It won’t be long until Halloween comes around. The one night a year when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. Which, of course, is why spirit and other supernatural being will be out and about. Before the turn of the 20th century, Soul Cakes were baked and given as gifts and alms to the children and the poor, who went form door to door on All Souls’ Day praying for and begging cakes from those lived there. The cakes were also set outside with a glass of wine on All Hallows Eve to appease the wandering spirits.
SOUL CAKES WITH CHOCOLATE
260G FLOUR
1 TSP. GROUND NUTMEG
1 TSP. GROUND CINNAMON
½ TSP. FINE SALT
½ TSP GROUND ALLSPICE
1 LARGE NIP OF SAFFRON
120 ML WHOLE MILK
120 G SOFTENED BUTTER
115 G SUGAR
2 LARGE EGG YOLKS
50 G DARK CHOCOLATE, CHOPPED
1 EGG YOLK FOR GLAZING THE CAKES
Sift flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and allspice in a bowl and set it aside.
Add the saffron to a pot and heat it up until the scent begin to come through, it must not burn.
Stir in the milk and watch as the milk turn yellow. Turn the heat off.
Whisk the butter and sugar to a creamy mixture and add the yolks.
Stir the flour and sugar mixtures together, it will become dry and crumbly, just as it’s supposed to.
Add 1 tbsp. saffron milk at a time to the mix until the mix becomes a soft, cohesive dough. It’s usually not necessary to use all of the milk.
Add the chocolate.
Wrap the dough in cling film and place it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of ½ cm and cut out different cookies and shapes until there is no more dough.
Brush the cookies with the remaining egg yolk and bake them for 15-17 min, till they are golden and shiny.
