From WSCO’s Kitchen
with Peggy Morgan Speakman
Page 6
From WSCO’s Kitchenwith Peggy Morgan Speakman
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Tradition, tradition. I grew up in a Welsh home with very traditional Welsh parents and three brothers, all born in Wales. They came to the United Sates in 1922 and settled in Mansfield, OH. Back then there were a lot of Welshmen recruited to work in the steel mills – Dad worked for W. H. Davies Steel Mill in Mansfield. I came along in 1925.
Mother was an exceptional cook (all Welsh fare) and I can’t ever remember not having Welsh Tea Cakes available. There were large groups of Welsh in Columbus and Mansfield and the Welsh congregated and visited often. Of course, tea and tea cakes were always offered to our visitors.
I am carrying on that tradition, as is my son Joe. In fact, he makes Tea Cakes better than I do.
Have you tried them? Come on, it’s TRADITION.
For this special St. David’s Day issue, members of the WSCO Family have been invited into the Kitchen to share their recipes.
| 4 cups flour | 6 tbl butter | |
| 1 1/2 cups sugar | 6 tbl margarine | |
| 2 tsp baking powder | 3 eggs | |
| 1/4 tsp baking soda | 1/3 cup milk | |
| 1 tsp salt | 1 cup currant (not raisins) | |
| 1 tsp nutmeg |
Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
Cut in butter and margarine with a pastry blender until it resembles course crumbs.
Beat eggs and milk together and stir into dry ingredients.
Stir in currants – dough will be a little sticky.
Chill in refrigerator 1-2 hours.
Roll dough out 1-2 cups at a time onto a well floured cloth to 1/4”. I use 1/4” dowel rods to keep the dough an even thickness. Use a flour dusted “sock” on the rolling pin to prevent it from sticking.
Cut out cakes with a 1 1/2 - 2” biscuit cutter and stack in columns of eight. Watch they don’t stick together – dust with a little flour if necessary. Add more flour onto the cloth and pin after every cut and dip the cutter into the flour every few times to prevent sticking. Add left over dough to new dough for the next cut.
Fry eight at a time on low on an ungreased skillet 2-3 minutes per side.
Lay a piece of waxed paper in a box or tin and sprinkle with sugar. As the cakes come off the skillet stack in columns in the tin, sprinkling each new layer with sugar. I use an old spice jar with a shaker top filled with sugar.
They aren’t ready immediately off the skillet – they have to “set” a few minutes before they’re “done”.
| 8 oz. flour | 2 oz. butter | |
| 2 level teaspoons baking powder | 3 oz. sugar | |
| 1/2 level teaspoon mixed spice | 3 oz. currants | |
| 2 oz. lard or Crisco | 1 large egg, slightly beaten |
Sift the flour, baking powder, and spice into bowl.
Rub in butter and lard (or Crisco) to resemble bread crumbs.
Stir in sugar and currants. Mix well.
Add egg and work mixture together with a fork.
Turn out onto a floured surface, knead for 2 minutes.
Roll out to 1/4 inch thick – use a 2 inch cookie cutter to cut out the tea cakes.
Bake on a heavy frying pan or griddle at 300-325° -- watch closely.
Brown on one side, turn and brown other side.
Mix together:
| 2 cups of flour | 2 tsp baking powder | |
| (I use 1/3 whole wheat) | 1 tsp salt | |
| 1 cup sugar | 2 tsp nutmeg | |
| 1 tsp baking soda | 3 tsp cinnamon |
Cut in 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or vegetable shortening.
Add (fluff-in) mixture of 2 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1 tbl applesauce.
Spoon onto medium-hot griddle, sprinkle on currants then turn over.
Note: you can substitute applesauce for part of the liquid in any recipe to soften the cakes.
Continued on page 7
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