Yorkshire Fat Rascals
A delightful sweet bread with raisins and currants. Topped with cherries for eyes and almonds for the smile. This recipe has a long English history for a great tea treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅔ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup currants
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tbls heavy cream
- 8 Glace Cherries, cut in half I use maraschino cherries that I have drained and dried.
- 24 blanched amlonds I use almond slivers
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F
- Mix the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and rub together using your fingertips until you get breadcrumb consistency.
- Stir in the sugar. Then add the orange and lemon zest, cinnamon, raisins and currants. Mix to combine.
- Then add one of the eggs and 3 tbsp of cream Mix together using your hands until you get a soft dough (add the rest of the cream if needed to get a dough consistency).
- Flatten out the dough so it about 2cm thick, then cut out 6-8 rounds - each one about the size of a hockey puck.
- Place the Fat Rascals on a baking sheet. I use a silicon mat. You may want to line yours with parchment paper.
- Gently whisk the remaining egg and brush the tops of the Fat Rascals,. Then decorate with the cherries and the almonds. Use the cherries for the eyes and the almonds for the mouth.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Then serve with butter and strawberry jam.
Notes
The Fat Rascals are best when eaten warm. But they can be cooled, wrapped and stored at room temperature. These can also be frozen baked, then rewarmed in a 350 degree oven. If you freeze them before baking, just bring to room temperature and then bake at 400 degrees as above.
This recipe was adapted from The Center Cut Cook.