View source for Dead-cakes

{{Short description|Food traditionally eaten at a wake}}{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}}
A '''dead cake''' is a type of food that is traditionally eaten at a [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]] to honour the deceased individual. It is closely related to the [[folklore]] of [[funeral]] customs.
The [[1911 Encyclopædia Britannica|1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']] states:
<blockquote>
...in the [[Balkan peninsula]] a small bread image of the deceased is made and eaten by the survivors of the family. The Dutch ''doed-koecks'' or 'dead-cakes', marked with the initials of the deceased, introduced into [[United States|America]] in the 17th century, were long given to the attendants at funerals in old [[New York (state)|New York]]. The 'burial-cakes' which are still made in parts of rural [[England]], for example Lincolnshire and [[Cumberland]], are almost certainly a relic of [[sin-eating]].
</blockquote>One ''doed-koeck'' recipe called for fourteen pounds of flour, six pounds of sugar, five pounds of butter, one quart of water, two teaspoons of pearl ash, two tablespoons of salt, and one ounce of caraway seed. The cakes were then baked into four-inch squares, frosted, and marked with the initials of the departed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norton |first=Jeanette Young |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmAEAAAAYAAJ&dq=doed-koecks&pg=PA471 |title=Mrs. Norton's Cook-book: Selecting, Cooking, and Serving for the Home Table |date=1917 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |language=en}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Funeral biscuit]]
==References==
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[[Category:Funeral food and drink]]
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