These Vegan Welsh Cakes are sweet and tender with a lightly crisp exterior and a hint of cinnamon flavour. Make them from scratch in under 30 minutes, with just a handful of simple ingredients. Serve them warm from the pan slathered in melty vegan butter – what a treat!
We discovered the infamous traditional Welsh Cakes (or Pice ar y maen) on a recent stay in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Serving them warm from the toaster with a slick of vegan butter on top was such a delicious treat. I just knew I had to re-create them when I got home!
Similar to a mini-pancake, but with a thicker texture, this vegan version of the classic Welsh griddle cakes are delicately flavoured with cinnamon and filled with sweet sultanas. They’re incredibly quick and easy to make and require just 6 main ingredients (plus salt and oil for frying), all of which you’re likely to already have in your pantry.
This Vegan Welsh Cakes recipe is the perfect addition to your St David’s Day feast this year. Happy St David’s Day to all those who celebrate!
Quick links:
- The written recipe
- The video recipe
- Success tips
- Step by step instructions with photos
- FAQs
- Other incredible recipes like this one
Success Tips
- Substitutes. You can substitute the sultanas for raisins in this recipe, or you may like to try vegan chocolate chips instead. Keep everything else as is for the best vegan Welsh Cakes – in the absence of eggs you’ll need the rise of a self-raising flour (rather than traditional plain flour) and caster sugar is the best sugar for this recipe.
- Handle the dough gently. Once combined, the dough will have a similar consistency to pastry dough. Handle the dough as little as possible – just enough to bring it together into a ball.
- Don’t roll the dough too thin. When you come to roll out the dough, aim for around 3/4 cm thick (1/3″), or around the thickness of your little finger.
- Cook over a medium heat. Don’t have your pan too hot otherwise your vegan Welsh cakes could burn before cooking through. Fry over medium to medium-high heat until the cakes are golden on both sides.
- Serving. The best way to enjoy this vegan version of classic Welsh Cakes is served warm with a generous slathering of non dairy butter. They are also delicious on their own and at room temperature!
- Storing. Cool any leftover Welsh Cakes on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature. They are best enjoyed within 2 days.
How to make this Vegan Welsh Cakes recipe
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients that you’ll need for this vegan recipe:
- Refrigerated items: Dairy free margarine and a plant based milk of your choice (almond milk works well but soya milk or oat milk will also do). You want to use spreadable margarine (chilled) for this recipe, not the solid block butter kind. Make sure the margarine is refrigerated, don’t use it at room temperature otherwise it’ll be too soft.
- Pantry items: Self raising flour, caster sugar, sultanas, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. You can substitute the sultanas for raisins or vegan chocolate chips if you prefer.
- Plus a mild-flavoured oil for frying. We like to use coconut oil.
Equipment
You’ll need a spatula and a frying pan (ideally a heavy-bottomed frying pan for optimal heat distribution) for this vegan welsh cake recipe.
Method
Make sure to head to the recipe card below for the full recipe and instructions!
Here’s how to make these beautiful little cakes:
Mix the dry ingredients. First stir together the flour, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
Rub in the margarine. Add the vegan margarine to the bowl with the flour mixture. Rub the mixture together between your hands until it is a breadcrumb consistency.
Tip: Take a look at the recipe video for a visual example.
Stir in the remaining ingredients. Stir the caster sugar and dried fruit (sultanas or raisins) into the breadcrumb-like mixture. Add the dairy free milk and bring the dough together into a ball. Handle the dough as gently as possible and don’t knead it.
Roll out the dough. Sprinkle a little flour on a smooth work surface. Gently roll out the dough on the lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. The dough should be soft to the touch, similar to pastry dough. Aim to roll the dough out to around 6-7 mm thickness (3/4cm or 1/3”) and then use a 7cm (2.5”) round cutter (cookie cutter / pastry cutter) to cut out your Welsh cakes.
Cook the cakes. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the Welsh cakes for around 2-3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and cooked through. Alternatively, you can use a cast iron pan or traditional griddle if you have one.
FAQs
What is the difference between a Welsh cake and a scone?
Two classics in British baking, the Welsh cake and scone are quite different. A Welsh cake is a flat, round cake that looks similar to a thick pancake. Scones are much thicker and rise higher, looking more like a traditional (albeit miniature) cake.
Neither treat is overly sweet and both include dried fruit, although the scone can also be made without. Welsh cakes can be served hot or cold, sometimes dusted in caster sugar or served with butter, but often eaten plain. Scones are almost always served cold with an accompaniment, sometimes butter but more often with jam and cream (in that order if you’re Cornish!) to make a cream tea.
Can I use plain flour instead of self raising flour to make these vegan Welsh cakes?
Because we are not using eggs in this recipe, we’ve substituted the traditional plain flour with self raising flour to replicate some of the rise you would get from using eggs in a traditional recipe.
Whilst we haven’t tested it for this specific recipe, you should be able to substitute the 225g of self raising flour for 225g plain flour (all purpose flour) plus 2 1/4 tsp of baking powder, to give a similar level of rise.
Which of the non-dairy milks should I use to make vegan Welsh cakes?
We find that almond milk works well in most vegan baking, however you could also use soya milk, oat milk or your favourite plant milk in this dairy-free recipe.
More delicious vegan sweet treats to try
- Cinnamon Raisin Oat Cookies
- Banoffee Pie Cupcakes with a Caramel Centre
- Carrot Cake Baked Doughnuts (gluten free!)
- Biscoff Billionaire’s Shortbread
- Fruity Lemonade Scones
I hope you enjoy these Vegan Welsh Cakes! Please share this recipe with someone you think will love it because it’s our goal to encourage as many people as possible to try plant based eating.
Also, don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you make this recipe. I absolutely love seeing your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x
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The Video Recipe:
The Vegan Welsh Cakes Recipe:
The Best Vegan Welsh Cakes (Quick & Easy Recipe)
Ingredients
- 225 g self raising flour
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g dairy free margarine
- 50 g caster sugar
- 50 g sultanas
- 70 g dairy free milk
- 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon and salt.225 g self raising flour, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, Pinch of salt
- Rub in the margarine to form a breadcrumb consistency.100 g dairy free margarine
- Stir in the caster sugar and sultanas.50 g caster sugar, 50 g sultanas
- Add the dairy free milk and stir together to form a dough. Handle the dough lightly and don't knead it.70 g dairy free milk
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 3/4 cm (1/3”) thick. Use a 7cm (2.5”) round cookie cutter to cut out 12 Welsh cakes, re-rolling the dough as necessary to use up any offcuts.
- Heat a lightly greased skillet or large frying pan and fry the Welsh cakes for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden. You can fry a few at a time, we tend to do these in two batches.1 tsp oil
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tara
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
