Mum’s Welsh Cakes
St David’s day, 1st March, every year without fail my Mum made Welsh Cakes. My Welsh speaking Mum used to call them ‘Pic ar y maen’. She would stand at the stove for hours, flipping the little cakes, watching they didn’t burn, and hushing us away as we tried to nab the hot ones straight from the griddle pan. No one made Welsh cakes quite like Mum did – crumbly but firm, with just the right dusting of sugar across the top.
She would always make far more than the family could eat, some were taken to work, the others stashed in the freezer and brought out again in July when we’d forgotten they ever existed.
This year there won’t be any Welsh cakes made by Mum as last June she was cruelly taken away from us by Mesothelioma – a form of lung cancer. It seems funny now, but in the days after she died, I had an immediate instinct to make up a batch of Welsh cakes for the family who had all gathered together at the house. The picture below is from that batch. I was hoping my cakes would bring comfort, fond memories of Mum making them and most of all replicate a Welsh cwtch* from Mum for all of those that needed it. Silly really.
A good heavy griddle pan (or maen in Welsh) is essential to the success of the Welsh cake. Mum bought me one, so I could learn to make my own the first Christmas after I’d officially left home.
*A cwtch is a welsh cuddle
- 225g self raising flour or for gluten free, use a white flour blend (Doves works well) + 1 tsp baking powder
- 75g caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 110g butter (organic/Grass Fed such as Kerrygold ideal)
- 75g dried mixed fruit
- 1 small egg
- First, sift together the flour, caster sugar & nutmeg. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry mix, as you would for making pastry. When the mixture becomes crumbly add in the fruit. Beat the egg and then add this into the mixture, working it into a dough. I have found that adding a dribble of extra water or milk helps if using GF flour and the mix is too dry and won’t come together.
- Move the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and roll out to ½ centimetre thick. Using a 6.5cm circular cookie cutter cut the dough into rounds. Keep re-rolling the left-overs until all the dough is used up.
- Using kitchen paper lightly smear the griddle pan all over with butter and warm over a medium heat. Cook the cakes in batches for 3 minutes each side until golden browned - making sure that they are cooked on the inside as well as the out.
- Sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar and serve warm. Some Welshies serve with extra butter on top. This was not our family tradition!
update: a year on I did manage to tackle and succeed at Paleo-style grain free welsh cakes – you can find the recipe here
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I am interested in making these, but would like to know what type of dried fruit you use? Thanks!
Usually currents, but sultanas or raisins also fine, the pieces are just a bit bigger!
I made mine using self raising gluten free flour, then I added coconut sugar, I did find you had to add more flour. But just experiment. No welsh cakes once made are ever a failure.I have made them with chocolate chips, in the past.They are so quick to make. Equally quick to eat!. They came out really well. I was shown how to do welsh cakes by a welsh farmers wife, for shearing time.
Love that you’ve tried them with choc chips and how cool to learn from a farmers wife. I need to try them like that. Good to hear your were confident to make tweaks where necessary. All GF flours are different as the mix is often so. EnjoY!
Hi, No baking powder with the plain flower. I’ve never made gluten free welsh cakes before.Best Wish’s David
No need for baking powder. These don’t rise – they are flat scones!
Mmmmm, I love welsh cakes. My boyfriend’s family (from South Wales) make them a lot and bought me bakestone years ago so I could do mine too. I always add mixed spice. Lovely story about your mum too – cwtches to you x
Who doesn’t love a good welsh cake. Butter and flour and sugar? Can’t go wrong. They hold special memories for so many I’m sure. Thanks Tracy x
xoxo
Lovely article- sure she would be very proud of your culinary creations and I know exactly how you feel!
Thanks Tash x
Up north they are called cacennau cri! I love these, I wonder if thy would be at all possible with almond flour or coconut flour? I suppose the texture wouldn’t be quite right?
Oh really – I didn’t know they had another name. I have thought about making them paleo but I’m just not sure they would taste the same. One day I might have the patience to try!
Ah, I’ve been craving Welsh cakes recently – I’ve only ever had them made for me by a friend, who now lives on the other side of the world.
Another friend once said, the secret to good cooking is to bake the love in too. I don’t care if it sounds sappy – I agree!
I definitely prefer them to English scones, and have craved them for ages now!
I agree that if you put love into your cooking then that will come out in the eating – its why I love cooking so much.
Not a silly sentiment at all but more of a sentiment of love and respect and I am sure your mum was smiling from above but know how you feel as had a similar experience last year when my mum passed and we miss her huge family dinners Italian style.Keep up the good work.
Thank you Mikey, and so sorry to hear of your loss as well. I hope you find comfort with your family together. Thank you for your continues support of my new recipes