This British dish is filled with a delicious combination of butter and raisins
Chorley Cake is from Lancashire and is considered to be the cousin of the more renowned Eccles Cake. It is made with loads of butter and sugar and raisins so it is quite decadent. The method of rolling out the dough and filling it with stuffing is quite similar to Hotteok or Poli but while Hotteoks are shallow fried and Polis are cooked on a tava, Chorley Cake is baked.
Chorley Cake is pretty easy to make – it doesn’t require too much time or effort. Give it a go!
(This recipe is a part of a series about how the method of stuffing a piece of dough and flattening it out unites us across cultures. Check out the complete series here.)
Chorley Cake recipe
Ingredients:
120 grams all-purpose flour (maida)
60 grams cold butter, chopped +15 grams (1 tbsp) melted butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp raw sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
25 grams black raisins, chopped
A few teaspoons of milk
Method:
Take the flour in a bowl. Rub in the chopped cold butter into the flour. Once it is mixed well, add in the baking powder and the salt. Mix it all together. Stir in a little cold water at a time to make the dough.
Once you have a smooth dough, cover the bowl with a plate and keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Mix the melted butter, chopped raisins, sugar and cinnamon powder together in a small bowl.
Take out the dough and divide it into equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a circle – either by hand or with a rolling pin. Put a small amount of filling in the middle of the dough and bring the edges together to close it into a ball.
Cover your surface with a piece of parchment paper and roll the stuffed ball into a circle with a rolling pin.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Place the pieces of rolled dough on to a baking tray and brush them with milk. Once the oven has heated up, slide in the tray into the middle rack. It should ideally take about 10-15 minutes to turn a golden brown but do check once after 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
The Vegetarians' Kitchen 