Welsh Cakes - Pice ar y maen

Welsh Cakes or Pice ar y maen are a Welsh teatime treat.  The recipe has been passed down through generations and is still as popular as ever. In Wales welsh cakes are also known as griddle cakes or bakestones because they are traditionally cooked on a bakestone (Welsh: maen, lit. ‘stone’ or Welsh: planc, lit. Welsh cakes can be served hot or cold and dusted with caster sugar.

Why not encourage the children/grandchildren to join in? As this is such an easy recipe the children will enjoy eating their efforts! Another bonus it that these warm, buttery and healthy Welsh cakes freeze really well, so it might make sense to make two or three batches in one go as these delicious cakes will not stay around for long.

You’ll need:

225g plain flour

85g caster sugar

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp baking powder

50g Welsh salted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing

50g lard, cut into small pieces, plus extra for frying

50g currants or sultanas

1 beaten egg

A splash of milk

What next?

1. Put the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Then using 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, but add a splash of milk if it seems a little dry. It should be the same consistency as shortcrust pastry.
2. Then roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use your little finger to judge the thickness. Using a 6cm cutter, cut out the rounds, re-rolling any trimmings.
3. Grease a traditional griddle pan or heavy cast iron frying pan with lard and place over a medium heat. Don’t try to your welsh cakes in a modern non-stick pan as they can burn when cooked this way. 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. If stored in a tin these cakes will stay fresh for 1 week.

Options

You can use more butter instead of lard and try dried cranberries instead of currants. These Welsh cakes can be made in under half an hour and should there be any left they can go into school of office lunch boxes as a special treat. But as all scone-style bakes, they are always better eaten on the same day and even better when warm.

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Recipe courtesy of: BBC Good Food