Snack

Eccles Cakes

Name: Eccles Cakes
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 125 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g butter, diced and frozen until very hard; 350g plain flour; lemon, juiced, juice of 1/2; 25g butter, melted; 200g currants; 50g mixed peel; 100g muscovado sugar; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp ginger; 1 tsp allspice; lemon, zested, zest of 1; 1 egg, beaten; sugar, for sprinkling, spinkling; 100ml water, iced

Traditional British flaky pastry cakes filled with spiced currants, mixed peel, and muscovado sugar.

2 hr 5 min
550 kcal
Vegetarian
British
Dessert

Mellowpan tip: Makes 8 servings, plenty to share.

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Ingredients

For 8 servings

Steps

Step 1:
Dice the butter and put it in the freezer until very hard.
Step 2:
Put the flour and half the butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Step 3:
Add the lemon juice and 100ml iced water, then pulse to form a dough.
Step 4:
Add the remaining butter and pulse a few times, leaving the dough heavily flecked with butter; do not overwork it.
Step 5:
On a floured surface, roll the pastry into a neat rectangle about 20 x 30cm.
Step 6:
Fold the two ends of the pastry into the middle, then fold it in half.
Step 7:
Roll out the pastry and repeat the same folding process 3 more times, resting it for at least 15 minutes between each rolling and folding.
15 min
Step 8:
Rest the pastry in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.
30 min
Step 9:
Melt the butter for the filling in a large saucepan.
Step 10:
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in all the remaining filling ingredients until completely mixed. Set aside.
Step 11:
Roll out the pastry until just a little thicker than a £1 coin, then cut out 8 rounds about 12cm across. Re-roll the trimmings if needed.
Step 12:
Put a good heaped tablespoon of filling in the middle of each round.
Step 13:
Brush the edges with water, gather the pastry around the filling, and squeeze it together.
Step 14:
Turn the cakes over so the smooth side is uppermost and pat each into a smooth round.
Step 15:
Flatten each round with a rolling pin into an oval until the fruit just begins to poke through, then place on a baking tray.
Step 16:
Cut 2 small slits in each cake, brush generously with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.
Step 17:
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8.
Step 18:
Bake for 15–20 minutes, until just past golden brown and sticky.
15–20 min
Step 19:
Cool on a rack and serve warm or cold with tea, if desired.