Banbury Cakes

5 from 1 vote

Banbury cakes are pastries laden with dried fruit from Oxfordshire. These easy-to-make pastry ovals are filled with currants and mixed peel and make a great sweet snack.

Prep Time40

Cook Time20

Total Time1

Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: British, English, Oxfordshire

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 423kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

Circular cookie cutter approx 14cm diameter (or a plate of similar size to cut around)

Ingredients

For the quick puff pastry

250 g Plain flour all-purpose
185 g Butter cold
¼ teaspoon Salt
100-125 ml Water ice-cold

For the filling

180 g Currants
60 g Candied peel
30 g Light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon Mixed spice or pumpkin/ chai spice
30 g Butter
15 ml Rum dark or amber
⅛ teaspoon Rosewater optional

Glaze

Egg white
15 g Caster sugar

Instructions

Make the pastry

Divide the butter into 4 portions.
Put the flour and salt into a bowl and stir briefly then add 1 portion of the butter (cubed) and rub it in.
Pour in ¾ of the water and mix, with a blunt knife, to a soft dough. (Only add more of the water if necessary. If too much water is added the dough turns sticky.)
Roll the dough into a long rectangle on a lightly floured worktop to approx 4mm thick. Take another portion of the butter, cube it and scatter it over ⅔ of the dough, leaving the final ⅓ empty.
Fold the empty third of the dough over the top of the dough, bringing it to the centre.
Fold the other end of the pastry over the top, then rotate the pastry 90 degrees.
Roll the pastry out in one direction and repeat the folds & 90 degree rotation in the 2steps above (without adding more butter) two more time then cover the pastry with food wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
Repeat steps 5-7 twice more to incorporate the remaining portions of butter. Chill the finished pastry for 1 hour in the fridge.

Assemble and bake the Banbury cakes

Preheat the oven to 200℃/ 400℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Chop the candied peel finely.
Mix the currants, candied peel, spices and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Melt the butter and stir it into the bowl along with the rum and rosewater (if using).
Roll the pastry dough out on a lightly floured worktop to form a rectangle approximately 30cm x 50cm and cut circles approximately 14cm diameter (aim to cut 6 from the first roll).
Pile the off-cut pastry pieces on top of each other (do not squish them together to form a ball). Re-roll the pastry to cut another 2 circles.
Divide the prepared filling between the 8 circles.
Lightly brush halfway around the edge of one circle of pastry with egg white and bring the edges up to meet in the centre, pressing the wet and dry edges together. Tuck in the ends. Repeat with the other cakes.
Turn the Banbury cakes over so that the seal is underneath and lightly flatten them to form ovals. Lay the pastries on the prepared baking sheet.
Cut three slashes across the top of each cake, brush with egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar.
Bake for around 20 minutes until golden and the pastry is cooked through.

Notes

Never skip the chilling of the pastry dough. Pastry is always easier to handle when sufficiently chilled and in the case of this quick puff pastry it is vital to help build up the lamination
Store-bought puff pastry can be used in place of homemade.
Each pastry circle needs to be approximately 13-15 cm in order to hold the filling. If you make them too small you will have leftover filling and end up with tiny Banbury cakes.
Ideally, roll your pastry into a rectangle approx 30 cm x 50 cm – so that 6 circles can be cut from it.
Carefully stack the off-cut pastry pieces on top of each other before re-rolling to cut 2 more circles. This preserves the lamination in the pastry. Do not scoop the offcuts up into a ball as this will destroy the lamination.
It’s best to divide the filling across all circles before beginning to seal any of them so that the filling can be shared out evenly.
Seal one circle at a time to avoid the egg drying out.
Store your Banbury cakes at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 48 hours. They are, however, best devoured on the day they are baked.
It’s best to reheat Banbury cakes in the oven (150C/300F/ GM2) for 5 minutes. Don’t reheat them in a microwave as doing so will turn the pastry soggy – yuck.

How to freeze Banbury cakes

You can freeze Banbury cakes either before or after baking.

To freeze them prior to cooking, prepare them up to, and including, the point of adding the egg white glaze and sugar topping. Open-freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and, when solid, slide them into a freezer container or bag. Label them and keep your Banbury cakes frozen for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen by laying them onto a lined baking sheet and cooking for 22-25 minutes at the temperature specified in the recipe card below.

If they are already cooked, let your Banbury cakes cool completely and freeze as soon as possible. Defrost them fully, then reheat for 5-10 minutes to re-crisp the pastry.

Nutrition