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
