Banbury Cakes

The Banbury Cake is a traditional English feast day cake which has its roots in Medieval times. The original Banbury Cake recipe was thought to have been brought back to England during the Crusades.

Eccles cakes are very similar.

Puff pastry ( I used frozen)
125 g mixed dried fruit (currants, raisins, sultanas, candied peel)
50 g brown sugar
25 g butter
1tablespoon plain flour + extra for rolling out
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Egg white and castor sugar to glaze

Melt butter and mix in the other ingredients.

Roll out the pastry thinly and cut circles - I used an 11 cm diameter cutter. Put about 2 teaspoons of filling on each circle of pastry. Brush round the edges with egg white. Gather up the edges of the pastry to form a parcel, turn over and roll out to an oval shape with the fruit just showing through the pastry. Cut slashes with a knife. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with castor sugar.

Bake the cakes at 220 deg C/ 200 deg fan/ gas Mark 7 for 18 - 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.