“In the parish of Callander, a beautiful district of Western Perthshire, the Beltane custom was still in vogue towards the end of the eighteenth century. It has been described as follows by the parish minister of the time: "Upon the first day of May, which is called _Beltan,_ or _Baltein_ day, all the boys in a township or hamlet, meet in the moors. They cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by casting a trench in the ground, of such circumference as to hold the whole company. They kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk in the consistence of a custard. They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted at the embers against a stone. After the custard is eaten up, they divide the cake into so many portions, as similar as possible to one another in size and shape, as there are persons in the company. They daub one of these portions all over with charcoal, until it be perfectly black. They put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet. Every one, blindfold, draws out a portion. He who holds the bonnet, is entitled to the last bit. Whoever draws the black bit, is the _devoted_ person who is to be sacrificed to _Baal,_ whose favour they mean to implore, in rendering the year productive of the sustenance of man and beast. There is little doubt of these inhuman sacrifices having been once offered in this country, as well as in the east, although they now pass from the act of sacrificing, and only compel the _devoted_ person to leap three times through the flames; with which the ceremonies of this festival are closed."”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
Take a pound of almonds, blanch and beat them with rose-water into a fine paste, then put the spawn or row of a Carp or Pike to it, and beat them well together, with some cloves, mace, and salt, the spices being first beaten, and some ginger, strain them with some fair spring water, and put into the strained stuff half a pound of double refined sugar and a little saffron; when the paste is dried and ready to fill, put into the bottom of the coffin some slic't dates, raisins of the sun stoned, and some boiled currans, fill them and bake them; being baked, scrape sugar on them. Be sure always to prick your custards or forms before you set them in the oven. If you have no row or spawn, put rice flour instead hereof.
Sources: The passage is from James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from May, The accomplisht cook of 1660, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — moss cloth, pudding stamp.