Our British friend Julie arrived in Fayette in early June for an extended visit, bringing gifts of a historic and consumable nature — Eccles Cakes — along with a recipe and written history of this venerated English sweet.
A round, flaky pastry filled with currants, nutmeg, cinnamon and citrus peel, it is a pleasure to the palate and a favorite companion to that solid British tradition — afternoon tea.
No one can be certain of the date that Eccles Cakes were first manufactured, Julie told us, but historians are fairly certain that the origins of these pastries can be traced to the town of Eccles, now a suburb of Manchester.
According to the written history, “Eccles” means “church” and is a derivative of the Greek “Ecclesia,” which means an assembly, and that “it is reasonable to assume that the town takes its name from the old church, constructed in 1111 A.D., around which it grew.”
The history also noted that each year during passing centuries a service was held at the church to celebrate its construction. This became known as the “Eccles Wakes” and was followed by a fair during which food and drink could be purchased, including the popular Eccles Cakes.
When Oliver Cromwell gained power in 1650, both the wakes and eating of Eccles Cakes were banned because of the Puritan belief that they both had pagan connections. But the prohibition of both obviously did not hold.
ECCLES CAKES
For the filling:
3 ounces unsalted butter
5 ounces soft brown sugar
5 ounces currants
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 orange, juice and finely ground zest
2 ounces mixed citrus peel
For the pastry:
1 to 2 ounces butter, for greasing
1 block ready-made puff pastry
Flour, for dusting
2 to 3 tablespoons milk, for glazing
Sugar, for dusting
Powdered sugar, for dusting
For the filling, melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in all remaining filling ingredients thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease baking pan with butter or use parchment paper.
For the pastry, roll out pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Using a 3-1/2-inch cutter, cut pastry into rounds.
Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each round, then brush edges of half the pastry with milk. Bring other half of pastry over and seal the round.
Turn the sealed pastry parcel over, with seam underneath, then gently roll out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Gently pat back into a round shape and place on a greased baking tray.
Slash each cake across three times using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush cakes with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and puffed up. Transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool.
Dust cakes with powdered sugar before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.
