Welsh cake

Welsh cakes (Welsh: picau ar y maen, pice bach, cacen gri or teisen radell) are traditional Welsh snacks.

The cakes are also known as bakestones within Wales because they are traditionally cooked on a bakestone (Welsh: maen), a cast iron griddle about 1.5 cm or more thick which is placed on the fire or cooker; on rare occasions, people may refer to them as griddle scones.

Welsh cakes are made from flour, sultanas, raisins, and/or currants, and may also include such spices as cinnamon and nutmeg. They are roughly circular, a couple of inches (4–6 cm) in diameter and about half an inch (1–1.5 cm) thick.

Welsh cakes are served hot or cold dusted with caster sugar. Unlike scones, they are not usually eaten with an accompaniment, though they are sometimes sold ready split and spread with jam, and they are sometimes buttered. They are often eaten accompanied by a pot of tea.

Variation

• Llech Cymreig: cooked with plain flour (particularly wholemeal flour) - rather than the standard self-raising flour, and baking powder, resulting in a much flatter and crisper cake. Typically, this variant is made as a slab on a bakestone, or nowadays on a baking tray, hence the name Llech Cymreig (literally, "Welsh slab").
• Jam Split: popular in the South Wales Valleys. As the name suggests, this is a Welsh cake split horizontally, with jam (and sometimes butter) added, rather like a sandwich.
• Adding grated apple to the mix helps to keep the cakes moist for longer.

See Also

• Heavy cake from Cornwall

External links

• The BBC's description
• Welsh cake/bakestone recipes
• Welsh Cakes (Picau ar y maen) Recipe
• Traditional Welsh Griddles