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Recipe for "welshcakes"

NAME

     WELSHCAKES - Traditional Welsh biscuity cakes
     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  Amman-
     ford,  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 1.5-cm thick piece of
     cast  iron  placed  on the fire or cooker. A heavy frypan or
     griddle will do.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 40-50)

     200 g     flour
     200 g     self-raising flour
     120 g     butter
     120 g     lard
     100 g     currants
     175 g     sugar
     5 ml      mixed spice (see note)
     5 ml      ground nutmeg
     1         large egg
               milk, to mix

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Sieve flour and spices into a mixing bowl.
          (2)  Add fat and mix to crumbs like pastry.
          (3)  Stir in remaining dry ingredients.
          (4)  Break up the egg in a separate bowl.
          (5)  Add broken egg to dry ingredients, mix well  until
               it starts to form a lump.
          (6)  If it is s not sticking  together,  add  a  little
               milk  (it should be moister than pastry but should
               not be soggy)
          (7)  Roll out on a floured board to about 1/2 to  1  cm
               thick.
          (8)  Cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter.
          (9)  Heat ``pan'' (see above) grease ``pan''  and  when
               fat has melted wipe off with absorbent paper. 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.
          (10) Place some cakes on ``pan''  and  wait  till  they
               turn a speckled golden brown colour.
          (11) Turn them over and repeat on the other side.  They
               are  better  cooked quite slowly about 3-5 minutes
               each cake.

NOTES

     Mixed spice is a mix of  ground  spices  that  is  available
     premixed here in England. It is typically 60% coriander, 30%
     cinnamon, 5% nutmeg, with small traces of ginger and  clove.
     Sometimes  it  has 10-15% caraway or 10% cassia (Saigon cin-
     namon) 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.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 5 minutes preparation,  20  minutes
     cooking.  Precision: Measure all ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Tina Coulson
     STC Telecomunications Ltd, New Southgate, London.
     tina@stc
     {root44,ukc,datlog,idec,stl,creed,iclbra,iclkid}!stc!tina
     [ Life is hard in the fast lane of life
           and slow in the fast lane of the M1 ]