Scripture (Bible) Cake

A Scripture Cake is a puzzle, it requires that the cook know the Bible (or had one to look up references) in order to discover what ingredients were needed in the recipe – similar in many ways to a cross-word puzzle. The following Scripture Cake recipe is one of the most common and one of the most traditional of all the Scripture Cake recipes; it is taken from a fund-raising publication printed by Lincoln Cathedral in 1980, but it actually stems from the 1800s.

Scripture Cake, (made and eaten at Christmas, Easter and Weddings) is also known variously around the Christian world as Bible Cake, Scriptural Cake or Old Testament Cake. It was a very popular cake both in Britain and in America in the nineteenth century, (1800s) and was often used as a way to teach young girls in Sunday School both baking and Bible verses.

Today Scripture Cake recipes often turn up in local Church Newsletters and Magazines, some of these recipes have been ‘floating’ around for over 200 years, every so often one is plucked from obscurity, out of an old magazine edition, it is then re-printed and it becomes popular once more. Without giving the game away too much this particular Scripture Cake tastes delicious – note: there is a cheat sheet at the bottom of the post.

Scripture Cake Recipe

Scripture Cake recipes regularly appeared in such Victorian publications as, ‘Household News: Volume 3’ (1895), ‘Christian Work: Illustrated Family Newspaper: Volume 63’ (1897) and ‘Good Housekeeping: Volume 26’ (1897).

This recipe, also common in the 1800s, comes from ‘Lincoln Cathedral Cookery Book’, published in aid of the Cathedral Fabric Fund in 1980. The recipe was sent in to publish by several people and stems from the late 1800s: Alic Briggs, Lincoln: Constance Howard, Ipswich: Mrs. F. Massey, Grantham: Millie Roberts, Lincoln.

“Follow Solomon’s prescription for making a good boy, Proverbs xxiii:14, and you will make a very good cake.”

Scripture Cake Recipe

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1) 200g … Judges v:25 … last clause
• 2) 250g … Jeremiah vi:20
• 3) 3 tbsp … I Samuel xiv:25
• 4) 4 of … Jeremiah xvii:11
• 5) 170g … I Samuel xxx:12 … second food
• 6) 170g … Nahum iii:12
• 7) 100g … Numbers xvii:8
• 8) 500g … I Kings iv:22
• 9) 1 tsp … II Chronicles ix:9
• 10) 1 tsp … Leviticus ii:13
• 11) 2 tsp … Amos iv:5
• 12) 5 tbsp … Judges iv:19 … last clause

Recipe Method:

Grease a cake tin lightly with butter and line it with some baking parchment. The baking parchment will help stop the top of the cake burning or drying out too much, allowing the cake to be baked for a longer time at a lower temperature.

Chop up Nahum iii (ingredient 6) fine.

Blanch and chop up Numbers xvii (ingredient 7) fine – if they have not been already bought like this.

In one large mixing bowl cream together Judges v, Jeremiah vi, and I Samuel xiv (ingredients 1, 2 & 3) – add Jeremiah vi (ingredient 4) one at a time – still beating.

Add into this bowl, I Samuel xxx, Nahum iii, and only half of Numbers xvii (ingredients 5, 6 & 7) next and beat again until everything is fully mixed.

In another, larger mixing bowl, sift together I Kings iv, II Chronicles ix, Leviticus ii, and Amos iv (ingredients 8, 9, 10 & 11). Make a well in the centre of the ingredients.

Add the first mixing bowl ingredients into the well in the centre of the second mixing bowl, (wet ingredients into the dry ingredients). Stir until a cake batter starts to form.

Lastly add enough of Judges iv (ingredient 12) in to the cake batter so that it becomes easy to mix and is of a ‘dropping’ consistency, i.e. the mixture will easily drop off the mixing spoon. You might need some extra Judges iv if the mixture is a little dry. Stir to thoroughly combine the cake mixture and then pour it into the prepared cake tin.

After pouring the cake batter into the cake tin sprinkle over the top the remaining half of Numbers xvii (ingredient 7) and gently press them part way into the batter.

Bake the Scripture Cake at 160C for 1-1/2 hours, (90 minutes) or until done, test by pushing a skewer into the centre of the cake and see if it comes out clean.

A Scripture Cake can last for several days in an air tight tin and some people say they actually improve in flavour if baked on one day and eaten on the next.

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Recipe Ingredients Cheat Sheet:

• 1) butter (softened)
• 2) sugar (caster sugar or fine white sugar)
• 3) honey
• 4) eggs
• 5) raisins
• 6) figs (dried figs – chopped small)
• 7) almonds (flaked)
• 8) flour (plain)
• 9) spices – cinnamon (add in a little nutmeg in if you want to as well)
• 10) salt (sea salt)
• 11) leavener – baking powder
• 12) milk (you may need a little extra depending on how dry the cake batter is)

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