Soon the blessed Winter Solstice will be here, and thank Goddess for the return of the light! For the Germanic and Northern European peoples from which I descend these dark days were preoccupied with the old winter magic known as holiday baking. Cakes, breads and buns, tarts, and strudels were prepared to celebrate the imminent arrival of the great Shining One who closed the year’s darkest period and promised the coming of warmer longer days.

I’m deeply inspired by this old food magic. One beautiful example is still celebrated on December 13th, Saint Lucy’s Feast Day or St. Lucia’s Day (Lux, Latin for light). In Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions she is celebrated with round golden bread and cakes, saffron buns, and gingerbread. Before Gregorian calendar reform, St. Lucia’s Day fell on the night of the winter solstice hence the popular saying “Lucy Light, The Shortest Day & The Longest Night”. Afterwards each day grows longer. So St. Lucia’s crown of candles represents the rebirth of light.

St. Lucia’s Day is widely known and observed in countries across Europe from Germany, Hungary, and Italy to Norway, Sweden, and Finland (and more!) but her counterpart Dark Lucy, or the Lutzelfrau is far lesser known. She is found scattered throughout Germanic and Balkan folklore, as an old witch who on the eve of the Winter Solstice flies across the dark skies with a retinue of goblins in tow. On St. Lucia’s Day, she descends to earth handing out sweets, fruits, and nuts, especially chestnuts. Hence these Dark Chocolate & Chestnut Tarts! (Recipe below.)

I suspect the Lutzelfrau is a regional variation of the winter crone goddess who took flight in whirling storms during the darkest nights of the year to emerge reborn as the Glorious One, Radiant One, a star or sun maiden who returns light and life to the land. These goddesses live on as the winter witches of folklore such as Frau Holle in Germany, Frau Berchta or Frau Perchta in Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, and La Befana in Italy, whose names mean bright, light, and shining.

In Germany, Mother Holda or Frau Holle flew across the skies in a heavenly sleigh or chariot blessing the farmland below. Eggs and dumplings were placed on the rooftops of houses, and sweetened bread, fruit cakes, pastries, tarts, and strudels, were laid out on her feasting tables. Frau Berchta or Frau Perchta in Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, emerged from the alpine forest and a Perchtentisch (a feasting table) would be laid out with cakes, cookies, donuts, and strudel to greet her. In Italy, La Befana rode a flying donkey and came down chimneys on Epiphany Eve. Today children still hang stockings on the fireplace which Befana fills with gifts and treats. Star-shaped cookies and round sweet breads are left by the hearth.

Recipe for Frau Holle’s Cranberry Curd Cloud Cake here. Recipe for La Befana’s Golden as the Sun Cake here.

As Christianity replaced paganism during the Early Middle Ages, the old winter goddesses were repressed and their customs were banned. One 13th-century text condemns those who sin by leaving” food and drink upon their table so that all shall smile upon them over the coming year and good luck will grace them in all things.” While many were transformed by the Church into winter witches, others were absorbed into Christian tradition as Saints – along with their holy day (holiday cakes). Or in the case of the Lutzelfrau and St. Lucia – perhaps both!

On the eve of the Winter Solstice, when the Lutzelfrau and her goblins flew about “young people roamed noisily from house to house, caroling and mumming [performing little skits] in exchange for symbolically shaped buns and other foods” Darra Goldstein writes in her cookbook Fire and Ice. This was done to keep “unclean spirits” at bay and rouse the sun from her slumber. Eating special foods like St. Lucia’s golden-hued saffron buns known as Lussebullar or Lussekatter ensured bountiful blessings for the whole community.

The exact reason why saffron is so important to St. Lucia is unknown, but scholars point to two likely reasons —St. Lucia was born in Syracuse (Sicily) where saffron is part of traditional cuisine and the bright yellow color it produces is associated with the sun. Interestingly, the buns are molded into figure eight, recalling the pagan sun wheels that once signified prosperity and fertility.

The recipe for these saffron-infused honey cookies is found in the Winter Magic Edition of the ECookery Book at Gather Victoria Patreon.

The centerpiece of Saint Lucia’s Day is the young maidens who play a starring role in what may be an ancient ritual predating St. Lucia herself. During this holiday young women dress in white gowns (for purity), a red sash (for martyrdom), and a crown of candles (for the light she brings). These crowns, woven with lingonberries, reflect older pre-Christian influences, as red berries and evergreen leaves once represented the birth of new life in winter.

These White Chocolate & Red Berry Tarts for St. Lucia are the light counterpart of the dark tarts. I substituted cranberry for its close relative the Ligonberry. Recipe in the Winter Magic Edition of the Gather ECookery Book at Gather Victoria Patreon.

In the morning, Swedish girls serve Lussebullar and Lucia Pepparkaka, “Lucia Pepper Cookies” i.e. gingersnaps with coffee to their parents and then gather together in a procession through the city streets. One young girl is usually chosen to lead (as St. Lucia) and carries a tray of traditional sweets. Once they arrive at their destination, more baked goods are served along with hot spiced wine, and enjoyed by the community.

This emphasis on baking is said to be in honor of St. Lucia who secretly brought food to persecuted Christians in Rome, hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry as much food as possible. It strikes me however that the Lutzelfrau is likely a regional version of the winter crone goddess reborn on the winter solstice as a sun maiden. I also think it is likely the young girls who wear crowns of light and bear trays of baking on St. Lucias Feast Day are enacting an ancient ritual of food magic.

According to folklore the Lutzelfrau, like many winter witches, punished those who broke the sacred traditions of the Christmas season. Those too miserly to partake sufficiently in collective feasting (endangering future plenty) would be rewarded with the proverbial lumps of coal or worse. I find it interesting that the old German The Hexenhäusl or Hexenhäuschen ( “witch’s house”) known today as the gingerbread house has become such a popular emblem of Christmas. It derives from 18th-century fairy tale Hansel and Gretel but I wonder – could it be rooted in the old customs of offering cakes and sweets to the old witches of winter folklore? Who in return would reward you with plenty of good fortune in the year? Well only if you’d been good of course!

Whatever the answer, I think it’s as good a reason as any to indulge in some old baking magic. So in honor of the upcoming winter solstice, and the goddesses of old, I invite you to join me in celebrating the darkness that precedes the light with these velvety and luscious Lutzelfrau Dark Chocolate Tarts! Made with dark chocolate, cocoa, and a splash of dark coffee mixed with chestnut puree, (found in most upscale grocers this time of the year) and topped with an optional dollop of chocolate pudding, they are as dark and rich as the night. While chocolate is a modern ingredient, chestnuts have long been a beloved Christmas tradition- which could be why the Lutzelfrau distributes roasts chestnuts on St. Lucia’s Day!

The Lutzelfrau’s Dark Chocolate Chesnut Tarts

Ingredients

Filling

1 cup dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
6 ounces of butter, softened
Pinch of salt
2 ¼ cup chestnut purée
2 ounces cold dark coffee
2 tablespoons of dark cocoa
1 cup of chocolate pudding (optional)
¼ cup chocolate sprinkles (optional

Pastry

1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cold water
Pinch of salt
¼ cup butter, cubed and chilled
1 egg yolk

Directions

For the pastry, mix the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add chilled cubed butter and pulse the mixture in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsp cold water and pulse again just enough to draw the mixture together. When it starts to clump, remove and bring it together with your hands, adding a sprinkle of water to any dry patches. Knead lightly into a smooth disc. Wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 370. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry. Use a small bowl (about 5 inches in diameter) to cut out 6 circles. Place the dough in the tins, trimming any excess hanging over the sides. Prick the bases, then line each tart tin with a circle of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15-18 minutes, then remove the parchment and beans; bake for 5 minutes more, until the bases feel dry and firm. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk until smooth and combined. Place your chestnut puree in a bowl, add cold coffee, and dark cocoa and beat well with a wooden spoon. Fold in the chocolate mixture with a pinch of fine salt until smooth. Spoon into the pastry shells and chill for at least 2 hours. If desired, top each tart with 1-2 tablespoons of chocolate pudding, and chocolate sprinkles. Serve with whipped cream! Or a slice of dried apple -another one of the Lutzelfrau’s favorite foods!