On Friday 22nd January 2010, Hazel Thomas brought in her excellent sweet and savoury Welsh Cakes. She was outraged that Dave and Si; The Hairy Bikers had described Welsh Cakes as "half cake, half biscuit"! Here are the recipes for both type of Welsh Cake that she brought in. Enjoy!

Hazel Thomas' Traditional Welsh Cakes

Ingredients:

225g / 8oz Self Raising Flour
110g / 4oz Welsh Butter
50g / 2oz Caster Sugar
75g / 3oz Raisins (or Currants)
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of Grated Nutmeg
2 tsp / 10ml Crème Fraiche
1 Egg

Method:

Sift the flour into a bowl and gently rub in the butter to resemble fine breadcrumbs, add the sugar and raisins (I chop the raisins a little first to make them smaller in size), add a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of grated nutmeg and two teaspoons of crème fraiche.

Crack open your egg into a cup and give it a light whisk before adding to the mixture.

Start to work the mixture until it forms a firm dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out until about ¼ inch thick. If you roll them too thinly they may become dry as they cook. If you roll them too thickly they will take longer to cook thoroughly.

Cut out your cakes using a cutter size of your choice. (As a guide a 1 inch cutter will yield about 2 dozen Welsh cakes from the above quantity)

Heat your griddle or non stick heavy bottomed pan to a moderate heat and start cooking the Welsh cakes slowly turning them only when the surface appears firm and has a golden brown colour. Continue until all the Welsh cakes are cooked.

When cooked they should be firm to the touch but slightly soft in the middle.

Dust with caster sugar as they are removed from the griddle.

Serving idea- finish with grated cheese, or with pesto.

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Hazel Thomas' Savoury Welsh Cakes

Ingredients:

225g / 8oz Self Raising Flour
75g / 3oz Welsh Butter
3 Small Leeks (washed, finely sliced and cooked in 25g / 1 oz butter)
75g / 3oz Grated Mature Welsh Cheese
2 tsp / 10ml Sweet herb Mustard
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt (optional)

Method:

Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and rub in the butter to resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Add the cooked and cooled leeks, the grated cheese and the sweet herb mustard.

Crack the egg into a cup and whisk lightly before adding to your mixture. Work the mixture gently until you form a firm dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and roll to about ¼ inch thick.

Cut out your cakes to the required size.

The savoury Welsh Cakes work well as canapé bases, and a smaller cutter is better.

Heat your griddle or non stick heavy bottomed pan to a moderate heat and start cooking the Welsh cakes slowly turning them only when the surface appears firm and has a golden brown colour. Continue until all the Welsh cakes are cooked.

Serve with some pickle or relish of your choice or with ingredients like smoked salmon or paté.