Cacen Waed Gwyddau: The Welsh Goose Blood Cake with a Christmas Past

Discover Cacen Waed Gwyddau, the historic Welsh goose blood cake once made at Christmastime, and explore its origins, meaning, and place in festive food heritage.

Christmas food traditions across Britain are wonderfully varied, deeply local, and sometimes a little surprising. 

While most of us are familiar with mince pies, Christmas pudding, and roast turkey, Wales has its own rich culinary heritage, including one of the most unusual festive dishes you may never have heard of: Cacen Waed Gwyddau, or Goose Blood Cake or tart.

This historic Welsh delicacy may sound startling to modern ears, but it tells an important story about thrift, seasonality, and how Christmas was once celebrated in rural communities.

What Is Cacen Waed Gwyddau?

Cacen Waed Gwyddau literally translates as “goose blood cake”. It is traditionally a baked tart or cake made using goose blood, combined with ingredients such as:

Goose blood

Suet or dripping

Flour or breadcrumbs

Onions

Herbs and spices

Sometimes dried fruit or oats

The result was a dense, savoury bake, more akin to a pudding or tart than a modern cake, designed to make use of every part of the goose.

Why Goose Blood at Christmas?

Before supermarkets, refrigeration, and global food supply chains, Christmas was the time when livestock was slaughtered for winter. In many Welsh households, the Christmas goose was the centrepiece of the festive meal long before turkey became fashionable.

Waste was not an option.

Using goose blood was practical, economical, and deeply ingrained in rural life. Blood provided richness, protein, and binding, much like it does in black pudding, and allowed families to stretch scarce resources further during the long winter months.

Cacen Waed Gwyddau was often made around Christmas or New Year, when geese were prepared, making it a seasonal dish rather than an everyday one.

A Dish Rooted in Respect and Resourcefulness

While modern tastes may recoil at the idea, dishes like Goose Blood Cake speak to a time when:

Animals were raised locally

Food was seasonal and precious

Nothing edible was wasted

Cooking was guided by necessity, not novelty

In that sense, Cacen Waed Gwyddau sits comfortably alongside other traditional British blood dishes such as black pudding, faggots, and savoury puddings.

This was not about shock value, it was about survival, respect for livestock, and feeding families through harsh winters.

Was It Sweet or Savoury?

Most historical references suggest Cacen Waed Gwyddau was savoury, often flavoured with onion and herbs, though some regional or family variations may have leaned towards a lightly spiced, enriched pudding.

Recipes were rarely written down. Like many traditional Welsh dishes, it was passed from generation to generation by memory and method rather than precise measurements.

Does Anyone Still Eat It Today?

Cacen Waed Gwyddau is now extremely rare, and you are unlikely to find it on modern Christmas tables — or in shops.

However, it occasionally appears in:

Food history discussions

Welsh cultural heritage events

Academic or museum references

Experimental heritage cookery

Its value today lies less in widespread consumption and more in what it teaches us about how Christmas was once lived and cooked.

Christmas Traditions Aren’t Always Pretty... But They Are Honest

At That’s Christmas 365, we often celebrate cosy, comforting traditions, but it’s also important to remember that Christmas history includes hardship, ingenuity, and resilience. And it is a nod to the Welsh ancestors of both my wife and myself who, as coming from Welsh farming stock, could well have made and eaten Cacen Waed Gwyddau at Christmastime.

Cacen Waed Gwyddau reminds us that festive food was once about:

Making the most of what you had

Feeding large families affordably

Preparing for winter survival

Honouring animals by wasting nothing

It may not be a dish most of us would recreate today, but it deserves its place in the rich tapestry of Welsh Christmas traditions.

A Taste of Christmas Past

So next time you sit down to a beautifully plated Christmas dinner, spare a thought for the generations who made do with far less, and still found ways to mark the season with care, tradition, and communal meals.

Cacen Waed Gwyddau may be a relic of the past, but it tells a powerful story of Christmas in Wales — one rooted in history, honesty, and respect.

Unusual Ways Christmas is Celebrated in the UK

When we think of Christmas in the UK, traditional images of twinkling lights, mulled wine, and mince pies spring to mind. 

But beyond these classic festivities, the UK boasts a variety of quirky and unusual ways to celebrate the season. 

From centuries-old customs to more modern eccentricities, here are some of the most unusual Christmas traditions found across the UK.

1. The Pudding Race in Covent Garden

London’s Covent Garden hosts the Great Christmas Pudding Race, a charity event that is as chaotic as it is entertaining. Participants don festive fancy dress and navigate an obstacle course while balancing a Christmas pudding on a plate. The event raises money for cancer research and perfectly embodies the British love of mixing charity with humour.

2. Wassailing

An ancient tradition rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture, wassailing is still practised in some rural parts of England, particularly in cider-producing regions like Somerset. Wassailing involves visiting orchards, singing to the apple trees, and toasting them with cider to ensure a good harvest in the coming year. It's a fascinating mix of pagan rituals and festive cheer.

3. Burning the Clocks in Brighton

Brighton’s winter solstice celebration, Burning the Clocks, is a strikingly alternative take on Christmas festivities. Residents create paper and willow lanterns, parade them through the streets, and finally burn them in a spectacular beach bonfire. This unique event symbolises letting go of the year gone by and embracing the new one.

4. Boxing Day Dip

Taking an icy plunge into freezing waters on Boxing Day is a daring tradition observed in coastal towns across the UK. From Tenby in Wales to Exmouth in Devon, brave souls—often in fancy dress—dash into the chilly sea. These dips typically raise funds for local charities and offer a bracing cure for Christmas indulgence.

5. Bizarre Christmas Foods

While the Christmas dinner table is usually adorned with classics like turkey and pigs in blankets, some regions add their own unique twists. In Cornwall, stargazy pie—a fish pie with pilchard heads poking through the crust—is a quirky festive treat linked to local legend. Meanwhile, in Scotland, the dessert table often features clootie dumpling, a boiled pudding spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.

In parts of Wales Goose Blood Tart is considered quite the delicacy. Made in farming communities using all the blood removed from geese that were slaughtered for Christmas. It's a rich, fruity tart. 

6. Christmas Eve Ghost Stories

Telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve is a less-common tradition that harks back to Victorian times, popularised by authors like Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol being the most famous example). While not widely practised today, some families still gather to share spooky tales by candlelight, adding an eerie twist to the festive season.

7. Pantomime Animals and Chaos

The UK’s love affair with pantomimes reaches its peak at Christmas. These theatrical performances blend slapstick humour, audience participation, and men dressing as dames. But one of the quirkiest aspects is the pantomime horse (or cow)—a costume usually shared by two actors. It's not uncommon for these comedic animals to steal the show with their antics.

8. First-Footing on Christmas Night

In parts of Scotland, the tradition of first-footing—usually associated with Hogmanay—sometimes begins on Christmas night. The first person to cross a home's threshold brings symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, or whisky, to ensure good fortune for the year ahead.

9. The Robin Postmen

The tradition of sending Christmas cards was popularised in Victorian Britain, but did you know that the red-uniformed postmen of the era inspired the association of robins with Christmas? Some communities still celebrate this link by decorating with robin-themed ornaments and sending cards featuring the cheerful bird.

10. Christmas Tree Throwing Competitions

In parts of the UK, such as Keele in Staffordshire, post-Christmas festivities include a tree-throwing competition. Competitors test their strength by hurling their used Christmas trees as far as possible, a quirky and environmentally friendly way to dispose of festive foliage.

A Nation of Quirks and Traditions

From wassailing in the orchards to plunging into icy seas, the UK’s Christmas traditions reflect its diverse history, humour, and love of eccentricity. Whether you're a participant or a curious observer, these unusual customs add a unique sparkle to the festive season, proving that there’s no single way to celebrate Christmas in Britain.

So, this year, why not explore one of these quirky traditions? You might just discover a new way to embrace the festive spirit!

Happy Christmas, and may your celebrations be as joyful and unusual as the traditions themselves!