Eccles Cakes

Before you start

Eccles cakes are small, flat rounds of flaky pastry filled with currants that have been mixed with butter, brown sugar, citrus peel and warm spices. They take their name from the town of Eccles near Manchester in England, and in Lancashire they are often eaten with a slice of crumbly Lancashire cheese, which balances the sweetness. They differ from mince pies in shape and filling: no suet, no apple and no lid; just a sealed parcel flattened until the fruit shows through.

The filling should be stiff and cool when you shape the cakes. Melted butter binds the currants and sugar and firms up as it chills, so each spoonful holds together inside the pastry. Rolling the filled ball flat is what gives the cakes their character. Press until the dark fruit just begins to show through, then cut three slashes and coat the top with egg white and sugar for a crisp, crackly crust.

Ingredients

• Filling200 g (1⅓ cups) dried currants
• 50 g (⅓ cup) mixed candied peel — finely chopped
• 60 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted
• 75 g (⅓ cup packed) dark brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• 1 orange, finely grated zest
• Pastry500 g (1.1 lb) all-butter puff or rough puff pastry — chilled
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp demerara or turbinado sugar

Method

1. Mix the currants, candied peel, melted butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice and orange zest. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, until the butter sets and the mixture clumps.
2. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
3. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Cut 10 cm (4 in) rounds, stack the scraps, roll again and cut more until you have 12.
4. Put a heaped tablespoon (about 30 g) of filling in the center of each round. Brush the edge with a little water, gather the pastry up over the filling and pinch it closed like a pouch.
5. Turn each cake seam-side down and roll it gently into a disc about 8 cm (3 in) across and 1.5 cm thick, until the currants just start to show through the pastry.
6. Arrange them on the sheet, cut three short parallel slashes across each top, brush with egg white and sprinkle generously with demerara sugar.
7. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed, deep golden and crisp, with the sugar crackled. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before eating; the filling is very hot.

Tips for success

• Cool the filling well. Soft filling pushes through the pastry while rolling flat.
• If the pastry warms while you shape, chill the filled cakes for 10 minutes before slashing and baking.
• Some juice may bubble out of the slashes and caramelize. That is normal and tastes good.

Substitutions

Currants

Raisins or chopped dried cherries work. Larger fruit makes a chunkier filling that shows through less evenly.

Mixed peel

Swap for extra zest from a lemon and an orange for a fresher, less sweet filling.

Puff pastry

Shortcrust pastry makes a Chorley-style cake: flatter and tender rather than flaky, with no sugar crust.

Variations

Brandy currant filling

Soak the currants in 2 tbsp brandy for 30 minutes before mixing the filling.

Cheese and Eccles plate

Serve warm cakes with crumbly Lancashire or a sharp cheddar and a few slices of apple.

Troubleshooting

Filling broke through the pastry

The pastry was rolled too thin or the cakes were flattened too hard. Keep the pastry at 3 mm and roll the filled cakes gently.

Cakes opened at the base

The pouch was not sealed. Moisten the edge and pinch firmly, then bake seam-side down.

Sugar topping burned

The sheet was too high in the oven. Bake on the middle rack and watch the last few minutes.

Storage

Store cooled Eccles cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, and reheat at 180°C (350°F) for 5 minutes to re-crisp. Freeze unbaked cakes for up to 2 months and bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes.

Safety notes

Contains wheat, egg and milk. Some candied peel contains sulfites, so read the label if that matters to you.