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(Originally published 23 October 2019 | Updated 30 October 2025)

Soul Cakes are traditionally baked to celebrate Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.  It’s a time to honour the cycles of life and death, and to reconnect with ancestors and loved ones who have passed.  In old traditions, small cakes or buns were offered as gifts for the spirits, often left at doorsteps or given to “soulers” who recited prayers for the deceased.

Baking Soul Cakes today can be a beautiful way to bring mindfulness, gratitude, and reflection into your home.  It’s a gentle ritual to pause, remember, and honour those who have shaped our lives, while also celebrating the transition from light to darkness in the season.
 

Personalising Your Samhain Soul Cakes Ritual

You can make baking and sharing Soul Cakes a heart-centred ritual:

• Light a candle or place a small bowl of water nearby to honour your ancestors as you bake.
• Take a moment to silently remember a loved one who has passed, or reflect on the year’s lessons and blessings.
• If you share your Soul Cakes, you can offer them to friends or neighbours with a kind thought, or simply enjoy them yourself as a mindful, reflective treat.

Even small actions like these can help you connect more deeply with the energy of Samhain and bring a sense of sacred intention to this time of year.

This recipe is my own vegan version and makes approximately 16 small cookies — perfect for sharing or keeping as part of your personal Samhain ritual.
 

Soul Cakes for Samhain

Ingredients

• 1 cup (140g) flour - I used half spelt flour and half plain white flour
• 3/4 (86g) cup ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cacao powder (or cocoa)
• 1/2 (100g) cup soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (40g) currants (optional)
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 flax egg (see notes)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil - melted (OR 1/4 cup vegan butter - melted)
• 1 tbsp (16g) orange juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flax egg, coconut oil and orange juice and stir well.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until well combined and the dough starts to form into a ball.
5. Split the ball in half and repeat until there are 16 small balls.  Place on baking tray and flatten each one slightly, leaving a little room for them to spread.
6. Bake for approx. 25 mins, or lightly brown.
7. Cool on a wire tray.

Notes

• A flax egg is made by mixing 1 tbs of flax seeds with 3 tbs of water.  You put it aside for about 15 mins and it becomes a gel-like mixture that makes a great egg replacement.
  
   

Enjoy!
Caryl ♥