Saturday, June 13, 2015

Recipe for Welsh Cakes

I'm taking this recipe from a book published by the The Vancouver Welsh Society .  The book is called Cambrian Cooks, printed and bound by Rasmussen Company, Winnipeg, in 2009.  The original recipe is found on page 52, and is by Katie Hughes Perrin Christopher, titled "Auntie Katie's Welsh Cakes."  I made them for the first time a couple of nights ago, to distribute to the children in the elementary school where I volunteer--a "happy summer" gift before the end of the school term. I typed out the recipe and included it in the baggie, along with a juice box.
The recipe goes like this: Sift together 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup white sugar, and add a dash of salt. Then cut in 1/2 lb butter (about a cup) and add 1/2 cup currants. In a cup, mix 1 tbsp whole milk and one egg. Then add that to the rest of the ingredients.
Then, for the children who might be helping Mom or Dad with this recipe, I advised that they have "CLEAN, DRY, WARM hands" to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Set the dough on a floured board and roll it to 1/4 inch (about 1/2 centimetre) thickness. Cut the dough into small rounds using a cookie cutter or the rim of a small glass.  Cook the cakes on a greased griddle or electric fry pan, turning once, to a golden brown colour. 
The recipe says it makes 32 cakes, but I guess mine were smaller because I got about 45 cakes.  My husband said they were the best Welsh Cakes he'd ever had. :) After all, I had to give a couple to him to test them. Right? Of course right.

marketing

Some day, I hope, I'll have to look at how to market my book(s). Ever the optimist, that's me.  So when I do that, I'll take a closer look at the services offered by Raab Associates . At an  SCBWI conference several years ago, I bought An Author's Guide to Children's Book Promotion by Susan Salzman Raab (published January 2004, by Raab Associates, NY.) But I'm sure there have been many changes in the past eleven years. Still, I find the information in that book helpful and encouraging, and sometimes a bit daunting. Nevertheless, I am sure this contact would be very helpful in marketing my book(s)--whenever they may be ready for that step. As I said, I'm ever the optimist.