June: Traditional Welsh Cakes: Not just for St David’s Day!

This is an old traditional recipe so the weights are Imperial. Sorry! But if you get it right, the Welsh cakes just melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

1lb plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

10 oz butter (I prefer slightly salted organic)

6 oz sugar (I use demerara)

Pinch salt

6 oz mixed currants and sultanas

½ tsp mixed spice

1 egg, beaten (I use quite large duck eggs)

A little milk

Mix together the flour and baking powder with the salt, then rub in the butter so it looks like large breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, spice and fruit and lightly mix. Then mix in the beaten egg with just enough milk (up to 3 tbsps) to bind the mixture so it has the same consistency as shortcrust pastry – you don’t want a wet mixture!

Turn out onto a well-floured board, roll out to about ½ inch thick and cut into rounds of whatever size you want. I use an old 3-inch cutter and this makes around 24 Welsh cakes. They take about 3-4 minutes each side but you can lift one to check once they are easy to push on the griddle.

Put the griddle onto a medium heat and give it time to heat up whilst cutting out the Welsh cakes. Place them on the griddle, giving yourself enough room to be able to flip them over. Leave to cook on a wire rack – or, if you feel you have to tuck in, just be careful of the hot fruit! You can sprinkle with caster sugar. They will keep for several days in an airtight tin, but this has never been put to the test in my family… If you’ve got it right, they almost melt in the mouth.

Mairwen Kirk

You will also need:

Griddle or bakestone, wiped over with oil. You can use a frying pan but you need something solid that will distribute heat evenly.