Vegan Welsh Cakes Recipe – Quick and Easy
My vegan Welsh cakes are a delicious treat that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their dietary preferences. Made with simple, store cupboard ingredients and bursting with spice, this recipe is a must-try for vegans and non-vegans alike. Welsh cakes are moist, tender, and filled with dried fruit. Whether enjoyed with a cup of tea or as a delightful snack, this vegan version of Welsh cakes will surely become a new favourite.
I love to bake, and I love to take time over bread, and making vegan lardy cakes, currant or chelsea buns, but I also love a sweet treat that doesn’t need the oven.
Table of Contents
What are Welsh Cakes?
Welsh Cakes (pice ar y maen) are an old-fashioned treat, from Wales that dates back to the late 18th Century. A sweet, fruity, slightly spiced cakey-biscuit that is cooked traditionally on a griddle until golden brown each side, they were also known as bakestones (after the hot surface they were once cooked on) or pics.
My mum said that these were one of the first things she learned to cook as a little girl growing up in the 50s and, indeed, they are a perfect first-time “bake” for an enthusiastic young cook.
Why You’ll Love my Easy Vegan Welsh Cakes
- Make ahead mixture, mix the dough up the day before.
- Economical, store cupboard ingredients
- Quick to prep
- No-Bake Recipe
- Eggless and Dairy free recipe
Made with store cupboard ingredients, you could probably whip up a batch of these today and be enjoying them in less than an hour, they are that simple to make.
A simple flour, butter, sugar and spiced dough is mixed with currants (or raisins), rolled out and cut into circles. These are then fried in a little more butter on a medium hot griddle (I used a frying pan), until browned on each side.
How do you serve Welsh Cakes?
As simple as they are to make, enjoy them just cooled from the pan, but you can also spread them with a little butter, and they are just as good cold. Traditionally they are served plainly and simply.
Ingredients
- raisins (or dried fruit of your choice)
- plain flour and a little baking powder
- vegan butter, chilled and diced. Much like with pastry, you will rub this into the flour.
- mixed spice
- sugar
This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please see recipe card below for complete printable recipe.
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and spice.
Now rub the chilled, cubed butter into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Rub in the sugar and dried fruit until mixed in.
With a wooden spoon, work the egg replacer into the mixture. Be patient, if you keep working the mixture with the spoon.
It will eventually form a cohesive mixture that you can bring together into a ball of dough.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to half an inch thick.
Cut into 3″ circles.
Heat a a teaspoon of vegan butter over medium heat in your frying pan or skillet.
Place 4 or 5 of the circles of dough in the hot pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan like I did, it makes it trickier to flip them!
Cook for 3 minutes on each side, taking care that the pan isn’t too hot.
Place the cooked Welsh cakes onto a plate and continue with the process until you have cooked all of your dough circles.
Substitutions
- Currants – you can use raisins if you prefer, or dried cranberries
- Sugar – I used white sugar, but you could use brown if you prefer.
How to make Gluten-Free Welsh Cakes
You can easily make gluten-free Welsh cakes by swapping the flour out for your preferred brand of self-raising white gluten-free flour. You may need to add a little splash of dairy-free milk if the dough mixture seems a little dry or crumbly.
Storage
- You can store the cooled Welsh cakes in an airtight tin for up to a week.
- Welsh cakes freeze beautifully, simply cook, cool and then pop in a freezer-safe container. Take the Welsh cakes out as you need to thaw at room temperature, and place in the toaster to refresh.
Top tip
Double to batch and freeze half of the dough: I promise you that these will disappear quickly!
Vegan Welsh Cakes recipe
Equipment
- 1 3" cutter
- Heavy bottom frying pan or skillet
Ingredients
- 250 g Plain flour
- 170 g Butter - vegan, chilled, cubed
- 1 tbsp Egg replacer - whisked with 2 tbsp water
- 85 g Sugar - I use caster or superfine
- 85 g Currants - or raisins
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Mixed spice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and spice.
- Now rub the chilled, cubed butter into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Rub in the sugar and dried fruit until mixed in.
- With a wooden spoon, work the egg replacer into the mixture. Be patient, if you keep working the mixture with the spoon, it will eventually form a cohesive mixture that you can bring together into a ball of dough.
- If the mixture seems a little dry, just add a little splash of milk and mix again.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to half an inch thick.
- Cut into 3" circles.
- Reroll the dough scraps to get as many circles as you can from the dough.
- Heat a a teaspoon of vegan butter over medium heat in your frying pan or skillet.
- Place 4 or 5 of the circles of dough in the hot pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, taking care that the pan isn't too hot.
- Place the cooked Welsh cakes onto a plate and continue with the process until you have cooked all of your dough circles.
- They are now ready to eat!
Notes
Please note that where the recipe asks for milk, butter or yogurt, this refers to any plant-based version that you prefer.
