Wonderful Welsh Cakes Jammed with Summer Berries & Vanilla Cream

Step 1: Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and mixed spice.

Step 2: Cut up the butter and add to the bowl with a pinch of salt. Use your hands to rub it all together until you get a fine breadcrumb consistency.

Step 3: Toss in the dried fruit, then make a well in the centre of the mixture and crack in the egg.

Step 4: Add a splash of milk and use a fork to beat and mix in the egg. Once combined, use your clean hands to pat and bring the mixture together until you have a dough. It should be fairly short, so don’t work it too much.

Step 5: Put a large heavy-bottomed non-stick frying pan on a medium heat.

Step 6: While it’s heating up, dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out until it’s about 1cm thick.

Step 7: Use a 5cm pastry cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Scrunch the remaining scraps of dough together, then roll out and cut out a few more.

Step 8: To test the temperature, cook one Welsh cake in the pan for a few minutes to act as a thermometer. If the surface is blonde, turn the heat up a little; if it’s black, turn the heat down – leave for a few minutes for the heat to correct itself, then try again.

Step 9: When you've got a golden cake after 4 minutes on each side, you're in a really good place and you can cook the rest in batches. It’s all about control.

Step 10: As soon as they come off the pan, put them on a wire rack to cool and sprinkle them with caster sugar.

Step 11: You can serve them just like this, as they are. Or, if you want to do what I've done, gently cut each cake in half while turning so you get a top and a bottom.

Step 12: Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla paste together until you have soft peaks.

Step 13: Put the berries into a bowl, slicing up any big ones, and toss them with the juice of 1 lemon and a sprinkling of sugar.

Step 14: Open the cakes up, and add a little dollop of cream and a few berries to each one.

Step 15: Makes 35 - 40