Fruit slice

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Fruit slice can refer to different types of pastries that are traditionally made from bakery leftovers and sold cheaply in bakeries. The term is applied to any such sweet pastry that contains a currant or raisin filling. The name or nickname of the confection varies by locality.

Contents

Flies' graveyard

Flies' graveyard Flies cemetery.jpg
Flies' graveyard

Flies' graveyard and flies' cemetery are nicknames used in various parts of the United Kingdom, as well as New Zealand, [1] for sweet pastries filled with currants or raisins, which are jokingly said to resemble dead flies. [2]

In Scotland, they are known as fly cakes, fruit slices, or fruit squares. [2] while in Northern Ireland, they are also referred to as currant squares. In the North East of England, the pastries are fly cakes or fly pie. [2]

The Garibaldi biscuit, which contains a layer of squashed currants, is commonly known as a "fly sandwich", "squashed fly biscuit", or "dead fly biscuit" in the UK. [2]

Gur cake

Gur cake Gur cake.jpg
Gur cake

Gur cake is a pastry confection traditionally associated with Dublin, Ireland. [3] Known as chester cake in other areas of Ireland and elsewhere, [4] [5] and gudge or donkey's gudge in Cork, [6] [7] it is similar to what is termed "flies' graveyard" in parts of the UK, and consists of a thick layer of filling between two thin layers of pastry. [8] The filling is a dark brown paste, containing a mixture of cake/bread crumbs, [9] dried fruits (sultana raisins etc.), and a sweetener/binder. [10] It has traditionally been a cheap confection, made from bakery leftovers.

Its name is thought to be a contraction of "gurrier cake". [3] Children who skipped school were known as gurriers and the act of skipping school became known as to be 'on the gur'. As Gur cake was made of leftovers, it was one of the cheaper items in bakeries and, therefore, one of the few items affordable to a child 'on the gur'. [11]

In bakeries, it is typically sold cut into squares of about 8 by 3 cm (3.1 by 1.2 in) thick.

In Dublin, Gur cake is regarded as symbolic of working-class areas, being highlighted in books such as Gur Cake and Coal Blocks (1976) by historian Éamonn Mac Thomáis. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fly away for your biscuits and slices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McAlpine, Fraser (2015). Stuff Brits Like: A Guide to What's Great about Great Britain. Penguin. pp. 123–124. ISBN   9780425278413 . Retrieved 2017-02-17. Any sweet pastry that has been filled with currants or raisins in a thick black layer of sweet goodness runs the risk of being referred to as flies' graveyard, or flies' cemetery, because raisins look a bit like dead flies. There are regional variations on this; the squared-off slab version, known as a fruit slice in Scotland, or a currant slice in Northern Ireland, is referred to in the northeast of England as a fly pie. In fact, the biscuit Brits know as a Garibaldi (see: Dunking Biscuits) has taken this whole fly theme and run with it. Depending on where you are, Garibaldis are known colloquially as fly sandwiches, dead fly biscuits, or squashed fly biscuits.
  3. 1 2 Redmond, Caitríona (2014-04-10). "Why Gur Cake needs EU Designated Status". Irish Independent . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  4. ↑ Higgins, Lilly (4 March 2024). "This is a cake made by thrifty, hard-working women for 'little gurriers'". Irish Times. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Nelson, Cynthia (2010-06-12). "I like Chester Cake". Stabroek News . Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  6. ↑ "Donkey's Gudge - Cork Slang Dictionary Entry". Corkslang.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Diana's Recipe Book - Gur Cake". Dianasdesserts.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  8. ↑ White-Lennon, Biddy (2003). Best of Irish Home Baking. O'Brien Press. ISBN   9780862788070.
  9. ↑ "From Gur cake to a donkeys' wedding and flies' graveyard, this was a mouthwatering trip down memory lane". Irish News. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Gur Cake". Odlums. Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  11. ↑ "GurCake". oscailtmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Mac Thomáis, Éamonn (1976). Gur Cake and Coal Blocks. O'Brien Press. ISBN   9780905140070.


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