Eccles Cake (A Traditional English Pastry Recipe)
Eccles cake, a traditional British pastry from a town named Eccles in England, are very easy to make using this classic recipe and store-bought, or pre-made puff pastry.
If you’ve ever tasted an Eccles cake, you’ll be happy to be reading this as I’ve included a recipe that’s so easy to make anytime you have a craving!
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After returning from the UK, I’ve been chomping at the bit to share this Eccles cake recipe.
I visited Rye again. This is a town I’ve been visiting since I was a little girl, because my Aunt Rosa lives there. It is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever seen, with its cobblestone streets, Tudor architecture and hilltop location overlooking the English Channel, and sometimes even sharing a peek at France.
You can read more about Rye and the The Mermaid Inn, but this post is all about Eccles Cakes. When I’m in Rye, I love to wander around the historic streets, popping into food shops, charity shops and gift shops. My friend Suzanne lives nearby and has a great list of the best things to do in Rye.
One of my favorite things is peeping at the treats in bakery windows–taking photos every step of the way!
I spied this Eccles cake, decided they were going onto my “to bake” list.
One of the recipes I used was Paul Hollywood’s. If you don’t know who Paul is by now, and you’re interested in British baking, I don’t know what to say! Haha! He’s been the “male judge” on the Great British Bake Off, and I happened to spend a few days with him in Scotland a few years ago when we were both on the interview stage at the BBC Good Food Show Scotland.
I have also made his treacle sponge pudding, and did a little photo shoot by the Hollywood sign for him!
As you can see, his recipes are solid. I combined Paul’s Recipe and Delia Smith’s recipes to come up with mine! You may recognize Delia Smith’s name from my rhubarb crumble ice cream recipe. Ready to get baking?
Eccles Cake Recipe
adapted from Paul Hollywood and Delia Smith’s recipes serves 10
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- puff pastry or flaky pastry
Filling
- good quality butter
- brown sugar
- currants
- orange zest
- grated nutmeg
- allspice
- egg white
- sugar
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
Directions
Make the Eccles Cake Filling
Place the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until just melted, then remove from heat and add the rest of the filling ingredients, stir to combine and set aside to cool.
Assemble the cakes
Roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring about 6″ x 15″ (16cm x 40cm), cut lengthwise in half, then cut into 10 equal sized pieces.
Place a spoonful of filling onto the center of each square, using all of it evenly between the 10 pieces, then wet the edges of one of the squares, using your finger.
Now, hold the pastry in one hand. Close the edges together to seal the filling inside, forming it into a round shape when finished.
Next, place the pastry on a lined baking sheet, with the pinched side down and press down slightly.
Repeat with the remaining 9 Eccles Cakes. Next, make three slits on top with a very sharp knife or razor blade. Next, brush with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the Eccles Cakes
Pop into the preheated oven, on a lower shelf for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, place the tray in the middle of the oven for a further 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Finally, remove the cakes from the tray and place on a cooling rack.
All that’s left to do is enjoy one or two of these lovely pastries, along with a cup of hot tea!
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Eccles Cake (A Traditional English Pastry Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry approx 16-18 oz
- 1 Tbsp butter good quality (I like Lewis Road Creamery)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup currants
- 1 Tbsp orange zest from an organic, washed orange
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg grated
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 egg white beaten
- sugar for sprinkling on top of cakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
- Place the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until just melted, then remove from heat and add the rest of the filling ingredients, stir to combine and set aside to cool.
- Roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring about 6″ x 15″ (16cm x 40cm), cut lengthwise in half, then cut into 10 equal sized pieces.
- Place a spoonful of filling onto the center of each square, using all of it evenly between the 10 pieces, then wet the edges of one of the squares, using your finger.
- Now, hold the pastry in one hand and close the edges together to seal the filling inside, forming it into a round shape when finished.
- Place the pastry on a lined baking sheet, with the pinched side down and press down slightly.
- Repeat with the remaining 9 pastries, then make three slits on top with a very sharp knife or razor blade, brush with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
- Pop into the preheated oven, on a lower shelf for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, place the tray in the middle of the oven for a further 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from tray and place on cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dear Christina, what a beautiful trip…I wish I would go there! The cakes sound absolutely marvelous…I will be pinning these for later. xo, Catherine
I hope you do get a chance to go to Rye, Catherine! It’s actually much more beautiful in person. Let me know how you enjoy the Eccles Cakes once you make them! :) CC
what a beautiful town! i really am putting this on my travel bucket list! :) and these eccles cakes look super yummy!
You will not be disappointed in Rye or the Eccles Cakes! :) CC
Hi Christina,
What a lovely post…It is like I am in a magical land. I love the photos of all the little shops and the town of Rye. I especially love the shop that has the tea cups in the window, oh and the goodies…A beautiful little town and what lovely sights to see. I always enjoyed learning about the history of the area or country. My brother just came back from a business meeting in Switzerland, and he brought back booklets of the history behind some of the landmarks. I really enjoyed reading about them as well as the photos. It was so nice of the Royal Oak Foundation to give out the discount. A great way to see the UK. Your recipe is so inviting, I think I will join you with a cup of hot tea and have one of these “Eccles Cakes”! Thank you for sharing your recipe, I think I would be insane not to try this one..as I love all of the ingredients, especially the currants. Hope that you have a wonderful evening and a terrific day tomorrow!
Dottie :)
So glad you enjoyed the photos of Rye and the National Trust properties, Dottie! Yes, I agree-the Eccles Cakes are a must try! Thank you for your kind wishes and I hope you have a lovely rest of the week too! CC
Hi Christina – it has been a LONG time since I stopped in to say hello (lost the love/interest in blogging for a while) and just wanted to say that I LOVE your new look and that coincidentally I went to Rye in November! It was my first time and I loved it, but being good British weather it was pouring with rain – so it was lovely seeing your photos of Rye in the sunshine!
Hi Alex!! So nice to have you pop by! You did take a little bit of a break, didn’t you?!
I can’t believe you were in Rye less than a month after me! I’m so glad you got to see it, but yes, it is so much more lovely in the sunshine than in the rain (where isn’t this the case?) Thank you for your compliments and I went to your site and love your changes too! So lovely and clean! Hope you’re back to blogging! Keep in touch! CC
Wow! Looks absolutely delicious! One day, when the perennial diet is over, I will add these to my list of items to make. Of course, all the items on my list are from your website! LOVE your travel pictures!
Thanks, Annette! You are much too kind! CC
The pictures from your trip are absolutely amazing! So quaint and charming, I’d really like to travel to Scotland some day. But oh my, those cakes look positively divine. I just ate lunch and they are still making me hungry.
Thanks, Tamara! You’d truly love the Eccles cakes because they are so tasty!
Hope you do make it to Scotland one day, soon!
These pastries look divine, and that town looks idyllic! I can see where purchasing a membership to the Royal Oak Foundation would be totally worth it. I’m definitely pinning Rye for future reference, and I’m excited to see your puff pastry recipe — pastries are something I’ve always been too nervous to try.
After buying a membership the first time, I was a firm believer in always having one for our trips to the UK. We’ve been able to see so much more than if we didn’t have one. There’s no figuring out if we can afford to stop at a place as it’s always in the budget!
Actually, this pastry is much easier than puff pastry, Katie, as it’s Flaky Pastry. Not quite as fabulous as puff, but then again, not nearly as much time and effort! Recipe coming soon! CC
Hi Christina….the Eccles cakes look absolutely delicious! I am anxious to make them and most of all eat them! Thanks for the step by step pictures. You make it look very easy! I have a question though. What kind of currants do you use and where can I purchase them? Thanks…..Joanne
Hi Joanne, you’ll love them! I think they taste a lot better than they look (not that they look bad) :) Currants should be available next to raisins in any grocery store, but usually they are called Zante Currants. You’ll find them online, too. I like them a lot more than raisins. Will try to add a link to currants on Amazon on my page later. Good luck! CC