The Supper Club

Heute servieren wir eine traditionelle Süßspeise aus dem walisischen Raum.

Prepare and enjoy a traditional dessert from Wales

Picture this scene. We’re in the fictional Welsh town of Llareggub created by the poet and writer Dylan Thomas (1914–53). It’s the middle of the night, “starless and bible-black”. A voice guides us across the streets, past shops and houses, into the bedrooms where the townspeople are fast asleep — only we can see and hear the “big seas of their dreams”.

Come close and listen to Evans the Death, the town’s undertaker, dreaming of a cold day when he was a boy. He runs out into the snow, where his mother is making Welsh cakes, and steals “a fistful of snowflakes and currants”, causing his mother to cry out for her lost ingredients.

Could there be a better introduction to Welsh cakes? They are as Welsh as the poet Thomas himself, who introduced them to the world in his 1954 radio drama Under Milk Wood. It was a cultural reference to this taste of Welsh childhood, part of local life for centuries.

Like most things Welsh, including Thomas himself — known for his cosmically romantic verse and long, difficultto-pronounce place names — these cakes have bags of character. First of all, they are not cooked in the oven, but on a griddle, just like in the old days. We’re talking about fried cakes, which proudly stand between scones and pancakes.

The novelty of these cakes also comes through in their special taste and texture, which are somehow more luxurious than their simple ingredients would suggest. Take a mouthful of the flaky goodness: the cakes seem like so much more than just fat, flour and currants, as if they had been cooked in the magical kitchen of Thomas’s imagination.

It’s not surprising that they were popular in poor mining communities, where they were known by their Welsh name: pice ar y maen. The women would cook them over the “bakestone” — a cast-iron griddle placed on the fire — while their men worked. Heading off in the dark mornings, the men would put a few in their pockets. Small and compact, they were easy to carry and certainly provided some cheer in the miserable pits.

Back then, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Wales was a massive producer of coal. Now, that old world has faded away and Welsh society is very different. But you’ll still find Welsh cakes in households across the small nation, even if people nowadays are more likely to make them in a heavy frying pan rather than on a “bakestone”.

Kids love making these cakes — it’s the novelty of watching them cook on the hob, rather than in the oven. This recipe suggests making round cakes, but you can use any shapes you like. Welsh cakes are perfect after a day at work. Get a pot of tea on, make yourself comfortable on the sofa and enjoy the dreamy taste of Llareggub.

INGREDIENTS

• 50 g butter

• 50 g lard (plus extra lard to grease the

griddle or frying pan)

• 225 g plain flour (plus more for the table) • 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon mixed spice (or nutmeg and

cinnamon)

• pinch of salt

• 85 g caster sugar or icing sugar

• 50 g currants

• 1 medium egg, beaten

• 2 or 3 tablespoons milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Rub the butter and lard into the flour, baking powder, sugar, spice and salt until you get a crumbly consistency. Throw in the currants and make a well in the centre for the egg and milk. Mix together into a stiff pastry, then roll out on a lightly floured surface until five millimetres thick. Cut into rounds with a jam jar or a cutter. Grease a griddle or a heavy frying pan and cook in batches on medium heat for three minutes each side, until golden. Delicious with butter and jam or sprinkled with sugar.