When I returned from visiting my son in England, the trees in Vermont were wearing white. The only shopping I did in Brighton was at small, medium and large grocery stores and at a weekly farmers’ market in the center of the university campus. Welsh cakes, from the Marks & Spencer market in the Brighton train station, along with a bowl of stewed red plums and a pot of Earl Grey tea were my standard breakfast in England.
Aside from two packages of chocolate covered ginger cookies, two packages of Welsh cakes were the only souvenirs I brought home. After Charles and I had breakfast on Saturday there were only two Welsh cakes left. The closest Welsh cakes involved a two-hour bus ride to Boston, a seven-hour plane ride to London, another two-hour bus ride to Brighton and a five-minute taxi ride to Marks & Spencer; I had to figure out how to make them. I began with the label. It listed wheat flour, sugar, currants, free range eggs, milk and baking powder. I did a bit of research and learned that traditional Welsh cakes are cooked on a griddle rather than baked in the oven.
I used a box grater because the butter was frozen and I didn’t want to use a food processor. If you prefer to use a food processor, start by whizzing all of the dry ingredients together, cut the butter into eight chunks and add it to the flour mixture and pulse it five times or until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the egg and then add milk slowly, while machine is running until dough begins to form a mass. It’s best to err on the side of too little rather than too much milk. Tip dough out onto a floured surface, add currants and cherries or dried fruit of your choice and knead it all together. 
Homemade Welsh cakes have a much lower carbon footprint than the ones from Marks & Spencer and are absolutely smashing with a steamy pot of tea. Here’s my recipe for ‘No Travel Necessary’ (Vermont) Welsh Cakes.
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Welsh Cakes from a Vermont Kitchen
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 15 cakes 1x
Description
Currant studded griddle cakes, dusted with vanilla sugar, perfect for breakfast, especially when spread with butter and topped with jam.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (120g) plain flour
- 1/3 cup (65g) castor sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsalted butter, cold
- 1/2 cup (50g) currants
- 1/4 cup (25g) dried cherries, minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- Butter for griddle
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium mixing bowl.
- Use largest holes box grater to grate cold butter into flour mixture or use pastry blender or two knives to cut butter into flour mixture.
- When mixture looks like coarse crumbs, stir in currants and dry cherries.
- Use a fork to combine egg and milk in a small bowl and stir it into flour/butter mixture.
- Knead dough on lightly floured board to form dough.
- Roll dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (.6 cm). Cut rounds with 2 1/2 inch (6 1/2 cm) biscuit cutter.
- Heat griddle or cast iron skillet over medium low heat for ten minutes, add a tsp of butter to hot griddle, cook Welsh cakes for 5 minutes on each side.
- Remove from griddle and sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- Welsh cakes may be stored in a air tight tin for up to 5 days or frozen and reheated in a toaster before being served.
- Dry cherries can be omitted or replaced with minced crystallized ginger, minced dried figs or additional currants.
- Welsh cakes may be baked rather than cooked on a griddle.
- Put unbaked rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350º (175º C) oven for about eight minutes, or until set, then turn them over and bake for eight minutes more.
- Baked Welsh cakes will not be as brown as those cooked on a buttered griddle.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 130
Find it online: https://honestcooking.com/welsh-cakes-from-a-vermont-kitchen/
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Welsh cakes cooked on a griddle rather than baked in the oven?
When I researched traditional Welsh cakes, they are always griddle-cooked. Five minutes per side on a buttered cast iron skillet over medium-low heat produces that browned exterior. Baking them in the oven gives you a paler result that simply is not the same.
Can I bake Welsh cakes if I do not have a griddle?
Yes. Put the unbaked rounds on a parchment-lined sheet in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven, bake about 8 minutes until set, flip, and bake 8 minutes more. Just expect a paler, softer result. They will not have the same browned exterior as the griddle version.
Why grate frozen butter into the flour instead of cutting it in?
I had frozen butter that day and the box grater was the fastest approach. Grating cold or frozen butter creates coarse crumbs quickly without warming the fat. That keeps the dough short and gives the finished cakes their slightly flaky crumb.
Can I swap the dried cherries for something else?
Yes. The 1/4 cup (25g) of dried cherries can be left out entirely or replaced with minced crystallized ginger, minced dried figs, or extra currants on top of the base 1/2 cup (50g) already in the dough.
