David’s Food Blog

Welsh Cakes and Tinkers Cakes

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:01:29 -0800

Six Double batches of Tinkers Cakes and six batches of Welsh Cakes for Amanda’s Birthday party are off the skillet and cooling! About 350 total cakes.

The recipe I used is from the depths of history! Well at least from the depths of SCA History*. It comes from “The Lion’s Gate Cook Book of the Middle Ages which was originally printed in by the Shire of Lion’s Gate (Vancouver, B.C.) in 1975. The copy I have was re-printed in 1983 and was given to me by Amanda Kendal. I became her apprentice in 1986 and spent many afternoons as elementary and middle schools helping her make these cakes for the students. They are easy to make, have limited ingredients and can are “baked” on a griddle (or in an electric frying pan like we did it at the demos for the school kids).

The history of the Welsh Cake does not seem to be very well documented. The OED says that the first reference to Welsh Cakes (in English) is 1932. There seems to be a “Welsh” tradition that they date back to the Medieval time period, but there does not seem to be clear documentable evidence in the form of a recipe or a description. Cooking on a griddle or stone is documentable back into the depths of time, but tasty cookie-like fruit filled butter goodness will need some more research before we can clearly say they date back further than the 1800‘s (there seem to be plenty of remarks about Granny’s Welsh Cakes that she learned to make from her Granny so that puts them back into the 1800‘s with a bit of imagination.)

Welsh Cakes, and Tinkers Cakes (Welsh Cakes with fresh fruit instead of dried and no egg - at least in my recipe)slightly firmer than a pancake. Not as bread-like as a scone. And a bit thicker in texture than a cookie. They are dead easy to make and can be frozen as a lump of dough, individual un-cooked discs or a completely finished product that can go onto the griddle in a moments notice. Great for the expected, or un-expected guest. Welsh Cakes are called “cage bach” (pronounced “kaj baack”), "Griddle Cakes", "Welsh Tea Cakes" and "Welsh Miner Cakes". The Tinker’s Cake, with it’s fresh fruit and no egg, seems to be a poorer mans version of the Welsh Cake. A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith who would fix household pots and utensils. Eventually the term tinker was used to describe the Irish and Scottish Travellers or Gypsies. It is also used as a surname in Yorkshire and Norfolk and in 1620 a male passenger on the Mayflower had the last name of Tinker.

All measurements for the below are by weight. I have not transcribed the recipe exactly as it appears in the Lion’s Gate Cook Book but have given the directions as I prepare them.

WELSH CAKES
1 lb. Flour
A Pinch of Salt
10 oz. Butter
6 oz. Sugar
6 oz. Mixed Fruit (currants and candied peel)
1 Egg
2 Tbs. Milk
Heat a cast iron large griddle over medium low heat.

Mix together the flour and the salt. Rub the butter into the flour and salt. Stir the sugar and fruit into the butter and flour mixture.

In a small bowl beat together the egg and the milk.

Mix the liquid into the above ingredients until you have a stiff batter. This might require a bit more flour or a bit more milk depending on the room conditions, the moisture content of the fruit and the size of the egg.

Press or roll the batter flat and into cut in to small circles approximately 2 inch diameter.

Cook on the warm skillet for approx. 3 minutes per side or until they are toasted golden. If the griddle is too hot the outside will crisp up before the center is cooked. If the griddle is too cold the cakes will not brown. PRACTICE!

Serve warm or room temperature.

Makes approximately 40 cakes.

The Tinker’s Cakes use the same method. I have included all the instructions below just to be complete but you should have it down after you make a batch or two of the Welsh Cakes.

TINKER'S CAKES
1 lb. flour  6 oz. white sugar
1/2 lb. butter  2 medium apple
2 Tbs. milk  

Heat a cast iron large griddle over medium low heat.

Mix together the flour and the sugar. Rub the butter into the flour and the sugar. Peel and grate the apples and add it and the milk to the flour, sugar and butter mixture. Stir until you have a stiff batter. This might require a bit more flour or a bit more milk depending on the room conditions and the moisture content of the apple.

Press or roll the batter flat and into cut in to small circles approximately 2 inch diameter.

Cook on the warm skillet for approx. 3 minutes per side or until they are toasted golden. If the griddle is too hot the outside will crisp up before the center is cooked. If the griddle is too cold the cakes will not brown. PRACTICE!

Serve warm or room temperature.

Makes approximately 40 cakes.

For those of you that are entirely visual in your need for instruction her you go!

* For those of you not in the know the SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronism an education non-profit that re-creates the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

How To Eat Historically!

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:00:30 -0700

How to Eat Historically!
A Primer on Medieval and Renaissance Food

Class taught at May Crown 2010 by David S. Walddon

In this 2 hour class we will briefly explore the kinds of foods and food stuffs that were prepared and consumed during the Medieval and Renaissance time period in Europe. We will explore reference works and cookbooks from the time period that will help with further study and we will also eat some food made from the recipes of the time period that are easy to make and tasty for the modern palate.

Please return here for updates on the class. Reference material and recipes.

David

Cervelatte: a Sausage Making Adventure

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:11:24 -0700

Cervelatte is called for in several Scappi recipes and hidden in the second part of the mortadella recipe there is an actual recipe for this sausage. There is also a recipe for cervelatte in Martino. A group of us are going to have a sausage making day and my two sausages are 100 years of cervelatte (since Martino and Scappi are approximately 100 years apart!)

July Coronation Dinner

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:31:57 -0700

Saturday night at July coronation we had a Scappi inspired meal. There were about 15 of us and the food, if I do say so myself, was really good.I say it was Scappi inspired because most of the recipes were not Scappi down to the letter. The dishes turned out very Scappiesque. And most were variations on a dish included in Scappi.

The first dish was Swiss Chard from our garden. It was prepared in much the same way as the spinach dish from the previous recipe except that I sautéed pancetta, prosciutto instead of the salami with a touch of olive oil to get them started. I used garlic instead of green onions or onions. And the raisins and spices stayed the same. Once the soffritto was completed I add the coarsely chopped chard (instead of spinach) and fried until wilted. Once plated I finished it with some Saba (musto, Grape syrup) over top and served it hot. This dish was the hit of the dinner and was gone before you could say Italian Renaissance! I liked the rice better but who is to argue with your guests? I could have easily made half adain as much as I had and I made two large cast iron frying pans full. I must have had 12 to 15 cups of chopped chard (before wilting).

For some reason I did not get a picture of greens so here is a picture of two of the diners who both ate up their greens like good little children! Notice Elise’s face! She is a handful!

The second dish was a take on Lombard rice but made on the stove top. I did not layer it and I didn’t put the cheese or the poultry breast in it. There was already enough of both in the other dishes. I sautéed garlic (I had no onions with me this weekend, very strange), sausage (a polish smoked sausage with no new world spices in them. The brand was “Falls Brand” and they ROCKED and I have already bought another package for Clinton War),Walddon assorted herbs from the backyard, and the rice in butter and some olive oil. I then added just a bit more than double the rice quantity in liquid which included chicken stock, white wine and some water. All was brought to a boil and then simmered, VERY CARFULLY so as not to scorch, for approximately 30 minutes. The rice was plated and then garnished with small chunks of salted lemons and saffron over top. This was my favorite dish! Very interesting flavors. Not as “jump off your plate” as the chard and certainly not as PORK FAT flavored but definetly my favorite. This recipe served more than the 15 people we had at dinner. It was probably more like 20. I used 4 cups of rice. And next time I think I will use an Italian rice instead of Basmati.

The final dish for dinner was Scappi’s Chicken and Tortellini Bk II Recipe 121 Per alessare ogni sote di capponi, e servirli con diverse compositioni sopra (To boil all sorts of capons and served with diverse compositions over them). This one I followed the directions, mostly. This entry has several recipes included in it or at least several variations. This is the one that I tried.

I boiled three very small chickens as well as some chicken thighs (because I thought we needed more meat) in chicken broth and water spiced with some cinnamon. I left out the sausage that was supposed to be included in the broth because I had already included some in the rice and I didn’t really have the right sausage - thanks to Helewyse I might be able to make some from the Scappi recipe. Once these were cooked through I removed them and kept them warm. I boiled pre-made cheese tortellini in the remaining chicken broth. The hot chicken was then layered in a serving dish with grated cheese (I left out the sugar since I forgot it at home) and cinnamon. I used two types of cheese, fresh mozzarella and asiago, and layered it among the chicken. Then the cooked, HOT, tortellini were placed on top. More cinnamon and more cheese to finish and garnish. I only have one thing to say YUMMY! This served about 20 as well. I would not use whole chickens next time but I bet the necks and giblets and fatty bits made the dish that much more rich. It was just really hard to serve this way so next time chicken pieces. Or maybe pre-cut the chickens. Also the broth served in dishes with a few tortellini would have been a great soup.

I am going to try these again at Clinton War, but this time I will measure the ingredients.

Comments welcome from the diners and others.

Sunday Cooking - Crostini, Spinach and Frittata

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:42:33 -0700

As I said in the last post this is TOTALLY out of order. I am trying to group the recipes together rather than report on when each thing happened.

The herbs in all the recipes we cooked on Sunday were described as “common herbs” by Scappi. So I took my herb basket into the garden and collected some “common” herbs. I need herbs for two of the recipes, the first for the cheese and walnut stuffed eggplant recipe (discussed in the last post) and also for the frittata recipe. Below is an AutoCollage I made of all the herbs I picked. It looks like all the herbs are growing together but it is actually a collage of 16 different pictures. AutoCollage is a program from Microsoft research that is available for 30 day free download HERE! or FREE for educators HERE if you teach in the United Kingdom and HERE if you teach in the US. In both cases you have to register on the Innovative Teachers Network to get AutoCollage. Included in the collage are thyme, rosemary, sage, two types of oregano and marjoram.

The herbs were de-stemmed, mixed together and chopped. I used most of them in the recipes, but I dried some for later use. This herb mix is great to use in pasta, on chicken and even in stews. I harvest all summer and then use them as needed the rest of the year.

The crostini recipe was one of the best of the lot. This would make an exceptional appetizer to serve at a cocktail party. The sweet, salty, sour flavor with the crispy texture of the fried bread ROCKED! It would be easy to serve at a feast in the first course, although the prosciutto might put it out of reach from a cost standpoint. For this recipe I used 1/3 pound of Prosciutto ends diced. I did add a tablespoon of lard to the pan because the ends I had were REALLY lean and there was little to no fat to assist in the sauté. This might vary depending on the fat in the prosciutto. I used 4 green onions, chopped. The size of the onions and the ham were similar and I was happy with the onion to ham ratio.

Once the ingredients had sautéed until the ham was slightly caramelized and the onions were soft the heat was turned up and and 2/3 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup saba was added to the pan. This was seasoned with a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. I would season this a bit more highly, but by this point the pepper and cinnamon flavor seemed to be overwhelming our dinner so I cut back on it a bit in this recipe. Scappi really seems to like the pepper and cinnamon combination. The mixture was reduced until the it was a bit syrupy and glossy.

The last step in the recipe is to fry the bread in butter (or pork fat). I chose butter, since the second flavor that was overwhelming our dinner was PORK FAT! Now I love pork fat as much as the next person (actually probably more), but a little variety was needed. The bread was fried until they were crispy, golden and delicious. Then the mixture, along with the liquid, was spooned over each piece of fried bread. Approximately one tablespoon of the mixture on each bread slice made 16 crostini.

Some greens were needed to round out the meal and the I thought spinach would be a good choice. Of course there was more PORK FAT in this recipe! In some pork fat I sauteed 8 green onions and 1/2 pound of italian salami. This is probably not the correct sausage to use but it is what I was able to get at the grocery store.Scully translates the sausage as yellow saveloy. In the original Italian it is “cervellato gialle”. There is a recipe for cervellato in Martino that is colored yellow with saffron and is made with “lean meat from the leg, without sinews, and good pork or veal fat” (trans. Riley). It also includes two types of cheese, spices, eggs and salt. I have not been able to find a recipe for this sausage in Scappi. Anyone else? Ideally the sausage would be made from scratch.

After the onions and sausage had sautéed in the pan for a few minutes I added 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 cup of broth and 3/4 cup raisins. Bringing this up to a boil I then added a VERY large bag of spinach. Covering the pot the spinach steamed until tender (about 5 minutes) and then was plated and finished with musto. The sausage, onion and raisins to spinach ration was to high. I would reduce the amounts on this next time I prepared it.

The final recipe recipe on my list was a Frittata. Scully translates this into omlette. It is clearly a frittata. Once again I think I went overboard on the meat to egg ration. I would cut back. I used cheaper prosciutto in this recipe. It was almost ham like and it worked really well. 1/2 pounded of prosciutto was diced and sautéed with one small onion diced in 2 tablespoons pork fat.

10 eggs were blended with 1/2 cup marscapone (the recipe says creamy cheese) and 2 tablespoons of chopped common herbs. Once the onions were hot and the ham was slightly golden on the edges the eggs were added to the pan. This could be finished on the top of the stove (covered), but I finished it in a hot oven for 15 minutes. It was then turned out onto a serving dish (amazing that it came out entirely whole!) and was dressed with the juice of one HUGE orange, one small lemon and one lime to simulate a bitter Seville orange. This frittata was YUMMY! I would happily serve it to any of my friends even if they were not into 16th century Italian food. This was also great as leftovers. It made an excellent breakfast!

Eden made an Elderflower pastry that did not turn out very well so all I will say is that the dough ROCKED the free world, but it needed WAY more butter and sugar and it was raw in the middle. THis had HUGE amounts of potential it just needs more work.