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Welsh cakes

Along with Butterfly Cakes, these were one of the first things I ever cooked. My grandmother made them sans recipe and cooked them directly on to of the Rayburn.
This recipe is from Saturday Kitchen, with some notes from me.

225g/8oz self-raising flour, sieved (or plain flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder)
110g/4oz (preferably Welsh) salted butter (or 1/2 butter, 1/2 lard)
1 egg
handful of sultanas (or currants)
milk, if needed
85g/3oz caster sugar
butter, for greasing
1/2 tsp mixed spice (optional)

1. Rub the fat into the sieved flour to make breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, dried fruit and then the egg. Mix to combine, then form a ball of dough, using a splash of milk if needed.

2. Roll out the pastry until it is a 5mm/¼in thick and cut into rounds with a 7.5-10cm/3-4in fluted cutter.

3. You now need a bakestone or a heavy iron griddle. Rub it with butter and wipe the excess away. Put it on to a direct heat and wait until it heats up, place the Welsh cakes on the griddle, turning once. They need about 2-3 minutes each side until golden.

4. Remove from the pan and preferably eat while still warm.

Variations

Llech Cymreig: cooked with plain flour (particularly wholemeal flour) - rather than the standard self-raising flour, and baking powder, resulting in a much flatter and crisper cake. Typically, this variant is made as a slab on a bakestone, or nowadays on a baking tray, hence the name Llech Cymreig (literally, "Welsh slab").

Jam Split: popular in the South Wales Valleys. As the name suggests, this is a Welsh cake split horizontally, with jam (and sometimes butter) added, rather like a sandwich.

Adding grated apple to the mix helps to keep the cakes moist for longer.

Pic from cookiemouse

Welsh Cakes

Hairy Bikers, Mums Know Best

2 cups plain flour
1.25 tsps baking powder
125g butter in small pieces
Half cup caster sugar
Half cup sultanas
1 egg (beaten)
2 – 3 tablespoons of milk

1. Sieve flour baking powder and caster sugar into large mixing bowl
2. Add butter and rub together
3. Add sultanas
4. Make a well in dry ingredients
5. Add beaten egg and milk and using a bread knife ‘cut’ together
6. Flour surface and place mixture on flour
7. Roll out to desired thickness and cut out using cutter
8. Dry cook on heavy bottomed griddle with low heat until nicely browned on both sides (3-4
mins per side)
9. Optional: half a tablespoon of nutmeg and/or cinnamon adds a little something.

Welsh Cakes

Tina Coulson, New Southgate, London
Makes 40-50.

1/4 lb flour (100g)
1/4 lb self-rising flour (100g)
2 oz butter (60g) (or use all lard)
2 oz lard (60g)
1.5 oz currants (50g)
1/2 cup sugar (90g)
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large egg
milk

Sieve flour and spices into a mixing bowl. Add butter and lard and mix until you get a breadcrumb consistency. Add remaining dry ingredients. Add egg and mixing well until it starts to form a lump. If it is not sticking together, add a little milk.

Roll out on a floured board to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1/2 to 1 cm) thick. Cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter.

Heat and grease a heavy cast iron frying pan, place some cakes on the surface of the pan and wait until they turn a speckled golden brown colour. Turn them over and repeat on the other side. They are better cooked quite slowly (about 3-5 minutes each cake).