Historic Eccles Cakes

You just know when something is worth its weight in gold in the baking stakes, and Eccles cakes are one of them. These little delights have been around since the late 1700’s and were being sold at that time by James Birch from his little corner shop in Eccles, England. Just let your mind wander into the delights of dried fruit & mixed candied peel, soft brown sugar, butter and spice encased in mouth watering buttery puff pastry. This gorgeous delight is what awaits in this bake. I take the easy route and buy my puff pastry these days. Even pastry chefs who have trained in this art have been known to do the same too! My recipe may not be 100% spot on to the original but just as delicious.

Eccles Cakes

Makes about 10

Ingredients
500g (1 lb 2 oz) pack of butter puff pastry, (I used only half and froze the rest)
25g (1 oz) soft butter
25g (1 oz) soft brown sugar
25g (1 oz) mixed candied peel, chopped
50g (2 oz) currants
½ tsp mixed spice
1 egg white
Caster sugar for the topping

You will need 2 baking trays greased or lined with non-stick mats, a round pastry cutter measuring 10cm (4 in).

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

In a bowl mix the butter, brown sugar, candied peel, currants and mixed spice.

On a lightly floured surface roll out half the quantity of puff pastry (as stated in the ingredients) thinly and cut out 10 circles measuring 10cm (4 in) each.

In the middle of each pastry circle place a teaspoonful of the mixture and draw the edges together to meet the middle and completely seal in all the filling. Turn over so the join is underneath and roll out with a rolling pin until the currants are just showing.

Place onto the prepared baking trays and leave to rest for about 10 minutes in a cool place.

With a sharp knife make three slits on top of each cake, then brush each one with egg white and sprinkle caster sugar over the top.

Place into the preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Place on a wire rack to cool.