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| What You Need: |
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1 tablespoon butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
½ cup dried currants
1 tablespoon finely chopped mixed candied fruit peel
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Short - Crust Pastry
Superfine sugar
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and the 3 tablespoons of sugar, and stir in the currants, candied fruit peel, allspice and nutmeg. Toss the fruit about with a spoon until it is evenly coated.
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2. On a lightly floured board, roll the pastry into a circle about ¼ inch thick. With a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut it into 3½-inch rounds. Gather the scraps together into a ball, roll it out into another circle, and cut out rounds as before.
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3. Place a heaped tablespoon of the fruit mixture in the center of each round. Then bring up the outside edges of the pastry and twist together to enclose the filling.
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4. Turn over, and with the rolling pin press them gently but firmly into flat rounds. The currants should be just visible below the surface of the rounds. With the tip of a small, sharp knife make crisscrossing slits about 2 inches long in the center of each cake.
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5. Place the cakes on the baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown. With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cakes to a rack to cool. Just before serving, sprinkle each cake generously with superfine sugar.
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6. "Eccles cakes" are traditionally served at afternoon tea. They will keep for 1 to 2 weeks in a tightly covered jar or tin.
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