Friday, April 29, 2011

Welsh Cakes (Picau Ar Y Maen)

The first time I saw Meredith make Welsh cakes, I was very confused.

Me: Those are cookies?
Meredith: Yes.
Me: You're cooking them in a pan.
Meredith: Yes, I am.
Me: Kinda like pancakes.
Meredith: Yep.
Me: But they're still considered cookies, right?
Meredith: Shut up already.

Apparently they don't have ovens in Wales.

Anyway, this time 'round, Meredith let me look at the recipe and oh my. The full recipe, (from the Welsh Male Chorus of Burlington's cookbook, nonetheless, calls for lard and margarine, and the cookies are later sprinkled with sugar and then served with butter.

Seriously?


print recipe

Welsh Cakes
These pan-fried cookies are traditionally sprinkled with sugar and served with butter.
Ingredients
1 lb flour1 tsp baking powderpinch salt4 oz margarine4 oz vegetable shortening4 oz currants6 oz sugar1/2 tsp garam masala1 egg2 tbsp milk
Instructions
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.2. Cut in the margarine and vegetable shortening.3. Add the currants, sugar and garam masala and mix.4. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and milk together.5. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and beat until it's a firm paste.6. Roll dough onto a floured board to 1/4" thickness and cut into rounds.7. Cook on a greased griddle for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.8. Let cool on racks before serving.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 30-40 cookies
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
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MyMeatlessMondays

11 comments:

  1. It has garam masala???? I have to try it, just to find out what it tastes like.

    Why is the cook time 40 minutes. I thought it was 6 minutes. Is it me or is it a goof. If I am going to try these, I have to learn how to read correctly.

    Thanks for linking these up.

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  2. Mathematics. 10" fry pan, 40+ cookies. Took a few batches :-)

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  3. A cross between a cookie and a pancake? I think I've found my new love.

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  4. I've never tried these, but I'm very curious... have any leftovers?

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  5. If I did have leftovers, they'd get eaten during the 14-hour drive :-)

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  6. These sound really interesting! I love the little addition of garam masala. They look like a pancake to me but I would gladly eat them without a plate :)

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  7. I am thinking you are right about the ovens in Wales. I have an old, old family recipe for Welsh griddle scones that is quite similar to the baked variety but is made on either a cast iron pan or an electric griddle. I imagine those cakes of yours are quite delicious.

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  8. Then there's English muffins - also fried. you think that frying is a common occurrence in that part of the world or something.

    (as I think about the chippy in Scarborough (Ontario) that offers deep-fried battered Mars bars and Oreo cookies...)

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  9. I've never had these before but I love them already :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

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  10. Margarine, butter, lard, and sugar? Sounds like a Paula Dean recipe! Seriously though, they sound pretty darn good. The addition of garam masala is an interesting one. I'll have to try these out!

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  11. These sound good and fun to make. Maybe a granddaughter project. Thanks guys!

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