The inedible fungus Daldinia concentrica is known by several common names, including King Alfred's cake, cramp balls, and coal fungus.

King Alfreds Cakes, Daldinia concentrica. Although not edible, King Alfred's Cakes make great firelighters, can be used as charcoal briquettes for campfire cooking, used to transport fire and as hand warmers on a cold day.


King Alfred lived in the 9th century when parts of Britain had been overrun by Vikings. Trying to escape them, he took refuge in the home of a peasant woman who asked him to watch over her cakes, baking by the fire. He let them burn and was scolded by the woman for his negligence. It is said that embarrassed and ashamed, he scattered the cakes to get rid of the evidence. As the fungus looks like small, burnt cakes, especially as they get older, the name King Alfred's cakes went into common use.

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