One of Mikes most favourite things is a good Eccles cake. Note the adjective, just any old Eccles isn’t good enough. It has to be a good one. He knows what he likes does Mike.
For ages, I’ve been meaning to have a go at making them and today, I finally got round to it.
I thought I’d saved a recipe on Pinterest, but apparently not. So Google came into play and one of the first recipes that came up was a Delia one. Delia’s recipes always work, so I thought I’d have a go at that one.
I’d bought some puff pastry in preparation, but Delia’s recipe uses flaky pastry. Poop. Oh well, I’ll use the puff pastry anyway.
I tweaked the recipe of course and I think it’ll cost up
I used…..
Half a pack of puff pastry, Asda £1.25/500g, 62p
25g butter Asda 85p/250g, 8p
60g soft brown sugar, Asda £1.39/500g, 17p
75g currants or mixed fruit, Asda 84p/500g, 13p
2 tblsps lemon juice, Asda 50p/250ml, 6p
Tsp mixed spice, Asda 70p/33g, 10p
A good grating of nutmeg, Asda £1.70/25g, 5p?
Total cost £1.21. Makes 8 Eccles cakes, so 15p each. Considering that Eccles class cost around £1 each, that’s quite a saving!
Nutrition per Eccles cake – 200 calories, 25g carbs, 10g fat, 2g protein
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add all the other filling ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust if necessary. Leave to cool.
Roll out the pastry to a rectangle about 16cm X 40cm. Cut into half down the length, then into 4 squares each side. Divide the mixture between the squares. Moisten the edges and pinch the edges together to seal, turn them over so that the seal us on the bottom.
Brush the tops with water and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
Bake the Eccles cakes in a moderate oven until golden. Mine leaked sticky juice all over the baking sheet, so I was very glad I’d put them on a silicone sheet. Put them on something that will absorb the juices or something or they will weld themselves to the baking tray.
These were extremely good and will definitely be made again. I’ve got the other half of that packet of puff pastry! I’ll have to have a go at making both puff and flaky pastry now!
Ooh, adding an egg is a good idea. I’ll try that next time, thanks
I used to make and sell Eccles cakes over the last couple or three years in France and I always added an egg (or 2 depending on quantity I was doing. This will bind the mixture and it is less likely to run. Also, chill the mixture very well before making the Eccles cakes. I used white sugar and when the ‘patty’ was formed, I brushed with egg and sprinkled with sugar before baking. I have to say, at the time we had chickens so using the eggs was next to nothing but the times I got asked for my recipe ! ! !
Excellent! That’s what I like to hear.
How did you get to where you are without having had an Eccles, Mike would consider that to be downright weird . Seriously, glad you liked them
Since we’ve never had Eccles cakes before, it’s really hard to say if they tasted the way an Eccles cake should. Regardless of that fact, both my partner and I loved them both for the taste and for how easy it was to make them.
They did indeed pass Mike’s taste test, that’s sort of why I called them really good. I wouldn’t describe them as summery, but yes, they are similar to a mince pie. The mainly currants filling makes them different.
Did they pass Mike’s taste test?
I’ve never tried an Eccles cake – does it taste like a summery, less heavily spiced mince pie? I might have to try this for OH. I never buy pre-prepared sweet treats and he sometimes complains of a 3pm dip at work. These might be just the ticket!