Hello all!

It is cake month. At least it is according to the Anglo-Saxons. They called February “Solmōnaþ” – meaning something like “Month of the Hearth Cakes.” These were cakes that were baked on the hot stones around the fire. The Venerable Bede writing in the 8th century said “Sol-Monath can be said to be the month of cakes, which were offered to their gods.” If you lack gods of your own who want cakes then I suggest you eat them yourself.

I’ve recently been thinking about cake folklore for a number of reasons. First we have been catching up on the Junior Bake Off. Don’t spoil it, but we’re Team Lola. Second I’ve been working with the Wellcome Collection by sifting through their incredible collection for artefacts relating to cakes and folklore.

If you want a hint of some of the things that you have coming in my book you can see what I found on their website here!

Hope all’s well with you. Thanks so much to all my supporters. Remember to tell all your friends about A Feast of Folklore so that we can get this book out quickly!

Enjoy your February Cakes.

Ben