← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 150 g currants
• 50 g Mixed candied peel
• 1 orange, zest and juice of ½
• 1 lemon, zest and juice of ½
• 50 g Butter, melted
• 50 g light muscovado or light brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground allspice or mixed spice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 500 g all-butter puff pastry block
• 1 egg white or beaten egg, to glaze
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar, to sprinkle

Method

1. Mix the currants, peel, citrus zest and juice in a bowl and leave to soak for 1 hour so the fruit plumps up. Stir in the melted butter, sugar and spices.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
3. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3 mm thick and cut out 12 rounds with a 10 cm cutter (use a saucer as a guide), re-rolling the scraps as needed.
4. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each round. Gather the edges up over the filling and pinch together to seal, like a little purse.
5. Turn each one over, seam-side down, and gently roll or press into a flat disc about 1.5 cm thick, so the fruit just shows through. Set on the tray.
6. Brush with egg white, sprinkle thickly with demerara sugar and cut three short slits in each top. Bake for 18–22 min until puffed and deep golden. Cool on a rack for 10 min; the filling is very hot.

Tips

• In Lancashire they are eaten with a slice of crumbly Lancashire or Wensleydale cheese.
• Raisins or sultanas, chopped small, can stand in for the currants.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Sainsbury's Magazine Nancy Birtwhistle