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Chorley cakes are flattened, fruit filled pastry cakes, traditionally associated with the town of
The Green Chronicle - a good simple recipe
{{Borough of Chorley culture English cuisine British cakes British pastries Raisin dishes Street fairs Chorley Lancashire cuisine
Chorley cakes are flattened, fruit filled pastry cakes, traditionally associated with the town of Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
in Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England.
Chorley cake
A Chorley cake is made using currants, sandwiched between two layers of unsweetenedshortcrust pastry
Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...
. The Chorley cake is significantly less sweet than Eccles cake, and is commonly eaten with a light spread of butter on top, and sometimes a slice of Lancashire cheese
Lancashire is an English cow's-milk cheese from the county of Lancashire. There are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese. Young ''Creamy Lancashire'' and mature ''Tasty Lancashire'' are produced by a traditional method, whereas ''Crumbly ...
on the side.
Chorley cakes are a close relative of the more widely known Eccles cake, but have some significant differences. An Eccles cake uses flaky puff pastry
Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...
, which after baking is normally a deeper brown in colour. The other difference is that the currants in the Eccles cake are often concentrated together in the middle while in the Chorley cake the fruit is usually evenly distributed. It is not uncommon to see some sugar added to the fruit, or sweeter raisin
A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...
s or sultanas used. Locals often refer to Chorley cake as Fly Pie.
Chorley cake Street Fair
The October "Chorley Cake Street Fair", restarted in 1995, promotes the cakes, with a competition for local bakers to produce the largest ever Chorley cake.Sad Cake
Also related to the Chorley cake is East Lancashire's "Sad Cake", made to a similar recipe. It was found in theDarwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...
, Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
, Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
, Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, Colne
Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston.
The ...
, Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and Padiham
Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...
areas and throughout the Rossendale Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England:
Places
*Rossendale Valley, a river valley
*Borough of Rossendale, a local government district
*Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rossendale was a United King ...
area.
Sad cake is often up to 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, as opposed to the Chorley cake being 3 to 5 inches (8 to 12 cm). It is made by rolling out the pastry and dropping raisins and/or currants evenly over it, then folding it in on several sides and rolling it out again to the required size. Sad cake is usually round but can be square.
It was then cut into triangular sections similar to a sponge cake section and was a regular addition in a working man's lunch box (the whole meal was known as bagging, snap or packing). The sad cake was a filler for eating either after one's sandwiches or as a separate tea break snack during the working day in the cotton mills and coal mines of Lancashire. A spread of margarine, butter or even jam was placed on top. It may be eaten with sandwiches of jam and crumbly soft Lancashire cheese.
See also
*List of pastries
pastry, Pastries are small buns made using a stiff dough enriched with fat. Some dishes, such as pies, are made of a pastry casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweetness, sweet or Umami, savory ingredients.
The six basi ...
References
External links
The Green Chronicle - a good simple recipe
{{Borough of Chorley culture English cuisine British cakes British pastries Raisin dishes Street fairs Chorley Lancashire cuisine