# Dead-cakes

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{{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](/source/Wake_(ceremony)) to honour the deceased individual. It is closely related to the [folklore](/source/folklore) of [funeral](/source/funeral) customs.

The [1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica''](/source/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica) states:

<blockquote>
...in the [Balkan peninsula](/source/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 [America](/source/United_States) in the 17th century, were long given to the attendants at funerals in old [New York](/source/New_York_(state)). The 'burial-cakes' which are still made in parts of rural [England](/source/England), for example Lincolnshire and [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland), are almost certainly a relic of [sin-eating](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Funeral_biscuit)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead-cakes}}
Category:Funeral food and drink

{{food-stub}}{{death-stub}}

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