Fruit Slice – also known as “Fly Cemetery” – is a deliciously rich pastry traybake, filled with a generous amount of spiced currants. Can you guess where it gets it’s somewhat unappetising pet-name?
There’s something about us Scots and our love of questionable foods. Haggis is the obvious one (love it), Lorne sausage, macaroni pies, deep-fried Mars Bar and even Irn Bru cupcakes – Scotland is famed for it’s love of “unique” foods. And it could only be the Scots who would come up with a pet-name such as “Fly Cemetery” for a sweet little pastry treat like Fruit Slice.
Ever-so simple and a lot more tasty than it’s pet-name may suggest, Fruit Slice is a melt-in-the-mouth short crust pastry treat, loaded with currants and lashings of sugar.
It gets it’s pet-name from it’s appearance, rather than it’s flavour. Not for the weak stomached; it’s simply because of the currants resemblance too, well, lots of dead flies! Our Granny can even recall when her own Papa would pick out the currants and joke that they were delicious little flies! Yum…?
I was quite surprised just how many people were chuffed to receive a piece of Fruit Slice when I made it recently. I didn’t used to be a huge fan of currants myself, so I was unsure of how many people would be happy to take some off my hands. But it turns out there’s already been requests for another batch!
Step-by-Step Video:
Granny's Top Tips
• Traditionally speaking, Fly Cemetery uses currants but you can mix it up to suit your own taste. Raisins, sultanas, cranberries, mixed peel…all can make a nice addition.
• If you want your Fruit Slice to be a little sweeter and little more special, instead of dusting with caster sugar after baking, wait until it is completely cool and spread a layer of water icing (icing sugar, mixed with a little water or lemon juice).
• Why not mix things up (and make eating messier) by trying Fruit Slice with puff pastry for a change?
• Some bakers have suggested in the comments to add a spoonful of jam or marmalade to the filling mixture. It’s not something I have personally tried but an intriguing idea!
Fruit Slice (Fly Cemetery)
INGREDIENTS
For the Pastry
- 300 g Plain Flour
- 150 g Butter or Margarine (chilled)
- 50 g Icing Sugar
- 1 Free-range Egg
- 2-3 tsp Cold Water
For the Filling
- 200 g Currants
- 75 g Sugar
- 50 g Butter or Margarine (softened)
- 1 tsp Mixed Spice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (or 160°c for a fan assisted oven or Gas Mark 4) and grease a 20cm by 28cm baking tray with a little butter. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using your fingers, rub the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar before adding the egg. Mix until combined, adding a teaspoon of cold water as required and knead into a soft pastry dough.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge to cool and firm up, whilst preparing the filling.
- In a bowl mix the currants, sugar, butter and mixed spice until combined.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll to 0.5cm thickness and cut into two large rectangles, about the size of your tray. Place on pastry rectangle onto your pre-greased tray.
- Spoon the currant mixture evenly onto the pastry on the baking tray, leaving a small gap around the edges. Wet the edges with a little water. Place the other sheet of pastry on top of the currants and gently press the edges together with your fingers, before finishing with a fork.
- Brush the top pastry with a little milk or beaten egg, before pricking a few holes on the top of the pastry
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a light golden brown colour.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle a little sugar on top to finish. Once completely cool, cut into squares or slices of your desired size.
Video
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
75 responses
These look amazing, and so easy too! x
Very easy, Donna! And I’m a big fan of easy recipes ;)
I like your recipes but I would like you to leave a tray/tin size please
The size is above Mary 20 x 28 cm tray x
I’ve been looking for a recipe for this for years but didn’t know what to call it! We used to buy it from the baker’s near school and it was called fruit slice but not easy to find the recipe under that name. Thank you! Just made this for the family to universal delight :)
Same…except my mother use to call it currant slice. Much like me, she never really did follow a recipe to the letter. All of it was done purely by memory, or adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Unfortunately, she had developed dementia early, and most of her cooking never made it down to paper for others to follow in her footsteps. So I am trying to replicate it the best I know how or can remember for my kids, nieces, nephews and great grand kids to follow.
Oh, one thing I did forget to mention is that, I remember mum use to boil her fruit with water and sugar on tne stove top, then thicken it with corn flour. Then allow for it to cool before spreading inbetween the cakey buttery pastry, before placing it in the oven to bake. Anybody else know of a similar recipe? Would love to know the exact recipe if anyone knows it.
Oh, one thing I did forget to mention is that, I remember mum use to boil her fruit with water and sugar on tne stove top, then thicken it with corn flour. Then allow for it to cool before spreading inbetween the cakey buttery pastry, before placing it in the oven to bake. Anybody else know of a similar recipe? Would love to know the exact recipe if anyone knows it.
Yes thats the way i make it. Made it thiseay for 40 odd years. Doesnt dry up.
This
Cheers for an easy to follow recipe :) My mum calls it ‘fly paper cake’ :D looking forward to eating it!
This currant slice lacks love, to improve ,,being a chef, this product to me is just dried currants between 2 slabs of pastry, boring, how about binding the currants with currant jam, not to liquid, but thick jam, so it dosent run into the pastry, this product with a cup of char, would be a gastronomical delight
It wouldn’t be a fly pie if it had Jam in it, would it
I grew up just after the war making this with freshly chopped mint and the whole idea was NOT to make it too sweet but have a contrast between the short pastry and the sweet fruit. Sugar and jam weren’t available until 1953.
People eat (and have become used to) far, far too much sugar, so we should be using this original recipe, not spoiling it by overloading it with jam.
This recipe could be adapted to make Christmas pies with a fruit mix and citrus zest.
Thanks Granny
Oh dear Happychappie you’re treading on my childhood! We’re not looking for gastronomic delights we’re reliving happiness and memories so put your currant jam back in the cupboard
Absolutely right!
Made these today and they are lovely
I’m 80 but I still make my mothers recipe which was currants grated apple brown sugar a tip of mixed spice
We call it dead fly pie! This is just going in the oven now! Can’t wait!
Fab! Let me know how it turns out, Gina.
Delicious, thank you for recipe. Must confess used bought pastry and added half an eating apple, chopped.
The last batch of #flycemetry was so good, decided to make a double batch this time ;) !
Wish I’d have found this recipe years ago…so easy ! My Dad loved these “Flies Cemeteries” and Eccles Cakes, would have loved to have made him these. I’m having a little trip down memory lane.
Thanks for commenting, Ann. Fly Cemetery is definitely one that brings back memories for people. We’re also looking a sharing a Eccles Cake recipe in the near future so be sure to keep checking back :)
That would be brilliant. I grew up in the town where Eccles cakes were first made. Nothing like a proper Eccles cake. But also loved currant slice. Both made by my Gran and Mum.
oh so too did I , my Grans Eccles Cakes have yet to be beaten ( that and her Suet Crust and her fresh potato cakes with butter on a cold Cadishead night) Funny, if ever I have anything similar it just brings back the best memories
I have just found your site and love it – here in Australia. These sound just like my eccles cake that I made last week but added mixed peel and lemon zest. Thank you.
what is the spice mix?????????
Hi, I am in UK,my jar of mixed spice listed the ingredients as Dried orange peel(60%), Cassia, Ginger, Nutmeg, Pimentoes, Caraway seeds
I also want to know, what is spice mix??
I’ve always suspected that so-called “mixed spice” was actually Allspice, which is an actual berry from Jamaica and it tastes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper. Wrong! “Mixed spice” is just that – a mix of cinnamon, cloves (go easy!), nutmeg, mace and ginger. Just put a little of the baking spices you like and you’ll be fine.
yes!! Please tell us what you mean by “spice mix”?? what kind of spices are in it? We have a pumpkin pie spice mix here in the USA, is that what you mean?
Mixed spice is similar to pumpkin pie mixed spice
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_spice
I added chopped dates, chopped apple and a good tbsp of marmalade to bind it together. It’s delicious.
Can you freeze these please
Yes you can and they cut up much more easily and neater when frozen
Would like to know size of tin/tray to use
Thanks
What size of tray/tin to use please
Thanks
These were always a big hit after Christmas Dinner. Mom and Grandmother were from Dunfermline, Scotland and never heard them referred to as anything other than Currant squares.
I’ve been making these years I know them as currant slices made with Ruff puff pastry from my mums old Bero cook book they are my husbands favourite cake.
These Current Squares look delicious. I think I will make some.
Sixty years ago we called them “dead fly squares” in Adelaide.
We used to purchase these at a local bakery that closed a number of years ago, out of the blue my husband asked me to make some. Thank you for the recipe they went down a storm. I reduced the amount of sugar and next time I will try adding some jam (as suggested above) to bind it all together. Thanks again – these were very tasty
I haven’t seen a fly cemetery for years, I live in New Zealand and every bakery used to have their own variation of them. We always called them that. A lost treasure.
Kay they certainly are a lost treasure, I’m also from New Zealand and cannot find any old fashioned cake in the cafe’s I visit these days !
Fly cemetry was one of Mum’s signature bakes. She often filled it with mincemeat which made it lovely and moist. I can taste it now!
Could you please tell me what’s in British Spice? Thanks so much Ann
Love this recipe!
Thank you for sharing. Here in Yorkshire we call it “fly pie”. We used to get these from the local bakery when I was a child – but with an extra sweet layer of glacé icing on top.
This was always a family favourite ( well? Anything dad really liked) that went along with Eccles cakes and Chorley cakes!!
Lesley
Excellent recipe haven’t had these for l live in Yorkshie
Exceptionally good recipe for Flies Graveyard.
It came out perfect. Just as the traditional fruit slice should be. No need to add jam as a previous baker suggested. I think it would make it too sticky and lose all the spices but I guess it’s down to personal preference.
I added light soft brown sugar to the currant mix. I also made the pastry (handle it a little as possible). Then I cut it into 2 equal sizes, then put it in the freezer for 10 mins only and the pastry rolled out perfectly.
This is another winner for me. Thank you!
I’m from Glasgow Scotland and my maw called the flys grave yards .
my hubbies favourite so thanks for the recipe ,have a lovely Christmas everyone
This was delicious. I made changes for US, but tried to keep the same. I used our all purpose flour and Irish butter since European butters have different fat and water. I’ve never used confectioners sugar in a short crust, but it’s fabulous. I used a silpat liner on a quarter sheet pan. I would roll out thinner, say closer to 1/8 of an inch than the 1/4 inch thickness to get a larger surface. A 350 oven needed at least 40 minutes. It was so easy and delicious. I bought the mixed spice from the Boston Spice Co, and I’m glad I did. It’s quite different from the pumpkin or apple pie spices in the US. It tasted more like the spices we use in my family’ Scandinavian deserts.
I did weigh all the ingredients, and followed directions exactly. This was such a pleasant memory of when I lived for a bit in The UK as a girl. Wonderful find!
My Granny in Dunfermline always made these ! So nostalgic … I might give them a go .
Greetings from Western Australia!
I grew up in the 1960’s eating “FLY PIE”. Have always loved it and until the turn of the century, it could be found in most corner delis/lunch shops. Then it seemed to fall out of favour. Unbelievable!
Then, while I was in hospital a few years ago, I went down to the coffee shop run by the Women’s Auxiliary and there it was! When I asked for a slice of Fly Pie, the woman behind the counter looked both confused and horrified until another lady leaned over to her and whispered very loudly “She means Fruit Slice” & winked st me… Okay, so it was funnier at the time but to be honest, I had never heard it called anything but Fly Pie.
Looking forward to making your recipe for a Christmas get-together in a couple of weeks.
Thank you (& Merry Cheers)
Any usa cooks have the measurements in cups and degrees farenhite? I make garibaldi cookies and we LOVE them! This looks so similar, I know we would love these too. Thanks for the recipe. Now I have to go figure out the measurements.
These were my dad’s favourites. We used to call them Sly Cakes.
So so excited to discover this recipe. I live in Australia and as a kid, we used to buy “Fly Cemetery “ from our local bakery after church on Sundays. It was a special treat. I hope my grandkids love it as much as I did.
In my British family it was known as Currant Cake. I never knew why nor did my family and I thought of it as a misnomer. There is no written recipe but handed down by mouth. We use a pastry with lard and butter and a bit if sugar and pinch of salt. The currants are soaked for a short time, drained and put in the pics for ptray of pastry, sprinkled with sugar, spritzed with lemon juice, dotted with butter and covered with pastry. Sprinkled with sugar and cut team holes and baked. A true family favorite and was told it was made for birthdays and Christmas. I make it when I get a yen for it. Now I have a recipe. And a proper name.
I put brown sugar , lemon zest & lemon juice in with butter & currants & mixed spice- usually a wee drop of raisins as well I heat up the mixture to melt the butter & soften up the fruit.I add a wee drop milk to the residue in the pan & brush the pastry top with it – gives the pastry a nice flavour.
So glad you called it fly cemetery. My dad 80 asked me if I knew how to make a fly graveyard, after turning various shades of green I asked him what did he mean and he described it. So I googled it, your post came up immediately, do definitely going to try this, this afternoon.
Love it! Want to make more but run out of dead flies!
Long time ago, I used to buy a similar sweet treat with pastry top and bottom but filled with crushed hazelnuts. Not sure what binded it together but was delicious.
Anyway, I shall certainly feast on more dead flies!
My mothean amazing amazing fly pie. Using a mix of sultanas currants and raisins on top of the pastry base….then dotting blobs of butter on top……then drizzling syrup on top before covering with pastry. Yummy but so many calories!!!
I add a grated apple makes for better flavour and more juicy
Oh my this is definitely a blast from my past, wasn’t too keen on them to start with, think the name put me off as a kid but over time got to love these, am so pleased to find this recipe I will definitely be making them Thank you
as i am a man could i just use a jar of mincemeat,i know this is lazy but will it work
This recipe took me way longer than expected (probably because I’m not much cop at making pastry). But was it so worth the wait. I couldn’t believe how much better this tastes than the shop bought variety (which I love). I can’t go back to shop bought now. The fresh baked pastry was just sublime. Even after a week they still tasted better than the shop bought ‘cemetries’. Every friend that has tried these has given them ten out of ten and done the ‘Oh wow!’ face. Now I want to go and try out s stack of your other recipes.
Hey Amy
Bonnie Scotland is freezing right now and with snow (I’m in France but son sent me pcs/vids) so keep warm doll. I decided to make these for hubby. Deeeelicious and I made double so I can freeze some.
Deeeeelish!!! My family loves it! My pan was slightly bigger – the pastry amount was still perfect but I had to double the filling portion. Definitely going to make this recipe often.
Iv’e made something similar. But I just buy some store bought Mince Meat Fruit Pie Filling. Simple, easy and tastes great.
By the picture it looks like Flies Cemetery we got in school dinners in the sixties. We loved it!
My local British bakery just closed down. I was just getting in the habit of having a fruit slice with my twice a week tea calls, which meant I could eat a restrained amount of it. Making it for myself seems like a slippery slope to eating the whole damn thing. But thanks for the recipe nonetheless.
I’ve made this recipe loads of times. It’s so quick, easy and most of all yummy, wonderful slices at the end that everybody loves to eat. I use ready rolled puff pastry, that’s my favourite. Thank you for sharing your recipe for people like me who want something quick, easy and tasty.
Just made these. I had a bag of currants since the supermarket had run out of sultanas and realised they wouldnt absorb liquid for homemade chutney so googled currant recipes and ended up here. In my part of scotland its a fruit slice that only the most traditional bakers still do. im looking forward to taking them over to my mums later as a variation on my rotation of scones or fudge. Will be bookmarking your page for other recipes now. Thanks for keeping the traditional recipes discoverable and alive!
I don’t want to rate this because I think what lowers it for me might be my errors. My raisins/currants were dryish, so I soaked them in boiling water to revive them a bit. The filling was still dry (keep tea nearby) and the short crust shattered to bits when I cut it. Any idea what I might have done wrong? Still tasty, but under whelming.
Haven’t baked since I worked in bakers 1979 hated it now I’m 63 had bad accident it’s all I do now is bake and I would not have gave it a second thought if I didn’t have the jury’s I got thanks now just need to try remember great recipe john