Traditional
Recipes
September
Eccles Cakes
8 oz short crust or puff pastry
2 oz (50 g) margarine
4 oz (100 g) currants
2 oz (50 g) soft brown sugar
3 oz (75 g) mixed fruit
1 oz (25 g) peel
Lemon juice
Pinch of all spice
Roll the pastry out and cut into 4 inch (10 cm) circles. Melt the margarine and add the other ingredients. Keep the mixture warm while placing a spoonful in the centre of each pastry circle. Damp the pastry around the edges and gather to cover the filling. Turn the cakes over and flatten them lightly. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with castor sugar and make 2 small cuts in the top. Bake at 375f (190c) for 20 minutes.
Harvest Cake (Fourses Cake)
1 1/2 lb (675 g) plain flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 oz (175 g) lard
1/2 oz (15 g) fresh yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 pint (450 ml) and 6 oz (175 g) currants
Make a cream of the yeast using a little sugar and warm water.
Sieve the flour, salt and mixed spice into a bowl and rub in the lard. Add
the yeast and stir in the remaining water. Mix into a smooth pliable dough.
Knead and leave to rise. Knead in the currants and place in a bread tin. Leave
until fully risen then bake at 400f (200c) for about 45 minutes.