Coventry Godcakes are baked puff pastry

pasties Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They originated as part of burlesque shows, providing a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. T ...

containing sweet

mincemeat Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison. Many modern recipes replace the suet with v ...

, which originate from the city of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, England. They are in the form of a right-angled isosceles triangle, marked with three slits on the top and sprinkled with sugar. The triangular shape and the markings are said to be reference to the Holy Trinity. Godcakes are a New Year tradition in the city, and are given by

godparents In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

to their godchildren along with a blessing for the year ahead. In 2010, Leigh Waite, a local

Blue Badge Tourist Guide Blue Badge Tourist Guides are a body of commonly associated tourist guides in the United Kingdom. They wear a Blue Badge to indicate their membership of this formalised association. They are recognised by local tourist bodies throughout the UK, an ...

with an interest in baking, was given a recipe by a local historian David McGrory. Leigh tried out the recipe, producing them to sell during the annual Heritage Open Weekend event in the city. In August 2012, the Coventry Godcake was officially re-launched at a celebration event at Coventry Transport Museum attended by the Lord Mayor and guests, including the Coventry

Mummers Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...

. The triangles created in country lanes where three lanes meet derive their names from the Coventry Godcake. A triangle is created by the passing of farm vehicles, originally horse-drawn carts, as they turn. The so-called "god cakes", which are not particular to any one city or county, take their name from these triangular pastries.

References

{{reflist British cakes British pastries English cuisine Coventry

See also

References