One of the very first things I learnt to bake as a child was rock cakes. I have fond memories of baking these with my Granny before progressing onto trickier things like scones and Lemon Meringue Pie. I think we started off on these as they are very quick to make, get your hands messy (always fun for children), and last but not least: they have a fun name! The thing with rock cakes is that they should look like rocks, but not taste like them… sadly, the rock cakes sometimes sold in shops do have the consistency of rocks. This is one treat that is best made at home….
Rock cakes also have a rich literary tradition. They were beloved of The Famous Five and their infamous picnics (along with the obligatory bottles of ginger beer) and in the Harry Potter-verse, Hagrid often tries to tempt Harry with his rock cakes. Alas, poor Hagrid isn’t the best baker – his rock cakes are only fit for consumption by half-giants due to the jaw-power needed to bite them! I can’t promise that these rock cakes will lead you on any adventures (magical or non-magical), but they have their own special powers. The power to lead you off into a wonderful land of nostalgia, especially when teamed with a hot cup of tea!
Rock Cakes
Makes 9 large or 12 medium rock cakes.
225g self-raising flour (or plain flour, plus 1 tsp baking powder)
115g butter or margerine (you can reduce this to 75g if you wish)
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50g caster sugar
115g mixed dried fruit (Granny used 75g sultanas but I like a lot of fruit in mine)
1 large egg
2 tbsp milk
3 tbsp Demerara sugar (for sprinkling)
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a large baking sheet.
Sift the flour, salt and mixed spice together in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour until it has the consistency of large crumbs.
Stir in the sugar and dried fruit. Beat the egg and milk together.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the flour/fruit mixture in the bowl. Using a round-bladed knife (e.g. a butter knife), blend the mixtures together to form a rough dough.
Using the knife, dollop portions of dough onto the baking sheet. They’ll fall off the knife in a rather rough fashion – resist the urge to smooth them out! Make sure to leave 5cm between the mounds as they will spread when baked. Sprinkle each mound with plenty of Demerara sugar. This gives both good crunch and shine when baked.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes – smaller rock cakes will take about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack immediately and let cool fully before eating. Best eaten within 2 days!
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Why does my fruit allways sink to the bottom and then tend to burn?
flour the fruit before adding to the mix,and all will be fine.
Have you a recipe for dumplings that you can put on top a stew like in the older days.
Love your recipes
thank You
delicious, thank you, just like i made in school all those years ago, perfect to suprise my fiancee when she got home from work on our 4th anniversary.
thanks loads – delicious
i am 12 years old and i love making rock cakes i mostly make them with raisons /chocolate chips (not mixed together) what other things could i put into them?
I did read the Famous Five books as a school girl and envied them their teas and picnics. I am also a diehard Harry Potter fan. It seems logically to follow that I love baking rock cakes as much as I love eating them. The demerara sugar is a great tip. Not having kids of my own the cakes are a big hit with ever hungry nephews as well as my friends.
cheers for that i wuddnt matter if i used just normal sugar instead of Demerara sugar will it
yum yum great cakes thanks
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Angela, these look great!
oh yes, I have lots of wonderful memories of reading Famous Five and wanting to have picnics with rock cakes and ginger beer just like them. : D
I’ve only ever tried rock cakes probably twice – both times store bought, and let’s just say I could have used them to hit a half-giant with ; )
I think I’m going to try this recipe sometime and have my very own (grown-up) rock-cakes picnic spread : D
are these supposed to taste like a cross between cake and a crumbly cookie?
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Hey Renee
I can’t believe I forgot to mention the texture/taste! The outside should be firm with a good crunch from the Demerera, but the inside is actually really fluffy and light. They don’t really crumble that much. I’d say the texture is comparable to a scone made with clotted cream…
N.B. The texture will be heavier if you use less butter to make them. Also, you should be quick when blending in the egg mixture to keep them fluffy.
I think everyone dreamt of picnics like the Famous Five, or midnight feasts in the dormitories (in Blyton’s school stories). What I dreamt of most, however, was going up the Faraway Tree and having tea with Moonface and Silky
I desperately wanted to slide down inside the tree on the helter-skelter slide! Happy days, eh?
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ooh! I like the sound of the texture!! I’m making this – soon. : )
thanks for the tip about mixing the egg : )
haha! I gather you are (were?) a fellow Enid Blyton fan? I loved her books, even though she was always panned as being a “trashy” writer.
oh yes, wonderful memories of St Clare’s (I think?) and indeed the Faraway Tree! hooray for Enid I say. ; )
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Reminds me of cooking episodes with my granny too! My rock cakes were usually fairly…rocky though!
I too was an Enid Blyton devotee. Even when my schoolfriends had moved on to Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High, I was still happily re-reading my Mallory Towers, Famous Five and Faraway Tree novel. Such happy childhood memories.
Hey, I’m going to be in London in early October. Any suggestions for good places to eat or take afternoon tea etc? I’ll probably have to book now for the good things, won’t I?!
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Heh, I ended up unearthing my copy of the Faraway Tree trilogy this afternoon. It still has a charm of its own
It is trashy writing by adult standards, but for a small child, its perfect!
Niki – I absolutely loathed Sweet Valley High. I hope I was never as vacuous as those teenagers! I’ve replied to your email. Hope it helps!
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oooh loved the famous five, and every once in awhile I dig out the one remaining book I have. I can’t recall the name off hand, but gypsies were involved, always my fave, and the moors, and a bike trip.
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Hi Angela! These look great! Am going to have to make these for my sister, who is an avid fan of Harry Potter
Prim
I know the instructions say to cool fully before eating, but one of the joys of baking is eating warm from the oven goodies.
Also, if you are in a hurry, this recipe works just as well if you bung everything in a bowl together and mush all the ingredients with your hands, then directly from hand to baking tray.
Super quick, great results, no messing with blunt knives!
My Mother-in-law often made these for tea. She would freshly grate nutmeg on top of the buns before baking as well as sprinkling preserving sugar instead of demerara.
I have made them using dried morello cherries and chopped apricots.You could make extra as they freeze very well. Great for picnics! I have made them for cake sales and they sold out very quickly.
Every now and then, the cook in the police canteen at the nick I used to work at made a large plate of Rock Cakes.
They went quicker than anything else on the menu, including the curry!!!
Just shows that hardened old coppers like a bit of nostalgia now and then.
Paul
I learnt how to make rock cakes from my nieghbourgh who’s are absolutley delicious, however everytime i try making them they end up flat and hard and burnt so I will try this recipe 2mrw and let you know how it goes