Welsh Cakes
19 May 2013Sundays are the one day of the week where I am not preparing 2-3 separate brekkies. Richard can usually take a break from late morning until late afternoon so we’ll share a lazy, simple brunch of something like eggs, American crispy bacon and buttermilk pancakes {Geoffrey’s favorite}. Sometimes I’ll splash out and whiz up a full Irish or an eggs benny, or if we’ve had friends for dinner the previous evening, an easy strata that I prepared the day before and can just pop into the oven. If I have a hardcore hankering for home, I’ll do a version of a Sunday favourite that I used to share with a special friend, a breakfast quesadilla made with egg whites, salsa fresco, fresh guacamole, farmer cheese and fresh herbs from the garden. We try to make Sundays sublime.
This morning I woke up with a mind whirring on about Welsh cakes. Similar to griddle scones, they have added fruit in the form of currants or raisins and are cooked on a griddle or in a frying pan. These charming little cakes originate from nearby Wales, and can also be referred to as a bakestone cake. Feeling the will of the wisps this morning, we simply swapped Geoffrey’s fluffy pancakes for fruity Welsh cakes and he was equally delighted.
I have had several requests for the recipe today, so I wanted to quickly oblige….hope you enjoy them as much as we did. They can be served at tea time (late afternoon) or anytime really, including 8pm on a Sunday night….
Welsh Cakes
{makes about 16}
225g plain flour
85g caster sugar
½ tsp mixed spice or cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
100g butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for frying
50g currants
1 egg, beaten
splash milk
1. Combine the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Then, with your fingers, rub in the butter until crumbly. Mix in the currants. Work the egg into the mixture until you have soft dough, adding a splash of milk if it seems a little dry – it should be the same consistency as shortcrust pastry.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of your little finger. Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, re-rolling any trimmings. Grease a flat griddle pan or heavy frying pan and place over a medium heat. Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for about 3 mins each side, until golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Delicious served warm with butter and jam, or simply sprinkled with caster sugar. Cakes will stay fresh in a tin for 1 week.
Slan Abhaile,
Imen
Photo by Imen McDonnell 2013. Hand model: Geoffrey McDonnell
Tags: country life, Farming, food, foodie, foodies, griddle scones, I Married An Irish Farmer, Imen McDonnell, ireland, Irish, Irish country living, irish farmer, irish food, Irish food photography, irish foodies, married a farmer, married an irishman, Welsh cakes
The bake stone is what the welsh cakes are cooked on, not another name for Welsh cakes.
Ahhh thanks! That is a typo, appreciate you noticing! Imen x
I made these the other week for my family – one of those midnight baking sprees I have…. We are not big on raisins, so I substituted chopped dried cranberries. I was unable to test if they keep for a week – they disappeared in less than 24 hours! This recipe will be a breakfast staple for us. Can’t wait to try other fruits!
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This recipe was simple and fun. Perfect for weekend breakfast-making. The kids loved them…we all did. Thanks for sharing!
here’s my pic;
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3161806861313&set=a.2649694338820.71318.1749570568&type=3&theater
I want Welsh Cakes in our weekend. I honestly think I look forward to Saturday and Sunday mornings more than the nights. Give me a proper breakfast over a night on the town, any day.
Welsh Cakes! Being Welsh, these remind me so much of home. Mum would go for months without baking and then suddenly go on a spree, cooking hundreds of Welsh Cakes to be doled out to my father’s workmates or just to be scarfed in the cupboard.
Also, I love that you mentioned having them with just sugar. All the non-Welsh people I know have them with butter and jam — which is undoubtably delicious, but the true Welsh Cake only need sugar!
Yum! I think that I need these at 4pm with a good cup of tea. I’ve had them several times at this time but never for breakfast. But thank you for giving me another excuse and time to eat them!
I learned of these little delights while visiting my husband’s aunties in Wales while studying in London, and fell in love with them. I made them for my father-in-law when back in Canada as he hadn’t had one since leaving Wales in WWII. He nearly devoured the whole lot in one sitting! At Christmas I add raisins and mixed fruit to ‘doll’ them up a bit. My children come home at Christmas and head straight for the Welsh Cakes when they enter the house – sometimes before saying ‘hello’, so I am convinced that they would not come home unless they are in the larder. Years ago it became difficult to find ‘mixed spice’ and I began hoarding it. As it dwindled, I wrote the spice companies and to my delight two of them, who had discontinued it, sent me the recipe so that the tradition can continue. They are simple fare, but a classic.
How lovely. 🙂 I adore those days when we can take a break from work and linger at the table over delish comfort foods like this. 🙂 I introduced Bear to Mexican food this week and would love to make him a breakfast burrito. I just need to track down black beans – they’re very difficult to find here in Oz. 🙂
looks perfect to me.
with a side of 2 shots of espresso and some half & half; perfect way to start off sunday.