Better late than never

I came across this recipe when I was researching brown soda bread recipes a while back. It looked like an interesting cross between shortbread and scone dough, so I gave it a try. We all liked the recipe, but your Mom loved it so much she wrote herself a note on the calendar saying to have these on her birthday.

Well, her birthday came and went six months ago without any Welsh Cakes. In my defense, I first made these when wheat flour was okay, and I wasn't too sure how to adapt things for gluten-free cooking. Now that I have a little better handle on that, I decided to make these as a new year's treat for your Mom. They were a little crumbly compared to the last time I made them, but they tasted just as good. So another gluten-free success, and with more whole grains to boot. Happy New Year!

Welsh Cakes

Adapted from Farmette

The original recipe calls for 85 grams sugar, but we all thought the cakes were a little too sweet, especially if you eat them with jam. For the flour, I mixed 150 grams brown rice flour, 50 grams Thai glutinous/sweet white rice flour, and 25 grams tapioca starch. I didn’t use any xanthan gum, so the cakes were a little delicate, but not so much that you can't work with them.

50 grams dried currants
225 grams (1⅞ cups) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend (see note)
50 grams (¼ cup) caster/superfine sugar or regular granulated sugar (see note)
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ fine sea salt
100 grams (7 tablespoons) butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for frying
1 large egg, beaten
milk or half-and-half, as needed
butter and jam for serving

    1. Rehydrate the dried currants in some warm water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spice, baking powder, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the pieces are flattened and no larger than a pea. You can do this with a pastry blender, too, but it’s more fun with your hands.
    3. Drain the currants, then dry them a little bit with a paper towel. Add them to the flour mixture and toss gently to coat. Pour the beaten egg over the mixture, and work it in until you have a soft dough. I like to start with a pastry fork, then switch to my hands to get everything combined. You will probably need to add at least a tablespoon or two of milk or half-and-half to make a dough that holds together enough for you to roll it out.
    4. Lightly flour a work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a thickness of 1 centimeter. Use a 6-centimeter biscuit cutter to cut dough rounds. Gather any scraps and roll out and cut again until you’ve used all the dough. You should have about 20 rounds.
    5. Melt a good pat of butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. (You can use an electric griddle, too.) Add about a third of the rounds to the skillet. Don't crowd them too much and they'll be easier to flip. Fry until golden brown, crisp, and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side depending on how hot your skillet is. Repeat with the remaining rounds. Serve warm with butter and jam. They’re especially good with blackberry jam. Serves 4 or 5.