Irish Chester Cake (Gur Cake)
A traditional Irish Chester Cake, also known as Gur Cake, made with a tea-soaked bread and raisin filling baked between two layers of flaky pastry.
Ingredients
- 1 batch Flaky Pie Dough
- 8-12 slices White Bread*, stale see recipe notes
- 1¼ cup Raisins (180g)
- 1¼ cup Irish Breakfast Tea, brewed (300mL)
- ⅓ cup Golden Syrup (90g)
- ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour (32g)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Ginger
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
Instructions
Preparing the Stale Bread
- Carefully remove the crusts from the white bread slices. Let the bread sit at room temperature for 6–8 hours or overnight until stale. To speed up the process, place the slices directly on the oven rack at the lowest setting, about 170°F (75°C), for 30 minutes. Do not toast.
Make the Chester Cake Filling
- Tear the stale bread into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the brewed tea over the bread and let sit for 3–5 minutes.
- Using a fork, mash the bread and tea together until the mixture forms a thick, porridge-like consistency.
- Add the flour, golden syrup, baking powder, and spices. Mix until evenly combined.
- Stir in the raisins or other dried fruit.
- Let the filling sit for about 1 hour so the raisins can begin to rehydrate.
Make the Chester Cake
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Take each disc of dough from your batch of all-butter pie crust. Roll each one slightly thicker than standard pie dough, about 3–4mm thick, and larger than 9 by 9 inches.
- Cut out two 9-inch by 9-inch squares.
- Place one square in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Spread the Chester cake filling evenly over the dough. Use an offset spatula to smooth the surface and press out any air pockets.
- Place the second square of dough on top.
- Brush the top crust with heavy whipping cream using a pastry brush. This helps give the final product a golden-brown finish.
- Dock the top crust all over with a fork to allow steam to escape.
- Place the baking pan in your oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the Chester cake to cool before slicing and serving.
Notes
*For consistency, this recipe was tested using 325g of fresh white bread with the crusts still on. I removed the crusts, then allowed the bread to dry by leaving it uncovered on the countertop for about 8 hours. If you need to speed up the process, you can place the slices directly on your oven rack at the lowest setting, usually around 170°F (75°C), for about 30 minutes until dry but not toasted.
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