Welsh
Cakes
AKA - Picau Bach, Teisen ar y Maen, Picennau ar y Maen --
it depends on what part of Wales you're from what you call them in Welsh!
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup lard
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup currants (or dired fruit or diced appels, cut in
currant or berry sized peices)
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
Sift flour, baking powder & salt together. Rub
in the fat until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the
sugar and fruit. Lightly beat the egg and add with enough milk to
make a firm paste. Roll out to a thickness of 1/4 inch and cut into
3 inch rounds.
Cook on a greased, hot griddle or thick frying pan for about 3 minutes on
each side until the cakes are golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar and
cool on a wire rack.
Some Hints From Making These Over The Years
1. To make Kosher ones, use only butter.
2. You can substitute Crisco for the fat, but I don't like to
do this. Presently I use butter for all the fat.
3. Be prepared to pretty much loose the first set you
cook. If the stove's too hot they'll burn too fast. Not hot
enough and they won't cook right. I like to cool on first and not
lose a whole skilletful to the the temperature adjusted.
4. Put just a little bit of oil, enugh to give the skillet a
very thin coating in for the first you cook. Then the butter in the
cakes does its work and you don't need any more oil at all.
5. I like to chill the dough for a few hours. It makes
it easier to work with. I have made the dough in the evening and
done the cooking the next day. This works very well for busy
schedules.
6. Don't be afraid to use flour in rolling them out.
Flour on the counter, on the rolling pin, on the round thing you use to
cut them out.
7. I've used cookie cutters as well. Hearts, 1/2 moons,
etc. for a little variety, but this isn't traditional.
8. I usually double the recipe to make one batch.
9. The best skillets are an electric one or cast iron.
They used to be cooked over open fire on stones.
10. They take some time as you can't just stick them in the oven and leave
them until the buzzer goes off. They need watching.
11. If you use fresh apples, shred or grate them the
way you would carrots. When you make them with apples, they're
called Tinker Cakes.
12. Evidently our foremothers used whatever fruit they had on hand
to make these with although these days most folks use currants (not
raisins) as the fruit. I sometimes use dried apricots, blueberries
or cherries instead of currants as they can be difficult to get, depending
on the time of year and the harvest.
Beth Phillips Brown |
