Bake a Scripture Cake this Christmas

Discover the joy of baking AND Bible study with this unique Christmas Scripture Cake! This recipe doubles as a fun scavenger hunt through the Bible, where each ingredient is hidden within scripture verses. Follow the clues, decode the ingredients, and bake a delicious cake that’s rich in both flavor and meaning—perfect for celebrating the season!

Brown cake with raisins in a square red foil tin on a Christmas plate and fork with two more tins behind on a wooden table

I first came across a mention of Scripture (or Bible) cake when our kids were doing a history unit study. It sounded intriguing but there was no recipe! I started asking around (this was way before the internet). Several older folks had heard of it, but still no recipe. I finally found a recipe in a very old cookbook in a used bookstore! I have since adapted it to use Einkorn flour for health reasons, but regular all-purpose flour may, of course, be used.

Baking a Scripture Cake

With a Scripture Cake, you and your kiddos get to be detectives searching the Bible for the recipe itself! Be sure to use the King James version of the Bible to decode the recipe. Some of the more modern translations leave out the parts you need to understand the recipe! Go figure.

One year we simply couldn’t find figs at all so we substituted fig preserves. It worked fine, but you may want to adjust the liquid or add a bit more flour.

Another time the kids and I made a LOT of little loaves for our family Sunday School class and because there were folks with nut allergies those cakes had no Numbers 17:8 (almonds). Instead we substituted imitation almond extract. Be sure to use imitation almond because it doesn’t contain the protein that triggers a nut allergy response.

Making the Scripture Cake Recipe Book

This year’s Scripture Cakes will have a great little mini book you can easily print and make in minutes! Inside you’ll find the recipe and scavenger hunt activity. The mini-book also makes an adorable tag. Just follow the steps in the photo collage below to assemble your own recipe booklet:

Steps for folding and assembling the recipe booklet

I found these festive little red foil pans with lids that make it super easy to give Scripture Cakes as gifts. Check them out!

Want Your Own Scripture Cake Recipe Mini-Book Printable?

Just throw your email in the box below and the download link for your very own Scripture Cake recipe mini-book will appear in your inbox as if by holiday magic!