← Nouns Cooking · British & Irish

Ingredients

• 225 g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 85 g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp Mixed spice
• 1 pinch Salt
• 100 g cold butter, diced, plus extra for the pan
• 50 g currants or sultanas
• 1 Eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp Milk (optional)

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar, mixed spice and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the currants.
2. Add the egg and mix to a firm dough, adding a splash of milk if it feels dry.
3. Roll out on a floured surface to about 5 mm thick and cut into rounds with a 6 cm cutter, re-rolling the trimmings.
4. Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan over medium-low heat and rub it with a little butter. Cook the cakes in batches for 2–3 min per side until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Dust with caster sugar while still warm. Eat warm or cool, with butter or jam.

Tips

• Keep the heat gentle: too hot and they burn before the middle cooks.
• Traditional recipes use half butter, half lard for a shorter texture, but lard is not vegetarian.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Great British Chefs BBC Food Olive Magazine