Eccles Cake (Lancashire)
Serves: 8 -10. Prep & Cook: 45 mins.
INGREDIENTS:
Pastry:
- 1 sheet (approx. 320g – 500g) ready-rolled puff pastry (not short crust pastry)
Filling:
- 160g currants
- 40g caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 40g unsalted butter, melted
The glaze:
- 1 beaten egg white
METHOD:
- Mix the currants, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Stir to combine then pour over the melted butter. Stir again to incorporate and set aside, leave to cool.
- Unroll the puff pastry and cut into 8–10 circles (using a pastry/cookie cutter or large lid from a jar) or into 10cm/4″ squares
- Place a large tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each pastry piece.
- Using a pasty brush, dampen the edges with water, bring corners/edges up, and pinch tightly to seal.
- Turn each Eccles cake the other way up, so the seals are underneath, dust the surface with a little flour, then shape it into a round with your hands.
- Either, pierce some holes in the top of the pastry, using a toothpick or thin needle, or use a sharp knife to make three slashes across the pastry. These holes act as vents, allowing steam to escape from the fruit-filled pastry during baking; preventing the cakes from exploding.
- Brush each cake with beaten egg white
- Preheat your oven to 200°C fan (400°F, Gas Mark 6) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Bake them on a high-ish shelf for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
The cakes can be store in an airtight tin; they also freeze well for up to a month.
