Freyja’s Fabulous Apple Cinnamon Bread With Honey Butter by The Mad Mystic
Freyja is a Norse Goddess of many talents. She is a protector of those who practice the magickal arts. She presides over matters of love, as well as those involving war. Many people invoke Freyja for help with fertility, but she is also a Goddess of death. The Valkyries, who are both Goddesses of the battlefield and psychopomps, are led by Freyja. Apples are quite sacred to this Lady, so you may prepare this bread in her honor. Serve it with the butter to enhance your offering, for honey contains Freyja’s essence. For the apple cinnamon bread, you will need: 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter 1/3 cup canola oil 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs 2 medium Fuji apples 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce Combine the butter, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl, beating well after each addition with a mixer. Cut the core out of the apples. Grate the apples, including the peel, into a separate bowl. Stir the apples and their juice into the wet mixture. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into another bowl, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Stir about half of the dry mixture into the apple mixture, followed by the buttermilk, other half of the dry mixture, and applesauce. Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when it is inserted into the center of the bread. Remove the bread from the pan, and place it on a wire rack to cool.
“Freyja and the Necklace” by James Doyle Penrose (1890)
For the honey butter, you will need: 8 tablespoons softened unsalted butter 1/4 cup butterbean honey 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Whip the butter, honey, and cinnamon together thoroughly with a mixer. Refrigerate any unused butter for up to 1 week. You may further honor Freyja by breaking bread with her. This can be done at any time when you are performing a ritual for or with her. As you prepare for your ritual, place a plate containing two pieces of bread with butter on your altar. At some point during the ritual, ask Freyja to partake in a bite to eat with you. She will consume the essence of her piece while you physically savor yours. Once you are completely finished with your ritual, you may enjoy the other piece of bread as well. Namaste. -74-
