Soft, buttery and filled with tasty sultanas, Welsh Cakes are delicious especially when enjoyed with a hot drink and your feet up!
What are Welsh Cakes?
Welsh Cakes are a traditional tea time treat in Wales. They have been made for centuries and still popular today.
I’m sure each family has their own recipe, but all welsh cakes include dried fruit and mixed spice and are cooked on a griddle pan.
Welsh Cakes can be served warm or cold and are sometimes sprinkled with sugar or spread with butter. How do you eat yours?
My version of a Welsh classic
This recipe is an adaptation of Mary Berry’s recipe. For my Welsh Cakes, I like to use sultanas rather than the more traditional currants.
I find currants a bit dry and much prefer plump sultanas. You can use sultanas, currants or even raisins in yours.
I like to eat these Welsh Cakes straight from the pan with a smear of butter. If I’m eating them cold then I prefer to eat them as they are.
A popular way of serving them is to scatter them with caster sugar. If you would like to do this, I would wait for them to cool down slightly.
Welsh Cake tips
Welsh Cakes are wonderfully simple, but can take a little bit of practice! When making the dough, you want to add enough milk to combine all of the flour. Try not to add too much or you will get a sticky dough.
This isn’t the end of the world, just make sure you flour the surface and your rolling pin really well so the dough doesn’t get stuck.
The cooking is where the practice comes into place. I like to cook them on a low to medium heat. I also like to use how they look as a guide rather than timings.
You don’t want to cook them at too low of a temperature or else they will take ages to get any sort of colour on them.
On the other hand you don’t want to cook them on a too high heat because they will colour on the outside and not be cooked in the middle.
You will burn one or two along the way to Welsh Cake perfection, but don’t worry that happens to the best of us!
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Welsh Cakes
Soft, buttery and filled with tasty sultanas, Welsh Cakes are delicious especially when enjoyed with a hot drink and your feet up!
Ingredients
- 350 g self raising flour plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 175 g margarine
- 115 g caster sugar
- 100 g sultanas
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp milk
- Spray oil
Instructions
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Add the flour and baking powder into a bowl and rub in the margarine with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
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Add the caster sugar, sultanas and mixed spice
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Beat the egg and milk together and then add to the mixture. Mix to form firm dough adding a little more milk if needed
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Lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 5mm
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Cut them out using a round cutter. Gather up the off cuts and roll out the dough until it is all used
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Heat a frying pan on a low heat and spray with oil. Cook the Welsh Cakes on a low heat for approximately 3 minutes on each side until golden brown
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Cool on a wire rack
Recipe Notes
I used a 6cm cutter.
Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Nutritional information is given as a guide only and my vary.
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
I love welsh cakes, we had them last year whilst holidaying in Wales, your version looks wonderful. This has been featured as one of my favourites over at Sweet and Savoury Sunday. Stop by, grab a button and link up again with us this week. Have a great day!
cat says
Thank you! Glad you liked the recipe and thank you for choosing it as one of your favourites!
Carlyakamummy says
These look yummy! I think I could easily make these dairy and gluten free too (my son has allergies) by swapping flour and butter. Will give it a go.
Cat says
Thanks 🙂
My friend has made them with gluten free flour so I know that definitely works 🙂
Sam Hunts Childminding says
Lush, love welsh cakes, going to give these a whirl, thats for sure #SundaySweets
Cat says
They’re a lovely little treat 🙂
Carol Sach says
Made these for Sr David’s Day , they were really easy to make and delicious. I did use butter as I don’t often have margarine in . My husband loved them spread with a bit more butter.
Curly says
Thank you so much Carol. I use margarine for ease so I don’t have to wait for it to soften! So pleased he liked them 🙂