Teisen Lap Welsh Cake – Tomorrow is St David’s Day, the Patron Saint of Wales, and also the first meteorological day of spring, not that you’d know it from the weather. So, today I’m sharing a wonderful recipe for a Welsh farmhouse classic, TEISEN LAP, also known as “wet cake” or “moist cake”. 

Cakes and Recipes for St David’s Day

Tomorrow, the 1st of March, is St David’s Day, the Patron Saint of Wales, and also the first meteorological day of spring, not that you’d know it from the weather. So, today I’m sharing a wonderful recipe for a Welsh farmhouse classic, TEISEN LAP WELSH CAKE, also known as “wet cake” or “moist cake”. My recipe has fused two Welsh recipes into one, as I’ve added a wee bit of treacle in mine as often used on another Welsh recipe for “Overnight Cake”. This cake is baked on a plate or an enamel pie plate dish and is the perfect accompaniment when served with a cup of Welsh tea. 

This cake was traditionally baked at harvest time and was taken out into the fields for the workers for their “panad” (snack) It is said that it was also baked on a dinner plate in a cast iron Dutch Oven over an open fire, as many farmhouses and cottages didn’t have a full range oven, or maybe at certain times of the year (or day) it wasn’t lit all of the time, and therefore the easiest way to bake the cake was over a fire. Teisen Lap is not to be confused with Wales’s other classic fruit cake, Bara Brith, which is much richer and is often made with yeast. I shared a recipe for this delicious tea cake last week here: Traditional Bara Brith Tea Loaf.

When I came to style and take today’s photos of my freshly baked Teisen Lap cake, I was keen to share the whole Welsh styling experience, and so I used my antique Welsh Gaudy plates, as you can see in the photos. Welsh Gaudy Ware is gaily coloured, mainly in three prime colours of  bright cobalt blue, orange and white, with a small amount of green on some designs. Its distinctive style, colours and design is very reminiscent of old Welsh cottage and farmhouse decor, where it was proudly displayed in the Welsh dresser, to be used for holidays and high days. It first appeared in the 1820’s and is often called Swansea Cottage, after the most popular design. NB: The cup and saucer that is shown in my photos,is however, Indian Tree, and was part of my paternal grandmother’s tea set.

As well as today’s recipe for Teisen Lap Welsh Cake, which I’ve made to celebrate St David’s Day this year, I have also shared three more Welsh cake recipes for you to bake and enjoy. ALL of them can be made at anytime of the year of course, as they aren’t seasonal as such. They would all be a welcome addition to any afternoon tea or teatime table, as well as being the perfect “elevenses” snack, or to pack into the school or office lunch box. And, all readers of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, may think that a slice or two would be a spiffing addition to the Tuck Box! The recipe is shared below and PLEASE do let me know if you make it, DYDD GŴYL DEWI HAPUS! Karen 

Welsh Cake Recipes

TRADITIONAL WELSH CAKES

Traditional Welsh Cakes: The recipe I am sharing today comes from one of my old Be-Ro cookbooks and is the ONLY recipe I use when I make a batch of Welsh Cakes; it’s the very same recipe that my grandmother used, as well as my mum, and the recipe never fails.

Welsh Shearing Cake

(Cacen Gneifo)

Welsh Shearing Cake (Cacen Gneifo) A traditional recipe for a Welsh seed cake, and one that would have been served to the sheep shearers during shearing season. This buttery cake would have originally used bacon fat in place of butter, although the caraway seeds and peel are authentic to older country recipes.

TRADITIONAL “BARA BRITH” TEA LOAF

A traditional recipe for Bara Brith, which translates as “speckled bread” in Welsh. This recipe makes a large, rich Bara Brith tea loaf, but is made with SR flour and not yeast, so can be made very quickly and easily. However, you do need to allow time to soak the fruit overnight, but after that, it’s a very simple “all in one” recipe for this beautiful Welsh tea loaf. 

Teisen Lap Welsh Cake Recipe

 

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Welsh Recipes