I don't dislike Eccles cakes but I have always had a preference for Banbury cakes...
It must be said that they are very similar.
They are both made from a flaky pastry with a spiced fruit filling although the Banbury cakes are more oval in shape whereas the Eccles are round and deeper.
But I feel that it is in the eating where there is the biggest difference....
The Banbury cakes to my mind have a more spicy and nicer texture in the mouth.
I have always liked them but over the years they seem to be more and more difficult to find in the shops as I said most places will sell Eccles cakes but very rarely will they have Banbury cakes.
A lot of the people working in cake shops don't even seem to know what they are.
As our current location is only a few miles away from Banbury I was able to find some for sale but even Tesco in Banbury stocks Eccles cakes but not the nicer Banbury cakes...Shame on you Tesco. !!!
I found my beloved Banburys in a shop selling sweets and a few types of cakes but I just don't understand why they are so difficult to obtain...after all they have been made in the region to secret recipes since 1586...
Maybe that's the reason....the recipe is so secret that not enough people know how to make them.....
Did someone say cake? I am there :)
ReplyDelete@GreenComotion
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to share a Banbury cake with you Chandra... :-)
I'm one of those who have never heard of a Banbury cake. I shall now keep an eye out for them and try one.
ReplyDelete@Dave
ReplyDeleteI shall be interested in the success or otherwise you have in finding the elusive Banbury Cake...LOL
Phil and I had just finished sharing an Eccles cake with a coffee just before I read this funnily enough! Mind you, I purchased it from a bakery in Scarborough a couple of days ago, so a Lancastrian may take issue with it being a genuine Eccles cake - Lancs v Yorks etc - lol. The best "cakes in the Eccles style" that I ever had though were from Reeve's bakery when I still worked in Salisbury. I do seem to recall that I did try Banbury cakes a few years back and enjoyed those as well. Another variation on the theme is Chorley cakes of course - much thinner and with a drier filling mix.
ReplyDelete@Jason B-L
DeleteGreat to hear from you Jason. I have to say that the Chorley cakes are the cakes in the Eccles style that I like the least...mainly because they are made with a short pastry rather than puff pastry and as you pointed out a drier filling mix. The combination of short pastry and a dry filling makes for a very dry cake which I am nit keen on. I like a moist cake...