Welsh Cakes

Welsh cakes to welcome our holiday cottage guests

 

A Welsh Welcome with Traditional Welsh Cakes await our holiday cottage guests and looking at the empty plates and our reviews on TripAdvisor and Upfront it looks like they go down well.

 

 

So well our holiday cottage guests often ask for the recipe, so for St Davids Day here it is for you but first perhaps I should let you into a secret. Somehow for my first 10 years living in Wales I didn’t even know Welsh Cakes existed! My Grandmother cooked steamed puddings and Jam Roly Poly. Although we’ve lived in Wales for 30 years we are still referred to as incomers. I reckon this stems from the fact I never had a Welsh mother or Grandmother (sorry Mamgu) to teach me to make Welsh Cakes. Nobody passed down their recipe to prove my provenance so I have to rely on the British nation’s Grandmother of baking, Mary Berry. She also passed onto me a recipe for Chocolate Brownies that goes down well with guests, but that’s for another day!

 

 

Ingredients

makes about 20

350g self raising flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

175g butter

115g caster sugar

100g currants

1 level teaspoon of mixed spice

1 egg

2 tablespoons of milk

 

They are best cooked on a griddle on the top of the stove or the simmering plate if you have an Aga handy!

There is something special about being offered Welsh Cakes straight off the griddle and that’s the image we have of Welsh Cakes isn’t it? Not cellophane wrapped factory produced cakes but Welsh Cakes handmade in a farm house kitchen griddled on the Aga.

 

 

Let’s get started

I always have lots of jobs to do so my method is a quick one

  1. Measure the flour, baking powder, butter, mixed spice and butter into a food mixer and mix together until resembling fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Remove from the mixer and add the currants and stir until evenly distributed.
  3. Beat the egg and milk together and add to the mixture to form a stiff dough.
  4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 5mm thick. Use a plain round cutter about 7.5cm then re-roll the trimmings and finish cutting the cakes.
  5. Use a non stick sheet on the simmering plate or lightly grease the griddle (or heavy frying pan) then cook the Welsh Cakes for approximately 3 minutes on a low heat on both sides until golden brown
  6. Cool on a wire tray, then dust with caster sugar. Best eaten warm. Add jam or butter for an extra treat.

 

 

The great thing about Welsh Cakes is they are so easy to make, children of all ages can have fun helping. Plus the ingredients are so simple you can make them while staying in your holiday cottage. Just ask to borrow one of our baking boxes.