Irish Potato Cakes
Soft pan-fried cakes of cold mashed potato, flour and butter, golden outside and fluffy within.
How to Cook Irish Potato Cakes
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Mix the mash, flour, melted butter and salt until just combined.
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Pat the dough into a round 1.5 cm thick on a floured surface and cut it into 8 wedges.
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Melt the frying butter in a pan over medium heat.
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Fry the wedges for 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.
Things to Watch For
- Use cold mash.
- Handle the dough lightly.
- If the pan is too hot, the outside burns before the inside warms; lower the heat.
- Flour the surface well so the cakes do not stick.
The Short Version
Short on time? Potato cakes ask only for the mash left from last night.
The potato must be cold. Warm mash is sticky and takes up too much flour, which makes the cakes heavy. Cold mash holds together on a light touch. Work the dough as little as you can. Stir in the flour, butter and salt until just combined, then stop.
Tip the dough onto a floured surface and pat it into a round about 1.5 cm thick. Cut it into eight wedges. A thinner cake turns crisp, and a thicker one stays raw in the middle.
Fry in a dry, medium-hot pan with a little butter for about 4 minutes on each side, until the surface is spotted brown. Eat them hot, with butter melting on top. Leftover cakes can be split and fried again the next morning until crisp, which many cooks prefer to the first round.
To Go With It
Fried eggs · Grilled bacon · Grilled tomatoes · Strong tea
Leftovers
Keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in a dry pan for 3 minutes on each side.
Quick Answers
How long does Irish Potato Cakes take to make?
About 25 minutes in total — 15 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 4.
What are the key tips for making Irish Potato Cakes?
Use cold mash. Handle the dough lightly. If the pan is too hot, the outside burns before the inside warms; lower the heat. Flour the surface well so the cakes do not stick.
What should I serve with Irish Potato Cakes?
Fried eggs; Grilled bacon; Grilled tomatoes; Strong tea.
How should Irish Potato Cakes be stored?
Keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in a dry pan for 3 minutes on each side.
Is Irish Potato Cakes suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian and no added sugar. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Irish Potato Cakes?
About 229 kcal per serving, with 4 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate and 9 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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