Chorley Cakes
Crisp, flaky shortcrust discs packed with lightly spiced currants. Less sweet than Eccles cakes and traditionally served warm with butter and crumbly Lancashire cheese.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 290 kcal
Equipment
- •Baking tray
- •Rolling pin
- •Mixing bowl
- •10cm round pastry cutter
- •Wire cooling rack
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- fat
- 14 g
- carbs
- 38 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 4 g
- calories
- 290 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Sift the plain flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Rub the cold butter and shortening into the flour using your fingertips until fine breadcrumbs form.
- 3
Stir in cold water with a round-bladed knife until the pastry just comes together.
- 4
Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- 5
Mix the dried currants, brown sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg, and melted butter in a separate bowl.
- 6
Preheat your fan oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- 7
Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured worktop to 3mm thickness.
- 8
Cut out eight 10cm rounds using a pastry cutter, re-rolling trimmings as needed.
- 9
Spoon equal portions of the currant filling into the centre of each pastry circle.
- 10
Gather the pastry edges over the filling, pinch to seal securely, and flip seam-side down.
- 11
Gently roll each cake flat with a rolling pin until the currants just begin to show through.
- 12
Brush tops lightly with milk, prick twice with a fork, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until pale golden.
Chef's tips
Handle the shortcrust pastry gently and keep the fats cold to ensure a crumbly texture. Roll lightly over the assembled cakes so the currants show through without bursting through the pastry.
Ingredient substitutions
- vegetable shortening → an equal quantity of chilled unsalted butter
- dried currants → chopped seedless raisins or sultanas
Storage
Store cooled cakes in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Reheating
Warm in a fan oven at 160°C for 5 minutes to restore the pastry's crispness.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Using flaky or puff pastry instead of authentic plain shortcrust pastry.
- •Overfilling the cakes, which causes the seams to burst during baking.
- •Adding too much sugar, which makes them indistinguishable from sweeter Eccles cakes.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Chorley Cakes?
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