Ingredients
Pastry
- 500 gall-butter puff pastry
Filling
- 250 gcurrants
- 50 gbutter, melted
- 75 gdark brown sugar
- 50 gmixed peel
- 1 tspground allspice
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- zest of 1 orange
To finish
- 1egg white, beaten
- demerara sugar
Directions
- Mix the currants with the melted butter, brown sugar, peel, spices and orange zest, and leave it for 30 minutes.
- Use currants rather than raisins or sultanas. They are smaller, drier and far more intense, and the substitution shows immediately.
- Roll the pastry to about 4 mm and cut rounds of 10 cm.
- Put a heaped tablespoon of filling into the centre of each round.
- Gather the pastry up over the filling like a purse, pinch it firmly closed, and turn it over so the seam sits underneath.
- Flatten each one gently with a rolling pin until the currants show faintly through the pastry without breaking through it.
- That flattening is the point. An Eccles cake should be packed so full that the fruit shows dark under the surface, and a thick half-empty one has missed what it is for.
- Brush the tops with beaten egg white and dip them into demerara sugar.
- Cut three short slashes across the top of each, which lets the steam out and is the traditional mark.
- Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and deep golden with the sugar crystallised on top.
- Cool on a rack, because the filling is molten and will burn.
- Serve warm, and in Lancashire with a slice of crumbly Lancashire cheese, which is the local pairing and is genuinely very good.
Technique
- They are named after Eccles near Manchester, where James Birch is said to have sold them commercially from 1793.
- Three slashes on top is the convention that distinguishes them from a Chorley cake, which is made with shortcrust and is flatter.
- All-butter puff makes a real difference here, because there is very little else in the pastry to taste.
Substitutions
- Rough puff made at home, which is quicker than full puff and perfectly adequate.
- Raisins chopped small if currants are unavailable, accepting the difference.
Variations
- With a splash of rum in the filling.
- Chorley cakes, made with shortcrust and less sugar.
- Made small, as one-bite versions for a tea table.
History
Named after Eccles near Manchester, where James Birch is said to have sold them commercially from 1793.
Frequently asked questions
What is Eccles cake?
Eccles cake is a bread & pastry from United Kingdom: flaky butter pastry round packed with spiced currants, sugar-crusted on top. Named after Eccles near Manchester, where James Birch is said to have sold them commercially from 1793.
How long does Eccles cake take to make?
Eccles cake takes 30 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 cakes. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Eccles cake?
Yes, within limits. Rough puff made at home, which is quicker than full puff and perfectly adequate. Raisins chopped small if currants are unavailable, accepting the difference.
What is the most important thing to get right in Eccles cake?
Use currants rather than raisins or sultanas. They are smaller, drier and far more intense, and the substitution shows immediately.
