Pssst. Wanna know a secret? These Victorian Mourning Cakes were supposed to be Victorian Mourning Cookies.

But something happened. And now we have cake. Which is never a bad thing, amirite?

Why are Victorian Mourning Cakes the book-inspired recipe for Things Half in Shadow?

When main characters Edward and Lucy in Things Half in Shadow visit the home of a bereaved Victorian family, they’re handed funeral cookies as they wait for their hostess.

Victorians are known for their quirky mourning customs. Their penchant for taking death portraits and fashioning jewelry from human hair are two that immediately come to mind.

Apparently, we can now add baking “mourning cookies,” or funeral cookies, to that eccentric list.

A little research informed me that it was customary for wealthy Victorian families to pass around homemade cookies to commemorate the deceased.

These mourning cookies were enjoyed (I guess???) at the funeral, but also by those visiting the home after the funeral to pay their respects to the grieving family.

While I normally say a cookie brings its own welcome, nibbling a dessert while looking at someone in a box — or sharing your deepest condolences — just seems a little too casually cheerful to me.

I recognize that doling out mourning cookies isn’t that different from serving platters of food (and desserts) at repasts, shivas, etc. It’s more the fact that there was a specific type of cookie made for funerals that bothers me. It makes it a little too macabre, even for me.

Weird as it is, though, I knew I had to bake Victorian mourning cookies as the book-inspired recipe for Things Half in Shadow.

**But, these are Victorian Mourning Cakes…**

Yes, I did notice that this is a post about Mourning Cakes and not Mourning Cookies.

To my knowledge, there’s no such thing as Mourning Cakes. (UNTIL NOW!!)

But I’m here to tell you that I think they would have been just as popular as cookies to those grieving Victorians.

There are only a few recipes online for Victorian Mourning Cookies, which are also referred to as mourning biscuits if you’re in the UK. Most of the recipes are very basic and contain only a few ingredients.

The earliest mourning biscuits were barely more than bland shortbread, while the Victorian cookies were similar to gingersnaps. Numerous recipes are adamant that funeral cookies should contain caraway seeds.

I cobbled together what I thought was a decent recipe for my own spin on the traditional molasses-based mourning cookie. The end result was a dough that was light, airy, and a little loose — a.k.a., definitely not a cookie dough.

But it looked like excellent cake batter.

I quickly stashed away my cookie sheets and yanked out my mini Bundt cake pans. Life’s all about being able to pivot, people.

What do Victorian Mourning Cakes taste like?

To my surprise, my little Victorian Mourning Cakes turned out really good. They’re different and pretty darn unique.

The crumb of these cakes is little earthy from the molasses and ground ginger, and a little floral from the ground cardamom. The overall flavor profile does a little dance between sweet and savory, especially when you crunch down on a caraway seed.

All those old-timey recipes were right: you do not want to skip the caraway seeds.

Yes, it’s an unusual flavor combo with the other ingredients. But it’s delicious. I’d never have thought to mix them together, but I’m so glad I did.

These cakes have a delightfully sticky outside, much like you’d find on a honey cake or a parkin cake. And I loved the crispy, chewy edges along the base of the cakes.

I thought Victorian Mourning Cakes might taste a lot like gingerbread, but they don’t. They taste like…well, like molasses. So you gotta like molasses to enjoy these mourning cakes.

I like to think they taste similar to a traditional funeral cookie, with the added carbalicious texture of cake.

What do you serve with Victorian Mourning Cakes?

Victorian Mourning Cakes are best served dusted with a little powdered sugar and a cup of coffee or tea. These would make a great mid-day treat. You can serve them for dessert, but they might be best with an afternoon tea alongside Cheese Scones, Victoria Sponge, Baked Brie Bites, or Orange Rosemary Shortbread Cookies.

If you’re looking for other cakes with strong molasses profiles, try my Gingerbread Cake, Parkin Cake, and Molasses Blueberry Cake. If you like Caraway Seeds, you have to try my Thyme and Caraway Dinner Biscuits.