Additional Ingredients

50 grams	Salted Butter
80 grams	Light Muscovado Sugar (Billington's)
150 grams	Currants
60 grams	Mixed Peel chopped
1 tsp	Mixed Spice
1	Orange zest of

Further Additional Ingredients

1	Egg Whites medium, beaten
1 tbsp	Golden Caster Sugar (Billington's)

How to make Eccles Cakes

• Click on the text to highlight the different stages as you go along,
  or click the button below to enlarge all text

1. To make the pastry sift the flour inot a bowl and coarsely grate the butter into the flour, holding it in the butter paper and dipping it into the flour every so often to make it easier to grate without melting.
2. Mix to coat the butter in flour, add 5-7 tablespoons of cold water, a tablespoon at a time, enough to bring the dough together using a butter knife.
3. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15-20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7.
5. Mix the butter, sugar, currants, mixed peel, mixed spice and zest with clean hands until combined well.
6. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm in thickness on a floured surface. Using a 10cm cutter or saucer, cut out 20 discs.
7. Cut a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each disc, dampen the edges with water and then draw the edges together to make a purse, squezing tightly to seal.
8. Turn each one over and flaten with the palm of your hand until the currants are peeping through the pastry.
9. Brush each with thte egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Using a sharp knife cut 3 parallel slits in each cake and place on a lined baking sheet.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until golden and a lovely caramel appears.
11. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Reviews