Name: Eccles Cakes
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g Butter; 350g Plain Flour; Juice of 1/2 Lemon; 25g Butter; 200g Currants; 50g Mixed Peel; 100g Muscovado Sugar; 1 tsp Cinnamon; 1 tsp Ginger; 1 tsp Allspice; Zest of 1 Lemon; 1 beaten Eggs; spinkling Sugar

Dessert

12 servings

373 cal/serving

Instructions

Step 1

Dice the butter and freeze until very firm

Butter

Step 2

Tip the plain flour and half the frozen butter into a food processor and pulse to breadcrumbs

Plain FlourButter

Step 3

Add the lemon juice and iced water and pulse to form a dough

Lemon

Step 4

Tip in the remaining butter and pulse a few times until the dough is flecked with butter

Butter

Step 5

Roll the pastry into a 20x30cm rectangle, fold the two ends into the middle, then fold in half

Step 6

Repeat roll and fold three more times, resting at least 15 minutes between each roll, then chill the pastry for at least 30 minutes

Step 7

Melt the smaller butter in a saucepan

Butter

Step 8

Remove from heat and stir in currants, mixed peel, muscovado sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and lemon zest until completely mixed, then set aside

CurrantsMixed PeelMuscovado SugarCinnamonGingerAllspiceLemon

Step 9

Roll the rested pastry until slightly thicker than a £1 coin and cut eight 12cm rounds

Step 10

Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each round, brush the edges with water and gather the pastry around the filling, squeezing to seal

Step 11

Flip each sealed parcel smooth side up and pat into a smooth round

Step 12

Flatten each round to an oval until the fruit just starts to poke through and place on a baking tray

Step 13

Cut two small slits in each cake, brush generously with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar

EggsSugar

Step 14

Heat the oven to 450°F and bake the cakes for 15–20 minutes until golden and sticky.

Step 15

Cool the cakes on a rack and serve warm or cold