|| 14 March 2021

Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes

Previously I wrote about trying my first box of Lancashire Tea — a nice bonus gift when I ordered tea from teadog.com. Then, when I saw Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes available on The English Tea Store, I thought they would be the perfect accompaniment for my Lancashire Tea. This is the tea that reportedly is the favorite of JK Rowling. Though not everyone is as enthusiastic about the tea as the Harry Potter author.

I am, however, quite enthusiastic about Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes. True, these Eccles cakes are commercial cakes and widely distributed in the UK. Apparently you find these packaged cakes in supermarkets and other places that sell such food items. While not great pastry, these cakes taste very nice with my Lancashire tea — especially when I eat them the traditional way with cheese. Rather homey and comforting in these troubled times.

That Stockinghall cheddar cheese I ordered from Murray’s Cheese would have been a good choice to eat with these cakes. But by the time my order from The English Tea Store arrived, I had eaten all my Stockinghall. So I tried an Australian cheddar Old Croc. Nice.

If you do a Google images search for Eccles cakes you often see them served with a thin wedge of Lancashire cheese at the side. I prefer my Eccles cake and cheese combination with the cheese placed atop the warm Eccles cake. And you do want to eat the cakes warm — though you should not microwave the Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes. A microwave can damage the filling. I use my toaster oven for a quick 5-minute warming as the package label suggests.

You can read the story behind Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes on the company website.

When I last checked, as frequently, these popular cakes are out of stock at The English Tea Store. But more are expected soon. Eccles Cakes order page on ETS.

If you want to make your own Eccles Cakes, there is an easy recipe on The Spruce Eats. You can make the recipe even easier if you use commercial puff pastry in which to wrap the filling. The cakes won’t be exactly the same, but close. To me the pastry in the Real Lancashire commercial cakes is a cross between pie crust and a flaky scone. Recipe on The Spruce Eats.

I have one Real Lancashire Eccles Cake left. That will be my pastry with my cup of Lancashire Tea for my afternoon tea today. Actually, that will be enough for two teas. When served with cheese, one-half of one of the commercial Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes suffices for my afternoon tea. Of course, if you make the Eccles cakes yourself, you can make them in the size that suits you best.

be chic, stay slim, — Anne Barone