Welsh Recipes from my Grandma's kitchen

Welsh Cakes

4ozs fat [2ozs marg/butter + 2ozs lard/or butter [we use ½Trex & ½ Stork margarine]
4oz caster sugar
8ozs plain flour + 2 teaspoons Baking powder
4oz fruit [we use sultanas – currants can be too hard]
Good pinch nutmeg [we use about ½ whole nutmeg!]
Tiny pinch salt
1 beaten egg and some milk – add with care.

Method:

Mix so that mix is short but holds together as a dough. Roll out on floured board and cut into rounds. Bake on a hot bake-stone over a medium to low heat.

Makes approx 20. They Freeze well.

Bara brith

Bara brith (literally 'speckled bread') is the teabread that is famous throughout Wales. This recipe has many variations, but here is my Rhondda one.

1½lb mixed dried fruit with some mixed peel and a cup of brown sugar

Soak this in a cup of cold tea the night before baking.

Mix:

2 cups of Self Raising Flour
1 beaten egg
Spice

Method:

Put the dried fruit, mixed peel and sugar into a mixing bowl. Pour over the hot tea, mix well then cover and leave to stand overnight. Next day sieve the flour and spices together and beat into three fruit and tea mixture with the egg and the nuts, if using.

Divide between two 450g 1lb loaf tins (or use one large loaf tin) greased. Bake in a moderate oven (160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 or 150°C for a fan oven) for about 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean.
Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.

If time allows, wrap in foil for 24 hours before serving as medium slices spread with butter.

Bara brith can be frozen very successfully.

Gingerbread

Prepare 8in sq cake tin and set oven to 325^oF

4 oz butter/marg
8oz golden syrup
3 oz granulated sugar
1 tables.orange marmalade
¼ pt milk
4 oz self raising flour
pinch salt
1 teas. ground ginger
1 teas. mixed spice
½ teas. bicarb. soda
4 oz wholemeal flour
2 small eggs well beaten
Turn into an 8in sq cake tin.

Method:

Gently warm butter, syrup, sugar, marmalade & milk together in saucepan until sugar dissolves.

Allow mix to cool a little. Meanwhile sift self raising flour into mixing bowl add salt spices and soda.

Add wholemeal and mix together.

Add butter etc mixture to beaten eggs and then pour onto dry ingredients. Stir with a spoon until a smooth batter is formed then pour into tin and bake for 1¹/₂ hours.

Gingerbread is ready when pressed with finger-tips and it springs back into place.

This Gingerbread has a nice spongy texture and is cut into squares for serving. I add a small piece of preserved ginger to each portion.