Eccles Cake Recipe

Traditional Eccles Cake

One of Britain's famous and Beloved Pastries, these traditional and authentic Eccles Cake is delightfully flaky and packed with a mixture of sweet Currents, Candied citrus peel and Spices, and the Eccles also known as most loved tea treat, and for kids, it’s a fun fun time treat. Eccles cakes are best eaten a little warm, you can reheat them in the microwave. The quality of pastry is absolutely key, is a kind of flaky not puff pastry, and to make them a great delight is stuff with a sumptuous amount of filling.

Eccles Cake

 I have made many tea time cakes; Ravacake, Simple lemon cake with glaze, and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti, this is one of the most delicious pastries you have ever tasted. Technically it's not a cake,  Eccles cakes are pastry from the Eccles town, part of Greater Manchester also people know it Manchester-made confectioner that ranks world’s best-baked goods. Like other cakes, the origin is festival based. These cakes were made for the Feast Day of the St. Mary in Eccles, whose town festival known as Eccles cake.

This is simply made as we bake puff pastries with the untreated floor, butter, and salt; filled with a handful of dried fruits, buttery, sugary mixture and baking to flaky golden brown colour and really easy to make and for the adult the version you can add a few spoons of brandy if you prefer. Eccles cakes are around 4cm in diameter because of the hand made no two are the same in shape.

 Prep Time 1hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1hour 20 minutes

Eccles Cake

Ingredients for the Pastry

275 grams very cold butter, diced into cubes (put in the freezer for 5-10mimutes after cubing it to ensure it's very cold)

3 cups plus 1 tbsp (350 grams) all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt

125 ml ice-cold water 

Ingredients For Filling

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups dried currants (tiny raisins)

1/3 cup candied orange peel, very finely diced

1/3 cup candied lemon peel, very finely diced

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tbsp salt

1 tbsp dark rum

1 large egg white, for topping

Demerara sugar, for sprinkling (can substitute cane sugar)

Directions

To make the pastry dough. Put the flour, salt, and cubed butter in a food processor (alternatively this can be done by hand) and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Gradually add the ice-cold water and pulse just until the dough comes together (only add as much water as needed.) Do not overdo this as maintaining the flacks of butter are critical to achieving a flaky pastry.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold each end of the dough into the middle within one end overlapping the other. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Repeat the steps again, Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Repeat the steps again, wrap the dough and chill for at least one hour before using. The pastry dough can be made a few days in advance or frozen.

To make the filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add all remaining ingredients except egg white and demerara sugar. Turn off the heat and stir in the rum. Let the filling sit for at least 3-4 hours or over the night before using it. The filling sits at room advance, if refrigerated, let the filling sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes before filling the Eccles Cakes.

To assemble the Eccles cakes flour a work surface and roll the pastry out between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Either cut out or round/ squares. Place the dough cutout on a lined baking sheet, place as much filling on the cutouts as you can to properly sealed edges on the bottom. With the seal's edges on the bottom and the smooth surface on the top, gently press to flatten them, brush with egg white and sprinkle sugar. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, bake the Eccles Cake for about 20 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool until just warm. These cakes keep well for about 2-3 days in an airtight container, enjoy with a cup of the tea.