(Holiday) Welsh Cakes
Light, sweet and cinnamon-y, Welsh Cakes are like a cross between a cookie, pancake, and scone! Add cranberry and orange for the holidays.
If you have a daughter study in Britain, you might find a few benefits for you. Like when she brings home a recipe for Welsh cakes!
Easy and crowd-pleasing, it was her go to recipe when she needed to bring food to a party or event!
These cookie-like griddle cakes are a modern take on a traditional flatbread. Cooked on griddles or flat stones, the original savory cakes helped sustain Welsh miners since Medieval days (source: Wikipedia).
Add some dried fruit and sugar–and everything old is new again! And if you go with Cranberry Orange Welsh Cakes, it’s perfect for the holidays!
Why You’ll Love This!
A Less Sweet Treat. If you’re trying to cut back on sugar but still like a treat, these are perfect! Especially around the holidays where sweets are everywhere!
Easy. The dough is made in a food processor, rolled and cut, then pan-fried. Easy-peasy.
Versatile. Welsh cakes are great for teas, snacks, dessert and more.
Step by Step Overview
In a food processor or large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange zest.
Add cold cubed butter and process/mix until the mixture is like sandy crumbs–a few larger pieces of butter are fine.
Chop the cranberries, then mix into the flour
Beat the egg with the orange juice (or milk), then add to the scones dough and mix until everything is moistened and will hold together if pressed.
Empty the food processor (or bowl) onto a floured surface. Knead a couple times, then form into a thick disk.
Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick, turning over and re-flouring as needed. Cut out the cakes a with scalloped or round cutter.
Collect and re-roll the scraps and cut more cakes until the dough is gone. Consider hand pressing the final scraps into a “test” cake.
Heat a griddle pan or skillet on medium low until a drop of water splashed on sizzles. I didn’t need any oil on cast iron, but a stainless steel pan might need a spritz of PAM.
Ideally fry a single “test” cake to get a good temperature established, then cook the remaining cakes in two batches. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until light to medium gold and cooked through. Watch carefully because they can burn quickly.
Remove each batch to a wire rack over a plate, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar while still hot. Turn the cakes over and sprinkle the other side.
Can be eaten warm or cool.
Ingredient Notes
The zest of the orange actually has more flavor than the juice. And the best flavor comes from the dark orange portion on the peel, while the white pith will impart a bitter taste. A microplane can help you get off just the outer layer so you have the best results.
To cube cold butter, I cut along the length of a stick of butter, then turn it one quarter turn and cut along the length again. Then I cut cubes down the length of the stick.
Did you know that dried currants, the traditional dried fruit in these, are actually dried grapes (aka raisins)? They are a special variety, and their small size is lovely for baking since it distributes the flavor better throughout the cookie.
To make the cranberries work more like the currants I like to chop them before adding to the mix. I use an ulu, a traditional Inuit tool that’s a joy for this.
Small currants on left versus bigger cranberries on right
Tips & FAQs
A fluted cutter is traditional and gives a pretty scalloped edge to the cake, but if you don’t have one, you can just go with a round cookie cutter.
I made these using a cast iron griddle pan, but these would be easy to make in a cast iron frying pan or even stainless steel. Since Welsch cakes are very buttery, I didn’t use any grease, but you might need a quick spray of PAM if you’re using stainless steel. In that case be aware that oil may make them brown more readily and keep an even closer watch.
After my second round of re-rolling and cutting, I took the final loose schnibbles (aka scraps) and hand formed them into a rough cookie. I used this as my “test” cookie for getting the pan temperature correct.
And don’t forget to serve these all year. Just omit the orange and use currants instead of chopped cranberries for the traditional version .
More Christmas Sweets Recipes:
- Cardamom Coffee Cake from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Oatmeal Glazed Breakfast Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- No Bake Coconut Balls from Jen Around the World
- Vanilla and Almond Hot Chocolate from Blogghetti
- Maple Walnut Tart from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Welsh Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest omit for traditional
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup dried cranberries chopped smaller, or currants for traditional
- ½ cup butter cold, cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice or milk for traditional
Instructions
- In a food processor or large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange zest.
- Add the cold cubed butter and process/mix until the mixture is like sandy crumbs--a few larger pieces of butter are fine.
- Chop the cranberries, then mix into the flour
- Beat the egg with the orange juice (or milk), then add to the scones and mix until everything is moistened and will hold together if pressed.
- Empty the food processor (or bowl) onto a floured surface. Knead a couple times, then form into a thick disk.
- Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick, turning over and re-flouring as needed. Cut out the cakes a with scalloped or round cutter.
- Collect and re-roll the scraps and cut more cakes until the dough is gone. Consider hand pressing the final scraps into a “test” cake.
- Heat a griddle pan or skillet on medium low until a drop of water splashed on sizzles. I didn’t need any oil on cast iron, but a stainless steel pan might need a spritz of PAM.
- Ideally fry a single “test” cake to get a good temperature established, then cook the remaining cakes in two batches. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until light to medium gold and cooked through. Watch carefully because they can burn quickly.
- Remove each batch to a wire rack over a plate, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar while still hot. Turn the cakes over and sprinkle the other side.
- Can be eaten warm or cool.
My grandmother made something similar using lard instead of butter. I barely remember them, as I was so young, but I can imagine they were a real treat for us.
These Holiday Welsh Cakes look absolutely charming! I love how the cranberries and orange bring a festive twist to such a classic treat. Perfect for tea time or sharing at a holiday gathering.
These sound so interesting. I love that they are rolled and panfried. I can’t wait to give them a try.
I’ve already added the ingredients to my shopping list for when I start my holiday baking!
What a fun addition to a brunch buffet.