Traditional Eccles Cakes
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5
156 reviews
Excellent
Traditional Eccles Cakes
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Traditional Eccles Cakes are small flaky pastries filled with a spiced currant mixture flavored with candied citrus peel, warm spices, and a splash of dark rum. The buttery pastry is layered and folded to enhance flakiness, then topped with a glazed egg wash and sprinkled with demerara sugar for texture. These cakes offer a balance of sweet, citrusy, and warmly spiced flavors in a tender, crumbly envelope.
Description
Eccles Cakes begin with a rich pastry dough made from flour, salt, and cold diced butter. Careful folding and chilling of the dough creates layers that produce a flaky texture when baked. Sometimes lard is used to substitute part of the butter for greater flakiness. The dough is rolled, folded, and chilled multiple times before being shaped.
The filling features unsalted butter melted with dried currants, finely diced candied orange and lemon peel, loosely packed brown sugar, and a blend of spices including nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. A splash of dark rum adds depth. This mixture is cooked gently to combine the flavors and intensify the sweetness.
The assembled pastries are brushed with egg white and sprinkled with demerara sugar, which caramelizes during baking to add a crunchy topping. The final cakes are tender from the buttery dough with a moist, spiced currant filling highlighted by citrus notes.
Pastry dough and filling can be made days in advance and kept chilled. Multiple batches of dough can be frozen for convenience, thawed when needed while remaining chilled to preserve flakiness.
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Ingredients
- For the Pastry:
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 11 ounces butter put in the freezer for 5-10 minutes after cubing it to ensure it's very cold, very cold, diced into cubes, 2 3/4 sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 125 ml water add more if needed, ice cold
- lard for extra flaky pastries you can substitute a little lard in place of some of the butter, rendered (see recipe link
- For the filling:
- 6 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 1/2 cups currants also known as zante currants, dried
- 1/3 cup candied orange peel , very finely diced
- 1/3 cup candied lemon peel , very finely diced
- candied citrus peel We VERY STRONGLY recommend using homemade, it makes ALL the difference!, homemade
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , loosely packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dark rum (not extract)
- For topping:
- 1 egg large, white
- demerara sugar can substitute cane sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- To make the pastry dough: Place the flour, salt and cubed butter in a food processor (alternatively this can be done by hand) and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. 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 flecks of butter is 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 with one end overlapping the other. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Repeat all the steps. 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 for the egg white and demerara sugar. Turn off the heat and stir in the rum. Let the filling sit for at least 3-4 hours before using or overnight. The filling can be made a few days in 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 to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thickness. Per your preference, either cut out rounds or squares. Typical size is about 3.5 inches in diameter. *SEE BLOG POST PICTURES for instructions on making the square version of the cutouts (they're more customizable and don't waste any dough). Place the dough cutouts on a lined baking sheet. Place as much filling on the cutouts as you can while leaving an adequate edge all around them to properly seal the pastries.Lightly brush the edges with water.Gather up the edges towards the center, pressing them gently together to seal. Turn the cakes over with the sealed edges on the bottom.With the sealed edges on the bottom and the smooth surface on the top, gently press the cakes to slightly flatten them. Don't press so hard that the currants break through the dough. Use a sharp knife to cut three parallel slits in the dough.Brush with egg white and sprinkle with demerara sugar (can substitute cane sugar)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the Eccles cakes for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool until just warm.Eccles cakes are best eaten a little warm. You can reheat them in the microwave.Traditionally enjoyed with a cup of tea and accompanied by an aged, crumbly cheese (e.g., Lancashire, English cheddar) for a sweet-savory combination.
Notes
- You can prepare both the pastry dough and the filling several days ahead and keep them refrigerated to save time on baking day.
- Making extra pastry dough to freeze allows easy future use; thaw while keeping it chilled to maintain flakiness.
- Using homemade candied citrus peel greatly improves the filling's flavor compared to store-bought options.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Serving
1Eccles cake
Calories
403kcal
(20%)
Carbohydrates
46g
(15%)
Protein
3g
(6%)
Fat
19g
(29%)
Saturated Fat
11g
(55%)
Cholesterol
60mg
(20%)
Sodium
338mg
(14%)
Potassium
190mg
(4%)
Fiber
2g
(8%)
Sugar
27g
(54%)
Vitamin A
720IU
(14%)
Vitamin C
0.7mg
(1%)
Calcium
34mg
(3%)
Iron
2mg
(11%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 14Eccles cakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 403 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1Eccles cake | |
| Calories | 403kcal | 20% |
| Carbohydrates | 46g | 15% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat | 11g | 55% |
| Cholesterol | 60mg | 20% |
| Sodium | 338mg | 14% |
| Potassium | 190mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 27g | 54% |
| Vitamin A | 720IU | 14% |
| Vitamin C | 0.7mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 34mg | 3% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
156 reviews
Excellent
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