Welsh Cakes (an interpretation)

Welsh Cakes

Yield: ~12 2 inch cakes

Time: ~45 minutes

I make it a habit of never doing an essay at the beginning of my posts, but this recipe deserves some explanation. For the last few years I have attended a local festival and purchased welsh cakes from this great little food stand. But this year, due to COVID-19 the festival was canceled and I didn't get my welsh cake fix so I had to make my own. Welsh cakes are small cakes cooked on a griddle that have a texture somewhere between that of an American biscuit and a sugar cookie (I'm sure that there is a better way to describe them.) They commonly contain currants but I've elected to use different flavorings. I have also switched out the lard for butter simply because I don't have any lard.

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• dash cloves (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1/4 c. mix-ins*
• sugar for coating

*The usual ingredient is currants, but I split my dough in half and made two different flavors. In the first half I added 1 tbsp. dried cherries and 1 tbsp. chopped dark chocolate. In the second half I added 1 tbsp. dried blueberries and 1 tbsp. chopped milk chocolate. Come up with your own flavors!

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
2. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse in the cubed butter until coarse crumbs form. Pulse in the beaten egg and then add the milk in half tablespoons until a dough forms. The dough should not be sticky and if you accidentally added too much milk you can mix spoonfuls of flour until it reaches a better consistency. Alternatively you can cut in the butter using a pastry blender and then stir in the egg and milk. 
3. Stir in your mix-ins and then form the dough into a ball. Cover and chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes. Prepare your griddle by setting to a medium-low heat and spraying with a non-stick cooking spray. My griddle was set between 2 and 3 the entire time I was cooking the cakes. Pour a few tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and set it aside. 
4. Take your dough out of the fridge and roll it out to ~1/4 inch thickness. Cut out circles using a 2 inch fluted cookie cutter. Place the cakes on the griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. The cakes are done when each side is golden brown and the center is firm when touched. Take the cakes off the griddle and coat with sugar and place them on a wire rack. Cool and eat.