Dr Mobeus
Rock Cakes
Rock cakes got their name honestly: they are rough, lumpy and irregular, and that is exactly how they are meant to look. They were the bake of rationing-era Britain because they stretch a small amount of fat, sugar and dried fruit a very long way, and nothing about them has changed since.
A batch of 12 costs about £1.00 with value-range ingredients, roughly 8p each. Compare that with anything in the biscuit aisle and the maths is humbling. They take 10 minutes to mix and 18 to bake, and the recipe is one of the easiest in British baking: rub, stir, heap, bake.
They are also forgiving. The dough is meant to be stiff and lumpy, the shapes are meant to be uneven, and overhandling them makes them tough. In other words, the one cake where a heavy hand is punished and a lazy one rewarded. Perfect for baking with kids.
Rock Cakes
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar, mixed spice and dried fruit.
- Add the beaten egg and enough milk to bring it together into a stiff, sticky dough. Do not overmix and do not panic that it looks rough, that is the whole point of a rock cake.
- Spoon 12 rough heaps onto the tray, leaving room between them as they spread a little. They are supposed to look rocky and uneven, so do not smooth them down. Sprinkle each one with a pinch of extra sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack. Eat warm or cold, split and buttered, within 3 days.
Tips and Variations
If the dried fruit is a bit dry and stiff, soak it in the beaten egg for 10 minutes first. A few flakes of demerara sugar on top before baking gives a crunchy finish. Mixed fruit can be swapped for sultanas, chopped apple or a handful of chocolate chips. They go stale quickly, so eat them within 3 days or freeze half the batch on the day they are made.
