from the top. (If you don't have skull cake pans: Transfer the dough to a silicone mat or other surface, dusted with flour. Roll the dough with a flour-dusted rolling pin to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thickness. Cut round shapes with a 3-inch round biscuit cutter or other similarly sized cookie cutter, score a cross onto the top of each [optional], and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until the edges are golden. (For rounds, bake for 15-20 minutes.) Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely, then turn cakes out onto the rack or other flat surface. Dust cakes with powdered sugar, or dip in sugar glaze (see next paragraph). Soul cakes will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Glaze: Mix glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until the glaze is thick and will coat the back of a spoon but not immediately run over the sides. (If too thick, add milk/water in very small increments; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.) Dip each cake face down in the glaze to coat it, and set on wax paper glazed side up until glaze has dried and hardened completely.
