Eccles cake
Photo: Sean Whitton (User:Xyrael) · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

The Eccles cake is named for the town of Eccles in Greater Manchester, where James Birch began selling them commercially in 1793. London's enduring claim to the form comes from St John on St John Street (1994), where Fergus Henderson serves Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese as a counter-bakery and dessert plate. The St John recipe (flaky pastry, butter-soaked currants, demerara) is widely copied across modern British kitchens. Other London bakeries selling the orthodox form: Bea's of Bloomsbury, Lyle's, Toad Bakery.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes that match this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 10Hands-on 40 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g all-butter puff pastry (or rough puff)
  • 250g currants
  • 80g unsalted butter, softened
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
  • 30g demerara sugar

Method

  1. Mix currants, softened butter, brown sugar, mixed spice and lemon zest in a bowl.
  2. Roll puff pastry to 3mm thick on a floured surface.
  3. Cut 10 discs (12cm). Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling onto each.
  4. Bring the pastry edges up to the centre, pinch closed, then flip seam-side down.
  5. Roll lightly so the currants just peek through the top, but the filling stays sealed.
  6. Place on a parchment-lined tray. Chill 30 minutes.
  7. Heat oven to 200C. Brush with egg, slash three times across the top, scatter demerara.
  8. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until deep golden and the bottoms are crisp.
  9. Cool on a rack. Serve warm with a slice of Lancashire cheese.

Tip from the editors. St John serves them with a wedge of Lancashire. The salt cuts the sugar; once you've tried it you can't go back.

Where to eat eccles cake

Eccles cake in London

St John ★ 4.8

£££ Modern BritishClerkenwell

Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell has cooked the nose-to-tail British canon in London since 1994. Priced at £££. Kitchen leans modern british.

OrderRoast bone marrow with parsley salad and toast, then Eccles cake with Lancashire.

TipThe bakery counter near the front sells the same Eccles cakes, doughnuts and brown loaf to take away if you can't get a booking.

Directions Book

Quality Chop House ★ 4.3

£££ Modern BritishClerkenwell

The 1869 Farringdon Road working-class dining room in Clerkenwell London, restored under Will Lander since 2012, runs daily-changing British cooking.

OrderThe famed confit potato, then mince and potatoes off the daily menu, with a bottle from the shop next door.

TipThe wine shop next door is corkage-free if you buy a bottle there. Lunch takes walk-ins at the counter Tue-Sat.

Directions Book

Toad Bakery ★ 4.2

£ BakerySourdough and pastryPeckhamWalk-in only

Erin Wilkins's small-batch bakery on Peckham Road in south London, opened 2021, runs serious natural-leaven sourdough, pastel de nata and a weekend-only.

Worth the queuePastel de nata

TipClosed Sunday and Monday. Pastel de nata baked in batches every two hours; arrive at 09:30, 11:30 or 13:30 for hot ones.

Directions

All London signature dishes →

Eccles cake in Manchester

Mr Thomas's Chop House ★ 4.4

££ British gastropubDeansgateUntil 23:00 daily

Manchester's 1867 Victorian pub and chop house on Cross Street, late kitchen until 23:00 every day. Cask ales, steak and kidney pudding, tilework all around.

TrySteak and kidney pudding

Directions

All Manchester signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want eccles cake covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →