Welsh Cakes Picau Ar Y Maen Food

WELSH CAKES (PICE AR Y MAEN)

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter and lard with your fingertips. Add the sugar and raisins.
• Beat the eggs and add to the mixture along with a little milk, only using enough to make a fairly stiff dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of about 1/4 inch and cut into 2 inch rounds with a pastry cutter.
• Cook on a greased griddle or heavy based frying pan over medium high heat for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Dust with sugar and serve warm.

TRADITIONAL WELSH CAKES

Steps:

• In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, mace and cinnamon. Mix in the lard and butter using your fingers or a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the currants and stir to combine. Add the beaten egg and work it into the mixture adding a little milk as needed until you have a soft dough. It should not be wet or sticky. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Dough can be made well in advance and chilled until ready to use.)
• Roll the dough out onto a floured or non-stick surface about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter. Gather up the scraps, knead together and roll out again to cut the remaining rounds.
• Heat and lightly butter a cast iron pan over medium heat (I lightly butter it to later help the sugar adhere to the cakes when they're sprinkled). Add the cakes and cook on each side until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes (lower the heat if needed to prevent the outside from burning before the interior is done).
• Let them cool for about a minute. While the Welsh cakes are still warm, place them in a small bowl of sugar to coat all sides. Best eaten while a little warm. Reheat Welsh Cakes in a pan, toaster, or warmed oven (or if in a hurry, in the microwave for a few seconds).

PICAU AR Y MAEN (WELSH CAKES)

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder, allspice and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and vegetable shortening to the flour mixture and rub together with clean fingertips for 5-7 minutes, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and raisins and combine.
• Mix the eggs and milk together, then pour into the flour mixture and stir until it forms a stiff dough. Bring the dough together with your hands in the mixing bowl until it forms a ball. Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a thickness of 1cm. Dip a 6cm round cutter in flour and cut 20 rounds from the dough.
• Melt a knob of butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat and fry the rounds in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden. Serve warm, or keep in an airtight container for up to a week and reheat gently before serving.