Sorting through boxes of old books in the attic, we came across an old cook book from the 1950s belonging to my partner’s late mother. In it was a recipe for a dish I had never heard of: Cardiff Pudding. Alarmed that I had written a book on every conceivable aspect of Cardiff (and yes, there is a chapter on food) yet missed an actual dessert named after the bloody place, I researched it (ie: Googled) and found, to my relief, that the whole world wide web has missed Cardiff Pudding too. Not a single mention. Nor does Cardiff Pudding appear in any of the various books on Welsh food in my own library – including the bible of Welsh traditional cookery, A Taste of Wales (1973) by Theodora FitzGibbon (1916-1991).
Cardiff Pudding turns out to be a local variant of a Welsh staple, Teisen Lap, Plate Cake, made all over Wales until the industrialisation of food production and distribution eradicated home baking. Making a virtue of the grinding poverty that has been a feature of Wales for most of its history, Plate Cake is a clever response to skimp-and-save reality: using a thin plate rather than a thick pie-dish reduced the amount of expensive filling necessary. Here then is the recipe, saved for posterity.
CARDIFF PUDDING
For Pastry: 100g (4oz) plain flour, 50g (2oz) butter, pinch of salt, cold water to mix
For Topping: 2 tbsp raspberry jam, 50g (2oz) sugar, 50g (2oz) butter, grated rind ½ orange, 2 eggs separated, 75g (3oz) breadcrumbs, a little milk to mix, 1 tbsp caster sugar
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Make the pastry by cutting/rubbing the butter into the flour until it is crumb-like then mixing with enough cold water to form a firm dough
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Press the dough onto a large, oven-proof plate
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Spread the jam evenly on the dough
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In a bowl cream the sugar, butter and orange peel with a fork until pale and fluffy
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Add the beaten egg yolks and breadcrumbs and a little milk to make a soft, dropping consistency
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Spread the mixture evenly over the jam
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Bake for 30 mins, medium heat
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Meanwhile whip egg whites until very stiff
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Pile on top of cooked pudding, dredge lightly with caster sugar
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Return to oven for 5 minutes to brown
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Serve hot or cold with thick cream