Welsh cakes

My Welsh mother-in-law sometimes used to make these delicious little cakes to cheer up my husband and father-in-law on a Saturday afternoon after losing a football match.

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This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Book of Cakes.

Method

To cook these you really need the traditional heavy, flat, iron pan (sometimes called a griddle or girdle). However, a good solid heavy frying pan, with a flat base, will do.

First, sift the dry ingredients together, then rub in the butter or margarine as you would if you were making pastry. Then, when the mixture becomes crumbly, add the fruit and mix it in thoroughly. Then beat the egg lightly and add it to the mixture. Mix to a dough and, if the mixture seems a little too dry, add just a spot of milk. Now transfer the dough on to a lightly floured working surface and roll it out to about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick.

Then, using a 2½-inch (6.5 cm) plain cutter, cut the dough into rounds, re-rolling the trimmings until all the dough is used. Next, lightly grease the thick heavy pan, using a piece of kitchen paper smeared with lard. Now heat the pan over a medium heat and cook the Welsh cakes for about 3 minutes each side. If they look as if they're browning too quickly, turn the heat down a bit because it's important to cook them through – but they should be fairly brown and crisp on the outside. Serve them warm, with lots of butter and home-made jam or perhaps some Welsh honey.