The Best Welsh Cakes Recipe

While the Amish are the subculture in the USA that I've explored the most, I also enjoy seeing what else is out there from enclaves of Italians, Cajuns, French, and Scots.  While on assignment onced in rural Ohio I discovered these authentic, old-fashioned Welsh cakes. I've tasted several varieties in my life and this is the best Welsh cakes recipe!

Jump to Recipe

Jump to:

• 🥣 Making the Welsh Cakes
• 🙋 FAQ
• 🥮 Ingredients
• 📋 Instructions
• 🥞 More Delicious Griddle Recipes

America is a vast cultural quilt and you can find a little bit of everything out there.  As always, I find that food reflects traditions and culture color more than almost anything.  Every November the tiny village of Shandon, Ohio celebrates its Welsh roots along the banks of Paddy's Run creek.  This year's celebration just concluded.

I have been to Wales before and....ahh, such a wonderful, beautiful country with storybook towns, charming coastal villages, and rugged mountains.

Wales in Ohio

Shandon doesn't have many Welsh residents left, but it was once a Welsh oasis in Ohio. And, even today, it's legacy lives on in the names of roads and creeks (Paddy's run) and the Welsh cakes that are a holiday staple here. Definitely one of the best Welsh cake Recipes out there that make these. Clubs sell the Welsh cakes to raise funds for their causes, that is how popular they are.

The annual Christmas celebration is a chance to sample Welsh culture in this quiet corner of Ohio and one of the most popular ways to do it is enjoying some of the thousands of homemade "old-fashioned Welsh cakes" - a sort of sweet-savory "pancake: -that are made and sold during the festival. These cakes sell, well, like hot cakes. And while Welsh cakes are a Christmas tradition in Shandon, the cakes are a year-round in Wales.

Today, Shandon’s history comes alive through the hands and griddle of Sian Stowe who could probably make old-fashioned Welsh cakes. in her sleep. 

Stowe effortlessly combines the flour, butter, and allspice that makes up this simple confection and then her hands seemingly seamlessly transform the mixture into a doughy ball, which she shapes and kneads.  

Then the dough is cut, flattened and fried and the smell of these age-old overseas favorites sizzles into the air. 

Welcome to Plas Cadnant, a bed and breakfast in Shandon named after an historic country estate in Wales.  Shandon’s Plas Cadnant is tucked away in a stately old general store built in 1832. 

A residence was added in 1848 and the building has been used as everything from a home to a post office to a school over the years, so Plas Cadnant is honeycombed with hallways, stairways and history. The captivating smell of the cakes permeates every nook and cranny.  In Wales, the cakes are known as Pice ar y maen (phonetically it sounds like it looks but without the spaces, it just rolls off the tongue as one), but in Shandon they are simply called Welsh Cakes. And they are popular. Stow has taught others in Shandon how to make them and during the village’s annual Christmas in the Country  these simple cakes are churned out by the local churches to the delight of everyone.

I had a chance to visit with one of the town's Welsh-descendant residents and she shared her Welsh cake recipe.  And now I'll share it with you, it's really a wonderful Christmas creation, festive and tasty, but not overwhelmingly sweet, which, frankly, is a nice change from all the heavily frosted Christmas cookies and cakes this time of year.

🥣 Making the Welsh Cakes

I think this is the best Welsh cakes recipe out there because it is so simple and captures the authenticity of the country so perfectly.

This is a pretty simple, straightforward recipe, but there are some steps and hints you can employ to make the process easier. Use a pastry blender if you have one and make sure you use cold butter. Other tips:

• Blend the mixture until you get coarse crumbs
• When you cut them out, do so on a lightly floured surface
• These should be eaten right away and they are so good, that is not a problem.
• If you are going to save these for the next day, store in an airtight container.
• Recipe only calls for one egg, try to find large eggs

This is just a fun, historic recipe that can tap into your Welsh roots with griddle cakes that are not too sweet, nor too dry. This is just a very satisfying treat. I don't think you need to add anything, but if you want a bit more flavor, a teaspoon of nutmeg or cinnamon could be added.

🙋 FAQ

🥮 Ingredients

• 1 3 /4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick butter
• 1 /4 cup sugar
• 1 /4 cup currants
• 1 /2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 egg plus 1 – 2 tablespoons milk

📋 Instructions

• Sift flour and baking powder with a mix in a large bowl.
• Add one stick butter cut up and blend until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Add sugar and currants.
• Slowly add the beaten egg and enough milk for the mixture to form a ball in the mixing bowl.
• Gently knead the mixture on a floured board and roll into 1 /4 inch thickness.
• Cut into 2 inch rounds with fluted cookie or biscuit cutters.
• Heat griddle (electric to 375 degrees) or large frying pan over medium heat. Rub griddle with butter or cooking spray.
• Cook Welsh cakes on griddle for 3 or 4 minutes each side until a golden brown in color. Serve warm or with butter.

🥞 More Delicious Griddle Recipes

Chocolate Pancakes

Tasty Pancakes

Strawberry Puff Pancakes
Ployes

2) Add sugar and currants. Slowly add the beaten egg and enough milk for the mixture to form a ball in the mixing bowl. Gently knead the mixture on a floured board and roll into 1 /4 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch rounds with fluted cookie or biscuit cutters. Heat griddle (electric to 375 degrees) or large frying pan over medium heat. Rub griddle with butter or cooking spray. Cook Welsh cakes on griddle for 3 or 4 minutes each side until a golden brown in color. Serve warm or with butter.