NORTH-East bakers are invited to fire up their ovens for a medieval-style “bake off” in a bid to bring back a Northern tradition.

Academics at Durham University are looking for recipes for soul cakes – small cakes or buns which were made around All Soul’s Day, on November 2.

Professor Barbara Ravelhofer, from Durham University’s department of English studies, said: “We’re really keen to see what the community can come up with.

“Their experiments with a historic recipe and their memories of soul cakes will help us to understand the origins of this tradition.

“We’re also excited to see ‘soul stopper’ creations, in the hope that we can make Soul Cakes become to County Durham what Bakewell tarts or Cornish pasties are to their regions.”

A tradition of “souling”, an ancestor of “trick-or-treat”, can be traced back to the 16th century, when the poor would stage music, song, or theatricals in return for a specially made cake. The charitable act of giving the cake would help the soul of the donor.

Although variants of the tradition can be found across Europe, it was particularly popular in the North.

The Records of Early English Drama North East team at Durham University are now setting three challenges to help reinvigorate this forgotten pastime.

Bakers can tackle a technical challenge, experimenting with a recipe from 1604 which gives only basic ingredients and methods, try their hand at a “soul stopper”, to try and create a regional version of the cake, or send in their memories of baking soul cakes at home.

The deadline for submissions is 30 November. For more information call 0191 33 42590, email: barbara.ravelhofer@durham.ac.uk.

The winner will get a meal for two and contributions will be made into a booklet.