Today I halved the shop made Eccles cake my husband bought me yesterday and shared it with him. As I bit into the delicious pastry it got me wondering once again how these were made.
We had tried once or twice to make them at home but they always resulted in opening up like a lotus blossom instead of the tight round bun they should have been. So Armed with puff pastry and tonnes of mincemeat left over from Christmas I followed a YouTube video and set to once more, this was make or break time.
The first mistake I found was we'd previously made our Eccles using a round cut of puff pastry. The YT video suggested a square cut to allow the pastry to be gathered tightly underneath.
IT WORKED!
We had gorgeous looking cakes and they puffed up to the right height plus they stayed in shape.
Now we just have to taste them and put them up against the shop bought one.
The Verdict: Never again are we buying Eccles cakes. With the right advice and someone showing you step by step they were fantastic. :-)
