Flat rounds of plain buttery shortcrust are packed with a buttery currant filling and rolled thin until the dark fruit just shows through the pastry. They are only lightly sweet and pale golden, meant to be split or spread with butter and eaten with a wedge of crumbly cheese. Makes 6 cakes in about 1 hr 40 min.
Prep30 min
Cook25 min
Cooling45 min
Total
1 hr 40 min
Servings
6
Ingredients
Adjust yield
servings
Scales from a half to a double batch; give a bigger batch a little more time.
2 ⅓ cups (300 g)all-purpose flour
¼ tsp (2 g)salt, 1/2 tsp
⅔ cup (150 g)unsalted butter, cold, cubed, for the pastry
6 tbsp (90 ml)cold water, about
6 oz (175 g)currants
3 tbsp (40 g)unsalted butter, melted, for the filling
Make the pastry: whisk the all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the cold unsalted butter until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in most of the cold water and mix with a knife, adding the rest a little at a time, until the dough just holds together. Shape into a disk, wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Mix the currants, melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar and ground nutmeg in a bowl.
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Divide the pastry into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a round about 6 inches (15 cm) across.
Place one sixth of the currant filling in the center of each round. Draw the edges up over the filling and pinch them together to seal, then turn the parcel over so the seam is underneath.
Gently roll each parcel into a flat round about 4 1/2 inches (11 cm) across and 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick, until the currants just begin to show through the pastry. Set on the baking sheet.
Brush the tops with the whole milk and cut two small slits in each to let steam escape.
Bake until the pastry is cooked through and pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack at least 15 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature, spread with butter if you like.
Tips
Keep the pastry plain and pale; the gentle sweetness is what sets a Chorley cake apart from a sugary Eccles cake.
Roll the filled parcels gently so the pastry thins without tearing; a few currants peeking through is the classic look.
Serve with a slice of crumbly Lancashire or sharp white Cheddar cheese.
Good with lancashire cheese and a mug of strong black tea.
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Plan on 30 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 45 minutes to chill and rest. The recipe makes 6 cakes (6 servings).
How should I store chorley cake?
Keep in an airtight tin at room temperature up to 3 days; warm in a 325°F (160°C) oven for 5 minutes to refresh.
Can I make chorley cake ahead?
It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.
From the Lancashire market town of Chorley, these flat currant cakes are a less sweet cousin of the Eccles cake, using plain unsweetened shortcrust instead of flaky pastry, and are traditionally eaten spread with butter, often with Lancashire cheese. Serve it with lancashire cheese and a mug of strong black tea.
Variations
Individual minis: divide the pastry into 12, roll to 4-inch (10 cm) rounds, fill with 1 tbsp filling each and bake 15 to 18 minutes.
Orange-zest version: add 1 tsp (2 g) finely grated orange zest and 25 g (3 tbsp) chopped candied orange peel to the filling; bake time unchanged.
Spiced Chorley cakes: add 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground cinnamon to the filling with the nutmeg; bake time unchanged.
Make ahead: freeze the shaped, unbaked cakes on a tray, then bag; bake from frozen at the same temperature, adding 5 minutes.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 6 servings this recipe makes.
524Calories / serving
26.4gFat
67.9gCarbs
6.2gProtein
24.2gSugar
Whole recipe (6 servings):
~3144 cal ·
158g fat ·
407g carbs ·
37g protein ·
145g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
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