An American visiting Wales was flabbergasted after initially calling Welsh Cakes “junk.”
Kalani Smith, known as @kalanighosthunter on TikTok, has almost three million followers and has tried some of Britain’s most iconic dishes – from Cadbury Cream eggs in a pie dish and mash them finely.
In a video that has been viewed more than 413,900 times, the man from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, decides to give the humble Welsh delicacy a try after discovering that the one he tasted at Morrisons was awful.
When the content creator visited Cardiff’s historic market, he had high hopes for the snack, saying the snacks smelled ‘heavenly’ when he approached the stand.
While talking to an employee at Cardiff Bakestones, the American was amazed by the many different flavors of the biscuit-like dish traditionally made from raisins or sultanas
Kalani Smith (pictured), who goes by TikTok handle @kalanighosthunter, was left stunned after taking a bite of a Welsh cake from the Cardiff market
Kalani looked intently at the variety of golden-brown baked treats and selected a traditional Welsh cake, as well as a chocolate cake and another filled with jam and cream.
When he got down to business in his review for his 3 million followers, he joked: ‘Okay, so they’ve provided us with fresh Welsh cakes that are warm.’
Kalani was initially tempted to cheat on the taste test and go straight for the Welsh chocolate chip cake, but he devoured the traditional pastry instead.
Referring to his first – and negative – Welsh cake from Morrisons, the TikToker added: ‘It’s [the welsh cake] so much better.
‘I think this dish is very nice with a cup of tea or a glass of milk, but it is warm, a bit like a pancake. I give the fresh Welsh cake a delicious 9.4.’
Next up was the chocolate cake. Kalani figured he would like that one the most, since he loves chocolate.
“Oh man. This is heavenly,” he muttered as he took his first bite, before adding, “It’s like a chocolate chip pancake in your hand, only fluffier — that’s a ten.”
Finally, the content creator tried the Welsh cake filled with jam and cream, which he compared to a ‘scone’.
Of the three dishes, the chocolate biscuits were the tastiest, followed by the sweet jam-scone flavoured treat and lastly the traditional Welsh cake.
“My favorite is probably the chocolate chips with jam and cream second, and the traditional third,” he said.
“Just because I love something knitted and it reminds me of a pancake, but the chocolate chip is heavenly.”
The Welsh people pounced on the reactions and were delighted to see the American enjoying the sweet treat.
He originally dubbed the traditional sweet treat ‘trash’ after a bad experience with Morrisons, but later fell in love with the baked treats after trying them again
Thousands of viewers flooded his comments section with more desserts he should try from Wales, including bara brith and Joe’s ice cream
“A Welsh cake and a cup of tea… there’s nothing better,” someone joked.
A second beamed: ‘Traditional, straight from the baking sheet, with lots of sugar.’
“These Welsh Cakes are a real cracker,” enthused a third.
“There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing a grown man bite into a fresh Welsh cake for the first time,” said one viewer.
One of them encouraged him to go to Swansea and try Joe’s ice cream, while another urged him to try bara brith, another traditional Welsh butter dessert.