English Soul Cakes: Spiced Currant Shortbread from the Original Halloween Tradition

Heat the oven to 350F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 cup (75 g) dried currants
• 2 to 3 tbsp whole milk
• Extra currants or raisins, for marking the cross

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.
3. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
4. Add the flour and currants and mix to a soft dough, adding the milk a tablespoon at a time until it just comes together without being sticky.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Stamp out rounds with a 3-inch (7.5 cm) cutter, rerolling the scraps.
6. Arrange on the baking sheets and use the back of a knife to score a cross on top of each cake, pressing a few currants into the lines if you like.
7. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until pale gold at the edges but still soft in the center. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
8. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with tea, mulled cider or hot chocolate. They keep in a tin for 4 days.
9. Soul cakes are the ancestor of trick-or-treating. In medieval England, children and the poor went souling door to door on All Hallows Eve and All Souls Day, singing for cakes and promising to pray for the household's dead in return, and a soul cake was said to free a soul from purgatory. The cross on top marks their sacred purpose. The tradition faded after the Reformation but survived in Cheshire and Shropshire, and the souling song recorded there became a folk standard. Baking a batch on Halloween night connects your kitchen to a thousand years of autumn custom.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 270 kcal
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 12g
• Carbohydrates: 37g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 17g
• Sodium: 60mg