What is the traditional Beltane cake called?

The traditional Beltane cake is called Beltane bannock. In Scottish Gaelic tradition, it is known as bannock Bealltainn, an oatmeal cake associated with the May Day festival and the seasonal movement of livestock to summer pasture.

Historical accounts describe the bannock as having nine knobs or raised portions. Participants broke them off and offered them over the fire, symbolically seeking protection for different animals and against predators such as foxes and eagles. The cake was part of a wider Beltane feast that could also include a caudle made from eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk.

Shortbread is a Scottish biscuit with a different culinary history, while barmbrack is an Irish fruit bread associated especially with Halloween. Simnel cake is a fruitcake linked to Easter. Beltane bannock is therefore the specific festival food intended by the question, though spellings such as “bannoch Bealltainn” also appear in historical sources.