Nadolig Llawen from the Welsh Kitchen
Festive Welsh cakes recipe
I love Christmas. For me, it’s always been a time of getting together with family and eating. We used to go to my Nannie Gwen’s house when we were young, and I can still see the steamed up windows from the saucepans of boiling dried peas and cauliflower – all boiling away until able to squash easily with a fork. On the coffee table there was always a little stainless steel shell dish that looked like a shiny, easily cleaned queen scallop shell that had opened. In one side would be Quality Street, in the other probably chocolate-covered nuts. Nan’s gravy – in classic South Wales style – was always thick and almost black from gravy browning. The same way I still love it.
Christmas Eve meant going into town for some last-minute bits and popping into the Wimpy for a sit-down burger and a cup of tea. Remember those weird swirly sausage burgers they used to do?
These days, it’s Mum and Dad’s house, and while the dinner still looks pretty identical to Nannie Gwen’s, we have some other bits throughout the day – perhaps croissants for breakfast with a cheeky glass of fizz, and a mince pie and an advocaat. There is always a bowl somewhere with Quality Street or similar and a bowl of nuts or chocolate raisins. While these days there might be less elbow barging around the table (there used to be so many of us on Christmas day, dinner had to be done in sittings), some things remain oh-so joyfully the same.
I’ll leave you with this little secret about Father Christmas.
Merry Christmas and Nadolig Llawen from my Welsh kitchen.
The Recipe
Festive Welsh cakes
The first recipe I featured in this newsletter was Welsh cakes and I’m always rustling them up either for a special occasion, for an afternoon treat to go with a cuppa, or for the cathartic pleasure that comes with making them. As you might have guessed by now, I’m a bit of a Willy Wonka in the kitchen and love to try out different flavours, and these festive Welsh cakes are definitely one of the better creations of late. Packed with cranberries, dark chocolate and orange, they make a great alternative for those weirdos who don’t like mince pies.
Ingredients (makes about 20-25)
100g hard fat (butter, lard, margarine, Stork for Cakes, Stork for Pastry, or a mix of any of these)
200g self-raising flour (or plain if it’s what you have in the cupboard) plus extra for rolling out
60g caster sugar (or granulated if it’s all you have)
80g cranberries
Zest of an orange
Handful of dark chocolate chips
1 free-range egg
Drop of milk if needed
Icing or caster sugar and nutmeg for dusting (optional)
You can use gluten-free flour if needed and substitute vegan vegetable spread for the fat, and soy milk instead of the egg to make it vegan.
Method
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter in small cubes. Rub together with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Give the bowl a good shake to bring any large bits to the top, and rub them in. You can also do it all in a food mixer if you prefer.
Add the sugar, cranberries, orange zest and chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly. Add the egg and mix together with a wooden spoon or a knife until you get a soft dough. Add a splash of milk if the mix is too dry. The dough should be a little sticky but form a rough ball and leave the bowl pretty clean.
Pop it in the fridge for a few minutes while you clean and prepare your worktop for rolling out and preheat your bakestone on the hob on a medium heat.
Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out the dough until it is a bit thicker than a £1 coin or a little under a centimetre. Using a festive pastry cutter (stars look nice), cut out the dough. Roll and cut the excess again until all the dough is used up.
Grease the bakestone with a little butter and wipe off any excess with a piece of kitchen roll (you can then use to re-grease between each batch).
Cook the Welsh cakes in batches for about three minutes on each side or until they’re just cooked through without burning. They should be slightly springy to the touch. Be careful as the chocolate will start to melt.
Remove from the bakestone, dust with sugar and nutmeg and serve warm with a festive glass of sherry.
If you try the recipe out, don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen.
The Playlist
To me, cooking and music go hand in hand, whether that’s singing at the top of your voice using a wooden spoon as a microphone while waiting for pasta to boil, or dancing around with the oven gloves on as the oven timer counts down. Here are this week’s ideas for your Welsh Kitchen playlist.
This week we have some yuletide favourites. Firstly, from the fabulous Welsh of the West End. Then the hauntingly beautiful Silent Night from the Pontarddulais, Treorchy and Morriston Orpheus choirs along with the Band of the Welsh Guards. And finally a piece from my beloved Côr Y Boro.
All I Want For Christmas Is You by the Welsh of the West End
Silent Night by Treorchy, Morriston Orpheus and Pontarddulais Male Choirs with The Band Of The Welsh Guards
Gwyl Y Baban by Côr Y Boro – Borough Welsh Choir
The Pantry
Good food is nothing without good ingredients and thankfully there are plenty of fantastic Welsh products on the market. Here is where you’ll find recommendations to stock up your cupboard, fridge or fruit bowl, or a really great place for food.
Ancre Hill Sparkling Rosé
You’ve got to have bubbles at Christmas and this sparking rosé from Ancre Hill Estates in Monmouth is just a little bit special. Made with 100 per cent Pinot Noir grapes and aged on lees for two to three years, it has lovely red fruit and brioche flavours – perfect for paring with Christmas canapé.