Eccles Cake appears as a signature dish in 1 United Kingdom cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Eccles cake · London
A small flaky-pastry round filled with currants, butter and brown sugar, topped with crystallised sugar. A classic British bake found at St John in Clerkenwell and bakery counters across London.
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.
Where to eat in London:
- St John
- Quality Chop House
- Toad Bakery
- Lyle's