Traditional British Eccles cakes — flaky rough-puff pastry rounds filled with spiced currants and peel, baked until golden and sticky. Lovely warm with a wedge of cheese.
Eccles cakes are a British classic — flaky, buttery rough-puff pastry parcels bursting with spiced, sugary currants that caramelise as they bake. The fruit peeking through the pastry is part of their rustic charm, and that contrast of crisp, sugar-crackled top and juicy filling is hard to beat. Wonderful warm with a wedge of crumbly Lancashire cheese.
Prep 75 min
Cook 20 min
Total 95 min
Medium
- 350g Plain Flour
- 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
Tags:
Snack TreatVideo
Preparation
- For the pastry, dice the butter and freeze until really hard. Tip the flour into a food processor with half the butter and pulse to breadcrumbs. Pour in the lemon juice and 100ml iced water and pulse to a dough, then add the rest of the butter and pulse a few times until heavily flecked — don't overdo it, as the butter flecks make it flaky.
- On a floured surface, roll the pastry out to a neat 20 x 30cm rectangle. Fold the two ends into the middle, then fold in half, roll out again, and repeat 3 more times, resting the pastry for at least 15 minutes between each roll and fold, then chill for at least 30 minutes.
- For the filling, melt the butter in a large saucepan, take off the heat, and stir in all the other ingredients until mixed, then set aside.
- Roll the pastry out a little thicker than a £1 coin and cut out 8 rounds about 12cm across. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the middle of each, brush the edges with water, gather the pastry around the filling, and squeeze together. Flip so the smooth side is up, pat into a round, and flatten with a rolling pin to an oval until the fruit just pokes through, then place on a baking tray. Cut 2 small slits in each, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.
- Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8 and bake for 15–20 minutes until just past golden and sticky. Cool on a rack and enjoy warm or cold.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Keep the butter very cold and the flecks visible — those are what make the pastry shatteringly flaky.
- Rest and chill the pastry between folds; warm pastry tears and loses its layers.
- Cut the two small slits in the top so steam escapes and the fruit just pokes through without bursting messily.
- Brush with egg white and a generous sprinkle of sugar for that signature crackly, glistening finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — a good all-butter puff pastry is a fine shortcut. The homemade rough-puff has more flavour, but no one will complain about the easy version.
They're close cousins. Eccles cakes use flaky puff pastry and more sugar, while Chorley cakes use shortcrust and are less sweet.
Either overfilled or the edges weren't sealed well. Use a heaped tablespoon, brush the edges with water, and pinch them firmly closed.
Keep in an airtight tin for two to three days. Warm briefly in the oven to revive the crispness before serving.
