Lutzelfrau & St. Lucy Tarts: A Tale of Winter Solstice Food Magic

December 12, 2023.Reading time 15 minutes.

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 […]

Season of Feasting: St. Barbara Christmas Cake

December 4, 2022.Reading time 18 minutes.

It never ceases to amaze that if you scratch the surface of any holiday dish you’ll find a goddess history thousands of years old. Take this German Lemon Loaf Cake baked by my Oma for as long as I can remember. Its intensely lemony glaze soaks into the cake and yields a delightful crunch to […]

Mother Holle Cloud Tart w/ Cranberry & Hawthorn Berry Curd

December 21, 2021.Reading time 14 minutes.

In old Germanic folklore, Mother Holle or Frau Holle brings on winter when she shakes out her goose-down mattresses from her home in the clouds and the falling feathers turn into snow. Hence this Mother Holle Tart featuring little oatmeal dumpling “clouds” sprinkled with powdered sugar “snow” set in a rich and tangy wild cranberry […]

Holiday Snake Cake: An Ancient Offering

December 19, 2020.Reading time 13 minutes.

Moroccan inspired M’hencha with spiced chestnut, chocolate and candied clementine filling. This year I decided to try my hand at a Holiday Snake Cake. The question was which one? Many versions of snake cakes are baked across countries from Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Morocco and Algeria, some are sweet and some are savoury and many […]

Baba Yaga’s Wild Spiced Honey Cookies

December 21, 2019.Reading time 20 minutes.

Ever since I called upon that beloved old witch of Slavic, Baltic, and Russian folklore to be my winter baking muse – I’ve had nothing but trouble. Which should have been no surprise, Baba Yaga is renowned for testing your mettle with endless impossible tasks that determine whether she will help you- or hinder you […]

La Befana Cake: Honouring The Old Witch of Winter

December 18, 2018.Reading time 11 minutes.

Inspired by the many Italian cakes baked on Epiphany Eve as offerings to “La Befana”, this fruity golden cake (with a dash of spirit) is a Witches Cake. According to legend, Befana is an old witch who flies through the night of January 5th on her broom delivering presents to children. And as they lie […]