Chorley Cakes

Chorley Cakes

I'm in the process of collecting recipes of cakes & bakes that are peculiar to a particular region either in the UK or abroad. I've had some wonderful recipes shared with me on my Facebook page and I'm always looking out for more if you'd like to share yours with me.

This is one of the cakes from my local area in the North-West on England . It's one of those recipes that I'm sure derived from having a bit of left over pastry to use up and almost always having a few currants & candied peel to throw in. When I was a child growing up in Dorset it was always Jam tarts that we made with left-over pastry, usually rolled out & played with so many times that the pastry turned grey and really tough, but hey, we still ate them.   I suppose that Chorley Cakes are a little more grown up in taste and are very similar in flavour to Welsh Cakes that are cooked on an iron griddle and not baked.

They're very simple, very delicious and a lovely tea-time treat with a nice cuppa. Hope you enjoy them   

recipe:-
For the pastry
4oz/115g unsalted butter
8oz/225g plain flour
cold water to bind.

For the filling
Zest of 1 lemon plus the juice of half a lemon
6oz/170g currants
2oz/55g mixed candied peel
1tbsp soft brown sugar
1oz/30g butter
¼ tsp of  freshly grated nutmeg
¼tsp mixed spice

Method
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
Add a little cold water, just enough to bind.
Bring together into a disc
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 mins

Meanwhile melt the butter in the pan, add the currants, lemon juice & zest, sugar and spices, just heat through for a minute or two, add the candied peel and leave to cool.
   

Roll out the pastry until it's around 5mm thick. Using a saucer cut into rings.

pile the fruit up equally in the centre of each disc.

damp the edges and bring together as shown & seal

turn each cake over and gently roll over the rolling pin so that the fruit show through. Prick over with a fork.

Place on a greased baking tray and bake at around 200c for around 20/25 minutes or until lightly golden in colour and cooked through

They are delicious served warm and I have it on good authority that the folk from Chorley like to spread some butter on theirs.

White Chocolate Florentines with Cranberries & Pistachios

White Chocolate Florentines

This recipe should make approximately 12 x 7cm Florentines. I used a silicone muffin tray with 7cm holes to bake mine.(thanks to Ruth @Pink Whisk for this fab tip) Otherwise you'll need good
parchment paper on a greased oven tray, leaving lots of space between each Florentine as they really spread out. I would only make 4/5 to a tray at a time. Of course you could make smaller ones for Petite Fours by just using a teaspoon of mixture per Florentine, should make around 2 dozen with this recipe.   I have also posted the recipe for dark chocolate Florentines at the bottom of the page.
Set Oven at 180c 350f gas 4

1.5 oz /40g butter
2oz 50g caster sugar
1 level tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp double cream
1 tsp lemon juice
4oz/ 100g white chocolate
2oz /50g dried apricots chopped
1.5 oz /40g dried cranberries chopped
1oz /50g chopped pecans
1oz /50 g chopped Pistachios
1oz/50g flaked almonds

Melt the butter with the sugar in a saucepan
Beat in the sieved flour, cream & lemon juice,
Add all the other ingredients, stir well and you're ready to bake.
Bake for approx 15 mins but keep a keen eye on them. They should be golden but not brown.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water.

When the Florentines are cold remove them from the silicone cases, if you use parchment you can quickly reshape them into neat circles while they are still hot from the oven and then leave until cold.

Coat the backs with white chocolate, leave to set. I usually pop them in the fridge for this.
When set use the remaining chocolate to trickle over the tops.

I estimate that the cost to make 12 Christmas Florentines would be around £3.50 to £4 as the ingredients are quite expensive. I usually make large batches of 48-60 and of course this would cut down the cost substanially as you can use whole packets of everything.


FLORENTINES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
candied orange peel, almonds & sultanas

Ingredients:- to make around 15
1oz/50g candied orange peel chopped
1oz/50g blanched slivered almonds
1.5oz/40g glace cherries chopped
half an ounce/25g sultanas chopped
small piece around 15g candied angelica chopped (just increase cherries if you can't find this)
1.5oz/40g unsalted butter
1oz/50g caster sugar
1tbsp double cream
1 tbsp plain flour
1tsp lemon juice
6oz/175g 70% really good dark chocolate
Preferably you will need one or two of those non stick silicone muffin trays or good quality baking parchment on around 3 oven trays.
Melt the sugar & butter gently in a saucepan
Beat in the flour, cream and lemon juice
Stir in everything else.
Set the oven to 180c
Place rounded teaspoons of the mixture into the silicone muffin trays or space tsps well apart on the parchment paper ( at least 2" between each)
Bake for approx 12 minutes until golden. Leave in the silicone trays until completely cold. If baked on a tray you can quickly reshape them into neat circles while they are still warm.
When cool coat the backs with melted chocolate. When the chocolate is almost set make wavey lines on the chocolate with a fork.