Cage bach (Welshcakes)

[chibirisu]

Cage bach (Welshcakes)

Serves 24 as Dessert.

When I was studying in Carmarthen (southwest Wales), they had a market with fabulous cage bach (called Welshcakes in English), sold warm in little packages. Top 'em with clotted cream and strawberries, or even just a bit of butter, and they were delicious.

This is my best shot at reconstructing 'em, after fiddling with three or four recipes from various locations and substituting things like sugar (easy to find in America) for "golden syrup" (much harder to find here but easy to find in Britain).

• 2 c self-rising flour (or add 1 to 2 tsp. baking powder to regular)
  
• 1 stick of butter (4 oz or 1/2 cup)
  
• 1/2 c sugar
  
• 2/3 c currants, soaked in hot liquid to plump up
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/2 tsp ginger
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 1 c milk (but you probably won't use all of it)
  
• Hot liquid of choice for the currants - could be water, apple juice, Ribena (a currant drink), or something like brandy
  

* Rinse the currants well and put them in the hot liquid to soak for at least 30 minutes or until they're plump and tasty.

* Stir together the flour, baking powder (if needed), salt, and spices.

* Cut the butter into small bits (I quarter a stick lengthwise and then chop into little bits that way) and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it's like fine crumbles.

* Drain the soaking liquid off the currants.

* Make a hollow in the middle of the flour mixture and add the sugar, the beaten egg, about 1/4 cup milk, and the drained currants. Stir together. If it needs more liquid, add the rest of the milk, but it should be a somewhat stiff dough (stiffer than chocolate chip cookie dough).

* Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick (I often do this between two floured sheets of waxed paper) and cut in three-inch circles (you can use a juice glass for this).

* Cook over low heat on a griddle or nonstick frying pan that's been very lightly oiled with something flavorless like canola oil. (Don't use olive oil or they'll turn out smelling like a salad!) Cook them like little pancakes -- wait a while until one side is toasty golden, then flip and toast the other side. They won't really toast any further if you keep flipping them, so make sure one side's nice and golden before you flip the first time. (Try one as an experiment to get the timing right before you cook up a big batch, because I never seem to get the same amount of heat out of my stovetop twice in a row.)

* Sprinkle the top with sugar while they're still warm.

* Eat as is or top with something like honey, jam, lemon curd, a bit of butter, or Devonshire double cream. They keep well in an airtight tin if any survive the initial ooo-warm nibbles from anyone in the building. (Don't put toppings on until you're ready to eat them though.)

I've read that you can bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes instead of griddling them. Technically, you can, but they don't turn out quite right -- they won't be that toasty golden color on both sides... stick with a griddle, even if you don't have a cast-iron Welsh bakestone.

Keywords: Dessert, Vegetarian, Intermediate, Snack, Cookie, British

( RG1491 )