Traditional Welsh Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup caster sugar (do not substitute) (to make your own, pulse granulated sugar in a blender until ultra fine. Do NOT use powdered sugar)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace ,(a highly aromatic, flavorful spice used in a lot of traditional baking. Do not substitute it.)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ounces lard , chilled (about 4 tablespoons) NOTE: Lard is critical for the wonderful texture of Welsh Cakes
How To Render Your Own Lard! (it's WAY cheaper and better)
- 2 ounces butter , chilled and cubed
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup dried currants
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- granulated sugar for finished cakes
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, mace and cinnamon. Mix in the lard and butter using your fingers or a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the currants and stir to combine. Add the beaten egg and work it into the mixture adding a little milk as needed until you have a soft dough. It should not be wet or sticky. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Dough can be made well in advance and chilled until ready to use.)
- Roll the dough out onto a floured or non-stick surface about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter. Gather up the scraps, knead together and roll out again to cut the remaining rounds