Cakes & Bakes: Jammy cornmeal griddle cakes

Stack of jammy cornmeal griddle cakes with butter pat on top

This past week or so has been so warm, we’ve not had our wood-fired range cooker running. That means I couldn’t produce an oven-cooked recipe for this week’s Cakes & Bakes post; no cake, no bread. Jammy cornmeal griddle cakes are a delicious brunch dish cooked on a stove top using a griddle stone or cast iron frying pan.

Wet & dry griddle cakes ingredients

Using half cornmeal and half wheat flour gives the pancakes a unique flavour. Buttermilk & bicarb rather than ‘plain’ cow’s milk gives the texture a softness and lightness.

Blackcurrant jam added to griddle cakes mixture Blackcurrant jam swirled into griddle cakes mixture

A little swirl of jam takes the griddle cakes to a different level; we used some home-made blackcurrant jam, but you can use any other to your liking – strawberry, raspberry, apricot, plum… If your jam is a little thick, simply mix it with a couple of teaspoons of water to get a thinner consistency.

Cooking a stack of jammy cornmeal griddle cakes on stovetop

Serve your stack of cornmeal griddle cakes with a knob of butter on top or with extra jam or maple syrup drizzled over.

Click here or on the image below to save the recipe to Pinterest

Jammy cornmeal griddle cakes recipe

Stack of jammy cornmeal griddle cakes with butter pat on top

Jammy cornmeal griddle cakes

Course Breakfast
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g/3½oz cornmeal either fine or coarse
  • 100 g/3½oz plain flour
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 200 ml/7fl oz buttermilk
  • 50 g/1¾oz unsalted butter melted, plus extra for the skillet
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 tbsp jam we used blackcurrant, but feel free to use any other fruit

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your griddle/ large cast iron frying pan over a low heat. Rub a bit of butter all over it
  • In a large measuring jug, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, bicarb and salt. Make a well in the centre
  • In a medium measuring jug, pour in the buttermilk. Add the melted butter and stir to combine
  • Pour the buttermilk/butter mixture and beaten egg into the well in the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to bring the mixture together
  • Spoon in the jam and swirl it through a little. Don't over-mix, a few lumps of flour is fine
  • Once the griddle is hot, pour/ladle on approx. 3tbsp/50ml of the mixture into a round shape. Allow the griddle cake to cook for a couple of minutes. When bubbles begin to form and the top begins to dry out around the edges towards the middle, flip over and cook the other side for another minute. Repeat until all the batter is used
jammy cornmeal griddle cakes ingredients
Serve with extra jam, a pat of butter or maple syrup
Keyword cornmeal, griddle cakes

Cakes & Bakes: David’s batter cake

David's batter cake

It was St David’s Day 3 days ago (or as the Welsh say it, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi); so I thought I’d flip through my Welsh Fare cookbook to find a suitable recipe to celebrate the day. I came across something called David’s batter cake; even though I don’t think the dish is named in honour of the saint, I’d like to dedicate it to him!

David's batter cake wet & dry ingredients David's batter cake wet & dry ingredients

The recipe notes explain that it’s called slapan dafydd in Welsh and that this particular version hails from Llanfachraeth in Anglesey.

David's batter cake cooking on a cast iron griddle David's batter cake cooking on a cast iron griddle

It’s one of many versions of Welsh griddle cakes included in the book. Some include lard, some mixed spice, some use eggs, others don’t. The majority of recipes use wheat flour, a couple have oat or barley meal instead. Most versions are small, others (like this one) take up the entire bakestone or griddle pan.

Griddle cake sliced horizontally and buttered

It’s recommended that you split the just-cooked batter cake in half horizontally and slather the two pieces with butter. Justin did this and added some home-made jam to the equation… he heartily endorses this last step!

Click here or on the image below to save the David’s batter cake recipe to Pinterest for later

David's batter cake recipe

David's batter cake

David's batter cake

Welsh Fare, A selection of Traditional Recipes
Course Afternoon tea
Cuisine Welsh

Ingredients
  

  • 285 ml/½ pt warm buttermilk
  • 60 g/2oz butter
  • 285 g/10oz plain flour
  • 85 g/3oz sultanas
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 85 g/3oz sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tbsp vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in the warm buttermilk (I melted the butter with a quick zap in the microwave)
  • Put the flour, sultanas and salt in a bowl, gradually pour in the buttermilk mixture and beat well. Leave this mixture to stand for a few hours, if possible
  • When ready to bake the cake, beat the eggs, add the sugar, soda and vinegar and then pour this second mixture into the first one, beating well
  • Pour all the mixture on to a greased, moderately hot bakestone to make one large cake. Bake and turn as for pancakes
  • Then split in half while warm and spread with butter
David's batter cake ingredients
Keyword batter cakes, griddle cakes

Cakes & Bakes: Welsh griddle cake

Slice of home-made Welsh griddle cake with cup of tea | H is for Home

This Welsh griddle cake is the second recipe that I’ve tried out from my most recent cookbook, Welsh Fare: A Selection of Traditional Recipes by Sara Minwel Tibbott.

Dry ingredients | H is for Home Adding milk to the dry ingredients | H is for Home

The recipe and method were a little on the vague side; for example, it just states, “buttermilk or milk”… no quantity. However, I think I muddled through OK – aiming for a soft, but workable dough.

Ball of griddle cake dough | H is for Home

Known as a ‘Cacen Gri’ in Welsh, it’s cooked on a cast iron baking stone, and is almost the size of the stone itself!

Cooking a griddle cake on a cast iron baking stone | H is for Home Cooking a griddle cake on a cast iron baking stone | H is for Home

Going back to the slightly ambiguous directions, the recipe states, “split in half when warm…”. To make it clearer, I think it should read, “split in half horizontally“.

Cooked griddle cake | H is for Home

Alongside the recipe in the cookbook, the author explains:

This cake would be prepared in Merioneth when bread was in short supply, or when friends were expected to tea.

We can wholeheartedly agree that griddle cake is scrumptious and a mug of tea alongside is a perfect pairing!

Save the recipe to Pinterest

Slice of home-made Welsh griddle cake with cup of tea | H is for Home #cacengri #cake #cookery #cooking #griddlecake #recipe #Wales #Welsh #Welshcake #Welshcuisine #Welshfood
Welsh griddle cake
Serves 8
Ingredients
  1. 230g/8oz plain flour
  2. 115g/4oz butter
  3. 60g/2oz sugar
  4. 1 egg, well beaten
  5. 60g/2oz currants
  6. ¼tsp salt
  7. ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
  8. buttermilk or milk (I'd say 50ml/1¾ fl oz is about right)Welsh griddle cake ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Rub the butter into the flour, add the other dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
  2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda and then pour the egg into the buttermilk
  3. Blend the dry ingredients with the egg and milk, and knead the mixture into a soft dough
  4. Turn out on to a well floured board, knead to a large ball and flatten with the palm of the hand to form a round, flat cake, approximately ½ an inch thick
  5. Bake evenly on both sides on a moderately hot bakestone
  6. Split in half when warm and spread thickly with butter
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