THE town's most famous delicacy - Chorley Cakes - are steeped in local history.

Author Jim Heyes recounts in his book The History of Chorley that: "The best place to go for Chorley Cakes in the 1880s was the Misses Corbett's shop in Chapel Street, these delicacies going for the price of 2d each."

Of course now, there are many shops in the town which make and sell Chorley Cakes - although not for 2d each, unfortunately!

Chorley's tourism officer, Jennifer Clough (pictured), believes Chorley Cakes have helped to put the town on the map.

She said: "When we attend trade fairs in different parts of the country, we always take along a batch of Chorley Cakes.

"People absolutely love them! The cakes are one of the things that stick in people's minds when they think of Chorley."

Jennifer said the council gets dozens of inquiries regarding the traditional recipe for Chorley Cakes off locals as well as people further afield.

She said: "We have a large amount of people from places like America, Australia and Canada contact us after seeing our Internet website asking for the traditional recipe.

"I suppose people from places like the States are trying to trace their ancestry and roots so inevitably they want to find out everything there is to know about Chorley."

She added: "Chorley Cakes are probably one of the best adverts the town has, so it's important to preserve the traditional recipe."

However, Chorley Cakes are not unique. Similar confections are native to Eccles, Banbury, Coventry and Clifton though there are differences in shape, type of pastry used and the variety of ingredients.

What they have in common is the use of dried fruit which made them an early convenience food, easy to transport and a substantial and satisfying snack.

Every local housewife had their own variation on Chorley Cakes . In times gone by, the pastry would be prepared with lard rendered from a family pig, however, nowadays margarine is considered more healthier and digestible.

There are also variations in size. A busy housewife might make a family-sized one while smaller cakes, about 8" or 3" across are sold by local bakers.

Here's one example of a traditional recipe for Chorley Cakes from Hazel Yates, a member of Chorley's Civic Society . . .

ZPastry:

Z8oz (225g) plain flour

Z4oz (115g) hard margarine

ZWater to mix

ZFilling:

Z6oz (225g) currants

Z2oz (55g) finely chopped dried peel

Z1 tablespoon soft brown muscovado sugar

Z1oz (30g) butter

Z1/4 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and mixed spice

ZMethod:

Rub margarine into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add water slowly until the mixture binds together. Cover and leave for half an hour in a cold place.

In a thick pan slowly melt 1oz (28g) butter. Remove from heat, add currants, spices and sugar. Mix well and put aside to cool.

Grease a baking tray. Preheat oven to 200C. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is 1/4" thick. Using a saucer cut into rounds. In the centre of each round put a heaped tablespoon of the dried fruit mixture. Dampen the edges of the pastry and carefully bring the edges to meet in the centre.

Pat down to ensure the gaps of the pastry are closed, then with the rolling pin roll the cakes gently until you can just see the fruit through the pastry. Prick the surface with a fork.

Transfer to the baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven at 200C for about 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

They are particularly good eaten whilst just warm and spread with butter but will keep for several days.

So, next time you're in Chorley and want a quick snack, nip into a local bakery, and pick one up - you'll be glad you did!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.