Eccles Cakes - When It's Wet and Miserable - Bake I Say

The weather was crap yesterday and I felt like something sweet for afternoon tea.Something quick and easy

So I got out one of my very old recipe books and Eccles Cakes caught my eye. Good oh, I have all the ingredients. So I whipped up a batch. 

 The recipe, I found was rather slack I felt, a bit lacking in ingredients and method, funny how they just expected everyone to know what to do. Aunt Daisy was like that as well. I guess all cooks did know what to do in the olden days

So I Googled it

I found the recipe from About.com British Food and have just copied it exactly, I think I may have made my discs just a little small but...they were great. Lovely taste. I ate 2 with my cup of tea. Even ate a couple more when we returned home from Quiz Night. I have some of the fruit mixture leftover. Storing in the fridge and will make some more later. A success I feel

Ingredients:

1lb 2oz/ 500g puff pastry

1oz/ 25g butter, melted

Pinch freshly ground nutmeg

2 oz/55g candied peel

4 oz/ 110g sugar

8 oz/ 225g currants

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 425∞/220∞C/Gas 7

 In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and butter and cook over a medium heat until melted.

 Off the heat, add currants, candied peel and nutmeg.

 On a lightly-floured surface, roll the pastry thinly and cut into rounds of about º inch/0.5cm thickness and 4 inch/10cm diameter.

Place a small spoonful of filling onto center of each pastry circle.

Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little cold water and draw the edges together over the fruit and pinch to seal.

Turn the patty over, then press gently with a rolling pin to flatten the cakes.

Snip a V in the top with scissors.

Place on a greased baking tray. I like to use baking paper

Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned round the edges.

Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.

Try not to eat them all at once!