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| TRADITIONAL WELSH BISCUIT CAKES | |
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This is a very old traditional Welsh recipe from my boyfriend's family. It was passed on to his mother from his grandmother, whose family ran the village bakery in Ammanford, near Swansea, Wales. The family name is Morgan, of course. They claim to be related to Captain Morgan the pirate. The Welsh for Welsh cakes is "teisen lap" (tea 'ion lap) which means "plate cake". It is traditionally cooked on a "maern" (pronounced marn), which is a thick piece of cast iron placed on the fire or cooker. A heavy skillet or griddle will do. Mixed spice is available premixed and typically contains 60% coriander, 30% cinnamon, 5% nutmeg, with small traces of ginger and clove. Sometimes it has 10-15% caraway or 10% cassia (Saigon cinnamon) mixed in. Since almost all "cinnamon" sold in North America is really cassia, and cassia has a stronger flavor than true cinnamon, a North American formula for mixed spice would be 70% coriander, 15% cinnamon, 5% nutmeg, and 10% caraway. Welsh cakes are great eaten hot or cold, with or without butter, though I never use butter myself. I usually make a double batch because they don't keep. But to store them, allow to go cold and place in an airtight box. They will keep for up to a week. I often add a little more of the spices to give them more of a kick. 1/2 lb flour (200 g) 1/2 lb self-rising flour (200 g) 4 oz butter (120 g) 4 oz lard (120 g) 3 oz currants (100 g) 3/4 cup sugar (175 g) 1 tsp mixed spice (5 ml) 1 tsp ground nutmeg (5 ml) 1 large egg milk Sieve flour and spices into a mixing bowl. Add butter and lard and mix until the mixture forms crumbs like when making pie crust. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Break up the egg in a separate bowl. Add broken egg to dry ingredients, mixing well until it starts to form a lump. If it is not sticking together, add a little milk (it should be more moist than pie crust dough but should not be soggy). Roll out on a floured board to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1/2 to 1 cm) thick. Cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter. Heat and grease a heavy cast iron frying pan and when the fat has melted, wipe off with a paper towel. This leaves a residue of fat; the cakes actually cook in their own fat. The pan is hot enough when you can hold your hand just above it for about a minute. Place some cakes on the surface of the pan and wait until they turn a speckled golden brown colour. Turn them over and repeat on the other side. They are better cooked quite slowly (about 3-5 minutes each cake). Makes 40-50. Tina Coulson, New Southgate, London. | |
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recipe reviewsBy the way,Anne James is absolutely right.
Could I add, constructively, maen means stone, originally these cakes were baked on a flat heated stone like the ckes King Alfred burned. It is pronounced something like "mine".
Teisen (p. teeshen) lap is a light crumbly textured cake baked in the oven (popty).
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