Sourdough Welsh Cakes with White Chocolate and Raisins

This month’s Sourdough Surprises is all about griddle cakes. I am over a week late posting because I just kept getting distracted from making my choice. I chose to make Welsh cakes. Welsh cakes are described as a little biscuit-like They remind me of scones actually. Typically they have currants. But I used white chocolate along with raisins. I really enjoyed them and these are definitely going to be made again soon. The sourdough starter is only used to add a little tang to the cakes as I used baking powder as the main leavening. Next time I will try with only the starter added. I’ll probably do a cold ferment then - who knows? But the current version is definitely an option is you have discard starter that you don’t want to actually discard

Sourdough Welsh Cakes with White Chocolate and Raisins

Adapted from BBC

Ingredients
200 grams flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon salt
100 grams butter
85 grams sugar
50 grams raisins
50 grams white chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten
50 grams 100% hydration sourdough starter

Directions

Heat a griddle or large pan over medium heat. Lightly grease.

Mix flour, baking powder, mixed spice and salt together. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the sugar, raisins, and white chocolate chips. Add the beaten egg and the sourdough starter. Mix to form a firm dough. It shouldn’t be sticky.

Roll out to a ¼ inch then cut out 2.5 to 3 inch rounds. Cook over medium heat about 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. The edges should be dry.

Sprinkle with sugar before serving.

Notes
The original recipe said 3 minutes per side over low heat. I wasn’t successful with that but it could just be that my pan wasn’t hot enough. Start with one Welsh cake and figure out the best timing for you.
Welsh cakes are sometimes dusted with powdered sugar. However, with raisins and white chocolate, I found this to be already plenty sweet. It didn’t need additional sugar.