Eccles Cakes
Traditional Eccles Cakes made with flaky puff pastry and a sweet, spiced currant filling. This easy recipe uses ready-roll pastry for a quick, classic British bake that’s crisp, golden and perfectly moreish.
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Servings: 10
INGREDIENTS
- 320 g Ready-roll Puff Pastry
- 75 g Block Margarine or Butter
- 175 g Currants
- 50 g Dried Mixed Peel (Candied Mixed Peel)
- 50 g Demerera Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- Beaton Egg or Milk (for glazing)
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 200°c (180°c for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 6 or 400°F). Line a couple of baking sheets with greaseproof paper, then set them aside.
- In a large pan, melt the margarine/butter. Remove from the heat before adding the currants, mixed peel, sugar and spice. Mix together until combined, then set aside to cool, while you prepare the pastry.
- If using ready-rolled pastry, simply roll it out on a work surface. If not using ready-rolled, roll your pastry to about 3mm thick. Using a 10cm round cutter (or a small plate as a template), cut your pastry to make 9-10 circles, folding and re-rolling the pastry offcuts as required.
- Add around a heaped tablespoon of the currant mixture to the centre of each, evenly dividing it between the pastry circles, leaving a little space around the edges of the pastry.
- Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water, then stretch and pinch the edges inwards together to seal until all the currant mixture is contained in a little parcel.
- Flip the pastry over and place the Eccles cake, pinched side down, on your pre-lined baking sheet. Brush with a little beaten egg or milk, before scoring a few lines on top and sprinkling with a little excess sugar.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool a little before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
NOTES:
Storage:
Store your Eccles Cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The pastry is best enjoyed on the day of baking but will still be delicious the next day. If your Eccles Cakes have softened slightly, you can pop them in a warm oven (around 160°C fan-assisted ovens) for 5-10 minutes to crisp the pastry back up.Freezing (before baking):
You can freeze Eccles Cakes before baking. Assemble them as normal up to step 6. Place on a baking tray and freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding an extra 3-5 minutes to the baking time.Substitutions:
- Currants: If you aren't a fan of currants or have other dried fruit to use up, you can use any combo of dried fruits - just be sure to use the weight over all weight.
- Mixed Peel: If you don’t have dried mixed peel, you can replace it with extra currants or raisins. To resemble the flavour the mixed peel gives, try adding a little orange zest to the filling.
- Sugar: I like to use Demerara sugar for both flavour and texture, but you can swap it for Granulated or Caster sugar, should you prefer.
- Glazing options: You can use either beaten egg or milk to glaze your Eccles Cakes. Egg gives a slightly deeper golden colour, while milk gives a lighter finish.
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