I’m making Eccles cakes today. I first had these when I worked at a dry cleaner’s in Providence in my late teens. My boss brought them in from a Portuguese bakery near her house. I always thought they were Portuguese in spite of the English-sounding name, but they’re not.
A and B love these sweet and flaky little currant pies. A high school friend of B’s came in the house when the Eccles cakes were cooling one afternoon. B offered him one. He took it, examined it closely, asked what was in it, and then took a tentative bite. Then he handed it back to B. “You can have the rest, dude.” Fine, more for us.
After you make the dough, you’re supposed to wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge for a while, like pie dough. I ran out of plastic wrap some time ago and haven’t bought more, and goodness knows I don’t want to waste a plastic bag on something that makes the inside buttery, so I put the dough in a Pyrex container with a lid. Well! That works just fine.
Eccles Cakes
Dough
4 c. flour
1 t. salt
2 sticks butter
1/2 c. cold water
Filling
2 boxes currants (more or less 28 oz. of currants total)
1 t. ground allspice
1/2 c. sugar (Original recipe, wherever it came from, called for 1 cup sugar. Do what you like.)
water
- Combine flour and salt.
- Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse cornmeal.
- Add water slowly until mixture clings together.
- Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll about 12 inches long. Chill rolls for 30 minutes.
- Mix filling ingredients together, adding only enough water to help the mixture hold together somewhat, about 1/3 cup.
- Cut each roll into 12 pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and butter a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
For each cake:
- Roll a piece of dough into a 6 inch round.
- Place a heaping spoonful of filling (or two) on the round.
- Gather up the dough and pinch together on top securely.
- Place on cookie sheet gathered side down. Gently press down with your palm until the filling begins to show through the pastry.
- Make 2 cross cuts through the top with a sharp knife.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Eccles cakes. Yum yum.
