Please welcome our guest Jane Willan! Jane is the author of the very charming Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn mysteries.
My novels
are set in Wales and my Welsh characters love to eat—especially, Sister Agatha
whose favorite treat is a crispy Welsh cake with a cup of Welsh Brew tea. I didn’t know how great Welsh cakes were
until I attended the National Festival of Wales this past summer. At the three-day festival, in addition to
incredible singing, talks about Wales, and everything Welsh, there was a table
set with endless Welsh cakes and tea.
And all-you-can-eat-Welsh Cake experience. I came home wanting to make my own Welsh
cakes. Since I am not really much of a
baker, I went to the internet to find the perfect recipe. This recipe is from a BBC website “BBC Food Recipes” at https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/welsh_cakes_16706
I have modified it a
little for easier baking.
Recipe
Preparation time
less than 30 mins
Cooking time
less than 10 mins
Makes 6-8 welsh cakes
What you'll need:
4 cups flour
6 tablespoons salted
butter, diced
1-2 cups sugar, plus
extra for dusting
A handful of
cranberries or currants
1 egg, beaten
A little milk
What to do:
Sift the flour into
a bowl and add the diced butter.
Rub with your
fingertips, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles
breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar,
cranberries and beaten egg and mix well to form a ball of dough, using a splash
of milk if needed.
Roll the dough out
on a floured board to a thickness of about ½in.
Rub a bakestone or
heavy iron griddle with butter, wipe away the excess and place on the hop until
it is heated through.
Cook the Welsh cakes
a few at a time for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown.
Remove from the
griddle and dust with sugar while still warm.
Serve with a cup of tea!
Praise for The Shadow of Death: A Sister Agatha and
Father Selwyn Mystery (#1)
“Sprightly… The rich life and personalities of this
religious community, coupled with Sister Agatha’s devotion to the sage advice
of a retired inspector turned podcaster, guarantee reader impatience for the
next installment.”
―Publishers Weekly
The Hour of Death: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn
Mystery (#2)
"Charming… Peopled with plenty of interesting
characters and local color.”
—Kirkus Reviews
GIVE AWAY
Leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of
The Hour of
Death
Leave your
email so I can contact you if you win.
I will pick the winners on Wednesday.
I will pick the winners on Wednesday.
Bio:
Reverend Jane Willan
is a parish minister and author in Paxton, Massachusetts. She serves the First
Congregational Church of Paxton and lives in the church parsonage with her
husband Don and their two rescue dogs, Magi and Moses.
Before moving to
Paxton, Jane served congregations in the Iowa Conference of the United Church
of Christ in the small town of Creston and the larger-but-still-small town of
Burlington, Iowa.
Before becoming an
ordained pastor, Jane worked in Boston as a science editor, a freelance science
writer, a teacher, and a brief stint in biological research at Harvard. In
2003, she became a full-time pastor and took her first church in Iowa.
Jane completed her
undergraduate work at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio. She has a Master of Science
degree from Boston University, and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt
Divinity School.
She has published
two Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn mysteries:
The Shadow of Death and The Hour of Death.
Website: janewillan@gmail.com
Face Book:
@authorjanewillan
Twitter: @jane_willan
I lived in England for a year or so and my husband and I ventured to Wales for long weekends of hiking. Admittedly, I have never had Welsh cakes but they look delightful and easy to make.
ReplyDeletelittle lamb lst at yahoo dot com
you will love them. Welsh cakes are a little addictive.
DeleteThe recipe looks delicious. Thank you for the recipe, and this chance! areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeletethey are so good...have them with a cup of tea!
DeleteI’ve never heard of welsh cakes before.
ReplyDeletesgiden at verizon(.)net
They are really good! I had never heard of them either until I started researching Wales for my mystery series.
DeleteI've never had a Welsh cake, but those look simple and delicious. Thanks for the recipe! mbradeen [at] yahoo [dot] com
ReplyDeleteThese look lovely.
ReplyDelete1-2 cups of sugar is quite a range. How does one decide?
libbydodd at comcast dot net
good point. 1.5 cups to mix in and a half cup for dusting.
DeleteThanks
DeleteWelcome to the Kitchen, Jane! Your books sound delightful! We visited Burlington, IA several times when I was a kid -- my dad worked for a furniture company based there -- during Steamboat Days, and I loved the river front and steamboat rides.
ReplyDeleteBurlington is a great place-- wonderful and welcoming people.
DeleteWelsh cakes look so delectable. I will pass along this recipe to my granddaughter and see if she wants to give it a shot. Your story premise sounds so interesting. I definitely need to read!
ReplyDeletepatdupuy@yahoo.com
I hope your granddaughter enjoys them and I hope you enjoy Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn!
DeleteThank you for the recipe. I have had scones, but never Welsh cakes. Thank you for the book giveaway.
ReplyDeletedebprice60@gmail.com
I don't think I've ever had Welsh cakes before. My mother is from England, and the two items she has served us were scones and crumpets. My mother loves crumpets. I do, too. I love watching the butter melt into the little holes. LOL The joys we get from food. The Welsh cakes look pretty. Perfect with tea. bluedawn95864 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteif you like crumpets and scones-- you will like welsh cakes. They are a bit heavier and more filling. Very good with tea.
DeleteI've never had welsh cakes before. These look very good.
ReplyDeleteturtle6422 at gmail dot com
I hope you bake them-- but you can also order Welsh cakes on Amazon...
DeleteI can.t wait to try those and to check out your books!
ReplyDeleteJulie.e.boynton at gmail dot com
I hope you enjoy both the Welsh cakes and the books!
DeleteThose look delicious - bet they'd be good with Welsh tea! And I happen to have some of that! Ha! Just wanted to say that Jane's books are great. Highly recommended by me and also our mystery book group! Enjoy!
ReplyDeletethanks Kay!!
Deletethank-you. New to me author. Sounds interesting. kckendler at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I hope you try out both the Welsh cakes and the books! jane
ReplyDeleteThe recipe for Welsh cakes sounds delicious. I'm not familiar with Jan Willan so it would be a pleasure to win a copy of her book. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteit is a good recipe and I hope you check out my books! drawing a winner on Weds. jane
DeleteWelsh cakes sound delicious. I never had any when I was in Wales. We stayed in Ruthin Castle but weren't really in Wales long.
ReplyDeleteI love the castles in Wales. try a Welsh cake with tea!
DeleteThanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeletejtcgc at yahoo dot com
you are welcome!
DeleteSounds good, and easy. Could you use Craisins instead of fresh cranberries?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adored THE HOUR OF DEATH, in fact I mentioned it on my blog today. I'm usually a stickler for reading in order, but made an exception with this one. Now I have to read the first. My Mom got the first from her library and loved it!
cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com
I am so glad you liked it! And thank you for mentioning it on your blog!! and "yes" to craisins. In fact, that sounds really good.
Delete