DIY Christmas 2012 with Mike Keyton
Every time I talk to Mike, our conversations invariably turn to food. Separated by an ocean and sometimes by the English language, when I read Mike's recipe, it sounded strangely similar to something my mother made for cold Chicago nights, only without the "colorful" language.
Please welcome one of my favorite Brits, Mike Keyton.
DIY Eccles Cake
When Maria asked me to
contribute I panicked. What could I write about that made my Christmas unique?
We do much the same as everyone else, I thought. Perhaps make something up: the
little known Monmouth custom of hopping to Midnight Mass, squirrel lurching,
lying in dew-soaked grass looking for angels, or floating high on brandy
scanning the grass for dew-soaked angels. None of it sounded all that convincing,
and then I remembered the humble Eccles Cake.
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| Photo by Sean Whitton |
Yes, it is named after
the Lancashire town of Eccles and was first commercially sold in 1793 – for
those who believe provenance aids digestion. For those who want to persuade
their children to be adventurous the Eccles cake had various nicknames such as
‘Squashed Fly Cake’, Fly Pie’ or sometimes Fly’s Graveyard. Flys are optional
but the name owes more to the appearance of the currents in the cake.
Why eat Eccles Cakes at
Christmas? Well it is the easiest way to use up left over brown sugar and those
surplus currants and peel from the Christmas cake you virtuous souls have just
made - as well as making good use of any surplus pastry you might have in your
freezer. And hot from the oven they’re fantastic. Beats mince pies hands down.
The Recipe.
3oz of butter
5oz soft brown sugar
5 oz of currants
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
3 oz of chopped peel
Approximately 14oz of flaky
pastry or alternatively short crust pastry*
Method
Melt the butter in a
small saucepan, take it off the heat, and stir in the filling ingredients.
Leave to cool.
Roll out the dough onto
a lightly floured surface and roll it out to an eighth of an inch thickness
(3mm)
Cut the pastry into
rounds using a three and a half inch cutter (8cm)
Put a teaspoon of
filling onto each round, wet the edges, and fold into a small pasty shaped
parcel.
Flatten a little if
necessary and then fold the two pointy ends up to the centre. Pinch and seal
well.
Next turn your pastry
parcel over so the smooth side is on top and gently roll it to a quarter inch
flatness (aprox) and pat into a round shape.
Place them all on a
greased baking sheet and gash each cake diagonally three times with a sharp
knife.
Sprinkle with milk and
sugar and bake in a preheated oven gas mark 7 / 425 F / or 220 C for 15 minutes
or until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack but
eat warm!
*Eccles cakes are made
with flaky pastry. But sixteen miles N.W of Eccles is the noble town of
Chorley. The Chorley cake is exactly the same except that it uses short-crust
rather than flaky pastry. Best news of all, is that neither Chorley nor Eccles
cakes enjoy European Protected Status so they can be manufactured anywhere and
still be labelled as ‘Eccles/Chorley’ cakes. You will put on some calories but
be morally sound.
***
Quickie poll: What kind of desserts do you serve for Christmas? For me, it's cranberry cookies and pecan pie. It's the only time I throw calorie-counting out the window.
***
Don't
forget, you can leave a comment on any previous DIY Christmas 2012 post
for a chance to win the prize on that post. Who knows? You might get
lucky.
Other DIY posts from:
Shelley Munro
Cathy Pegau
Gwen Gardner
Other DIY posts from:
Shelley Munro
Cathy Pegau
Gwen Gardner
There are more great posts to come. All contests end December 21, 2012.
Comments
And we serve creme brulee that my dad makes and it's nummo
We eat a lot of cookies and apple pie during Christmas.
I'm a sweet potato pie kind of gal when it comes to the holidays.
Jennifer, I like apple and raisin pie, too. I think it's called Dutch Apple tart over here. Mind you, can't abide cinnamon. Idiots will keep mixing it in with apples and whatnots that have done nothing to offend them.
Angela, we'll all be eating bugs someday, sweet potato or no sweet potato.
Shelley, your mother clearly had superlative taste. My daughter insists on Pavlova - when I remember.
Shelley, I used to like coconut cake, but then someone turned me on to lemon drizzle cake and there are only so many cakes I can allow myself to eat : )
Thanks for the recipe.