Eccles Cake

An Eccles cake is a British pastry filled with currants and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. It has a thin, crisp pastry exterior and is traditionally formed as a round cake.

Traditional descriptions often associate Eccles cakes with a rich pastry containing suet, although modern recipes may use butter or other fats. The defining feature is the spiced currant filling inside flaky pastry.

They are named after Eccles, a town in Greater Manchester, England. The pastry became known as a regional British sweet during the nineteenth century.

An Eccles cake is filled mainly with spiced currants, while a mince pie uses mincemeat, traditionally a mixture containing dried fruit and spices. Both are British pastries, but their fillings and shapes differ.