Welsh cakes

Welsh cakes

By Good Food
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(79 ratings)
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Prep: 10 mins Cook: 6 mins

Easy

Makes 16
Pice ar y maen, a Welsh teatime treat passed on through generations and still as popular as ever. Perfect for making with the children

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable
  • Easily doubled / halved

Nutrition: per cake

  • kcal138
  • fat6g
  • saturates1g
  • carbs20g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre9g
  • protein2g
  • salt0.13g
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Ingredients

  • 225g plain flour
  • 85g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp baking powder
    Baking powder

    Baking powder

    bay-king pow-dah

    Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…

  • 50g butter, cut into small pieces
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 50g lard, cut into small pieces, plus extra for frying
  • 50g currant
  • 1 egg, beaten
    Eggs

    Egg

    egg

    The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…

  • splash milk

    Milk

    mill-k

    One of the most widely used ingredients, milk is often referred to as a complete food. While cow…

Method

  1. Tip the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Then, with your fingers, rub in the butter and lard 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 with lard, 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.

  • Recipe Tip

    Lucy says...

    My family is from South Wales and Welsh cakes or ‘Pice ar y maen’ were always a teatime favourite. This is the recipe my great-grandmother used to make with my mum and the tradition passed on to me. The taste of these warm, buttery cakes still brings back fond memories

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Comments, questions and tips

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Wagtail56
12th Jun, 2019
4.05
Nice but too sweet for my tastes. I shall try next time with half the amount of sugar. And I guess my fingers must be not as small as the recipe’s writer as they needed longer than 3 mins a side. So next time, and I will make them again, less sugar and roll more thinly.
Jayna Kelly's picture
Jayna Kelly
23rd Apr, 2019
5.05
I was studying modern UK culture for a Sociology project (I live in America) and made these for the class, they all loved them!! :) Really good! We don't really have lard or currant over here so I used dehydrated blueberries and cherries and subsided the lard for butter - still turned out delicious!
jonesar
14th Mar, 2019
5.05
Came out perfectly!
sweetcorn
20th Sep, 2018
5.05
This is exactly the same as my family recipe which has been handed down for generations. I live in Guatemala now and had to leave my bakestone in the UK - and I've had to bring currents and mixed spice out with me especially for making them. I've made them for so many people over the years - even taking my bakestone camping with me (it fits nicely under the front seats of the car!) They actually freeze pretty well too.
lizleicester
27th Aug, 2018
5.05
Delicious - we ate them straight from the frying pan with butter (and soya margerine for the dairy free amongst us). They are incredibly filling!
Angela Warrick's picture
Angela Warrick
26th Mar, 2018
5.05
Beautiful tasty welsh cakes. These were so easy to make, 3 minutes each side. I changed the lard for all butter. I used a large none stick frying pan wth a tiny bit of lard wiped out with kitchen towel on large gas ring on low. The first couple I had the gas on medium and they caught a bit. Once cooled I tossed in caster sugar and put in a large glass hinge top jar from Ikea.
Josh Churchill's picture
Josh Churchill
12th Mar, 2018
These cakes were lovely ever since I made them I cant stop eating them they're the best very light and crispy.
alisondavey
1st Mar, 2018
5.05
I've grown up in Wales and lived here most of my life so I'm used to these being available everywhere. I'd never attempted making Welsh cakes before but when we found my husband's grandfather's very old bakestone griddle I decided to have a go. This recipe worked first time and I got 15 out of this batch. My husband can't stop devouring them, they're gorgeous, light, crispy and delicious. Recommended.
flauffy
28th Feb, 2018
5.05
I have used this recipe for three years in a row and everyone I give them to loves them!! I just use more butter instead of lard, dried cranberries instead of currants and find that the cakes cook in a minute on each side when I use my Welsh baking stone. Hyfryd!! Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!
Sophie-B
13th Dec, 2017
5.05
Absolutely love this recipe! I am in no way welsh but adore welsh cakes. Having never made welsh cakes before i thought i'd trial these to see if i could include them in a christmas hamper. I made the recipe with 50g dried cranberries and the zest of an orange and omitted the lard, instead choosing to use all butter. They turned out so well and taste delicious and christmassy!

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lilmaff
18th Feb, 2016
Does the butter need to be cold (directly out of the fridge)?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
28th Apr, 2016
Yes both the lard and the butter should be chilled.
Eds
7th Sep, 2014
What is meant by mixed spice. Trying to make these in the U.S. Thank you
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
16th Sep, 2014
Hi there, thanks for your questio. Mixed spice is a British blend of sweet spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. In the US you have a similar blend called pumpkin pie spice, use this if you can find it, or use cinnamon instead, hope this helps.
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