Feed me ‘til I want no more…

To celebrate St David’s Day, our Devolved Nations Lead Tristan Humphreys tasked Food Information Officer Sam Chettleburgh to teach him how to make a Welsh delicacy. He shares the results with us…

Tristan Humphreys - Lead in Wales“Move over Mary Berry. Pack up Pru Leith. Because there’s a new baker in town! There’s confidence coursing through my veins and I’m about to bake the best (albeit only) Welsh cakes I’ve ever made.

“Yes, it’s St David’s day and being the proud Welshman that I am, I’ve dragged my colleague Sam on to Zoom to teach me how to bake my national delicacy. I’m not alone though, I’ve also got Jack (seven) and Emily (four) along to dramatically increase the combined baking ability of the Humphreys clan. I’m not a natural baker it’s true, and my culinary skills did leave mum pleading with me not to take up food tech in Secondary school but still, how hard could it be?

Welsh Cakes baking"First up, we’re making the mixture. I’ve carefully measured out all the ingredients and it’s time to hide behind that age old parenting trick of getting your children to do the work. The gluten free flour, sugar and butter go in along with nutmeg and cinnamon, and it’s starting to look tasty.  Time for a pinch of salt. Emily cracks the egg right in front of my face giving me the kind of adrenaline rush reserved only for extreme sports athletes or parents trying to work from home whilst home schooling, and for a moment I worry this was all a mistake. But she’s done it. No egg on face for either of us!

“Once the egg’s in, it’s time to mix it all together. It’s at this point that our youngest loses interest and unlike in the Six Nations, this time the Welsh team is down a member. But it’s all coming together nicely. We’ve traded raisins for choc chips and we’re literally ready to roll.

“Jack takes up the rolling pin and Em pops back to stamp out some heart shapes. We’re even doing an elaborate Welsh dragon. It’s all looking good and Sam - the man who literally wrote his dissertation on cakes – tells us that we’re ready to get cooking!

“Pan. Heat. Butter. Four minutes or until golden brown. They come out beautifully, perfectly warm and - okay, full disclosure - I burnt the first batch because I was talking to Sam about the football!

Baked Welsh Cakes“Still the next ones looked quite a lot like Welsh cakes. And the next. Maybe I can bake. Maybe I should call mum and tell her she was wrong all along. Then I notice the incredibly elaborate Welsh dragon we made earlier. Oh dear. As the mixture bubbles into a shapeless blob in front of my eyes, and I look at Sam’s perfectly baked Welsh cakes on screen, I wonder if maybe I’m more suited to briefings than baking. Still, it’s what’s on the inside that counts right? And these cakes taste amazing! Blasus iawn! (Delicious!)

“Sure enough the kids are back and there’s a quick turnover of possession. Maybe I should make some more…”

Check out our full Welsh cakes recipe below, and don’t forget to share a photo of your bakes with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Get the recipe

Fun fact: Pit Picnic

Welsh cakes (also known as picau ar y maen, pice bach, cacennau cri or teisennau gradell) really took off in the latter half of the 19th century, in part thanks to their popularity with Welsh miners. At the time Wales was the largest producer of coal in the world and the durable cakes proved perfect for slipping into a pocket for a tasty treat in the gloom of the pit.

Fun fact: Land of my fathers

Did you know? Wales has two official languages with around a third of the country speaking Welsh (Cymraeg). It is an ancient Brythonic language and can be traced back to earliest inhabitants of Britain. Indeed Cymraeg descends from the ancient British word “combrogi” meaning countrymen.  

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