Eccles Cake

Eccles cakes are a classic British pastry, filled with currants and topped with demerara sugar. They're named after the English town of Eccles.

Ingredients - Serves 8

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Melt the butter in a pan, then remove from the heat and stir in the currants, mixed peel, dark brown sugar and allspice.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 5mm/¼in. Cut out eight 10cm/4in rounds.
Divide the currant mixture between the pastry rounds, leaving a border of pastry around the edge. Brush the border with a little beaten egg.
Pull the edges of the pastry up and over the filling, pressing the edges together to seal. Turn the cakes over, so the sealed edges are underneath, and gently roll out until they are about 7cm/2¾in in diameter.
Brush the tops of the cakes with the rest of the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Make three slashes in the top of each cake with a sharp knife.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.