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An Easy Rock Cakes Recipe

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This easy Rock Cakes recipe makes gorgeous little rock cakes, satisfying little sweet treats perfect for an afternoon snack. Crumbly and sweet, not quite a cake or bread, they may look a little rustic and homespun, but be confident that they’ll be soft, fruity and wonderful.

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old fashioned Rock cakes sitting on red and white checked tea towel on a wooden board

This simple rock buns recipe can withstand quite a lot of punishment, so it’s good to make with children. If you’re ever short of things to do on a rainy day, this may be the perfect thing.

Gather up your ingredients, and let’s get baking. Fill the kitchen with the inviting aroma of homemade goodness.

Contents hide
1 Rock Cake Ingredients
2 Making this Rock Cakes Recipe
3 Storing Rock Cakes
4 Variations to the Rock cakes recipe
5 Is this Recipe suitable for Vegans?
6 Easy Traditional Rock Cake Recipe
6.1 Equipment
6.2 Ingredients
6.3 Instructions
6.4 Notes
6.5 Nutrition
7 Why not Pin this Rock Cake Recipe for later?

Rock Cake Ingredients

These everyday ingredients are combined to make a really simple dough and then formed into little craggy shapes and baked in the oven. Brilliant with afternoon tea or to take on a picnic.

Flour: I use half and half white and wholemeal self-raising flours in this recipe as I feel that this gives the rock cakes a nice interesting texture. All white or all wholemeal flour will work just as well.

If you only have plain flour (all-purpose flour) in the house then simply add 2 teaspoons of baking power to provide a little lift and they will still be a melt-in-the-mouth bite of loveliness.

Sugar: Caster sugar works well in this recipe but I use sometimes use muscovado sugar for the depth of flavour it adds – a kind of caramelish taste. Either works well.

Dried fruit: I generally use raisins but sultanas are good too and if I’m feeling adventurous I use dried apricots or dried cranberries. So, feel free to mix up your dried fruit a little.

Eggs: A fresh, medium sized egg works well here but I’ve also made them using a flax egg. The result is just as good.

Butter or margarine? I use a plant-based margarine in my baking and love the results. These, however, do work well made with butter, so grab your favourite baking fat and start cooking.

Curious about other variations to the main recipe?

Making this Rock Cakes Recipe

This super easy Rock Cake recipe uses a rubbing-in method, fat into flour, which is quite simple.

Step 1 is to heat up your oven to 190 oC/Gas 5/170oC Fan and then get on with making the rock cakes.

To begin, measure out your flours and margarine or butter. (See notes above.) Rub the fat into the flour until you achieve a nice breadcrumb-like texture. I like to start this process with a fork as I’m really not that fond of the feeling of margarine sticking to your fingers whilst trying hard to get it mix with the flour. If I was being technical I’d say that by starting off by using a fork you are also keeping the ingredients from being melted by the warmth of your hands, which means you end up with a lighter Rock cake. I’ll try that reason next time.

Once you have a nice crumbly texture, add and stir in the sugar and the dried fruit. Then add the beaten egg or flax egg. Mix to bring everything together to a soft, crumbly dough. It may take a little patience to ensure that all the mixture comes together but it will happen. You may need to use your hands at the stage but be careful not to overwork the dough. You want a little craggy personality with these cakes.

Divide this mixture into 8 pieces and place on a greased or lined baking tray.

Place the irregularly shaped balls a little apart as they will spread during cooking.

Bake for approximately 15 – 20 minutes until they take on a pleasing golden brown colour. Leave on the baking tray to cook for about 5 – 10 minutes and then move them onto a cooling rack until they are cool.

Old fashoned rock cake on a flower patterned plate - split apart

Storing Rock Cakes

These rock cakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. (They may have been eaten long before this though.)

They will also freeze successfully (cooked) for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before eating.

You can also freeze the dough (for about 2 months) and bake from frozen. It helps to freeze the dough in the spooned-out shape of the buns. Then, you can just place them on a baking tray and bake. Bake at the same temperature as you would the ‘fresh’ dough and cook for the same length of time.

Variations to the Rock cakes recipe

There are a number of things that you can do to this recipe to ring the changes to these fruity buns and below are a few of the ones that I’ve tried and that we’ve all enjoyed.

Add a little orange zest and a teaspoon of cinnamon to the original recipe for a lovely deep warming flavour.

You may substitute a 100g dates, 75g apricots for the raisins and add 1 teaspoon of dried ginger for a warm and spicy variation.

Other flours: You may use all white flour, all wholemeal flour or a combination of the two but you need a combined total of 200g of flour to be successful. If you use plain flour however, you will need to add 2 teaspoons of baking power to compensate for the lack of raising agent in the flour. Spelt flour is another lovely flavoursome flour to use.

Flax eggs or fleggs also work well in this recipe. The result is a little more crumbly but just as delicious.

Is this Recipe suitable for Vegans?

  • Substitute a flax egg for the egg.
    • Use a flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds to 3 tablespoons of water. Allow it to thicken about 10 minutes before using.)The finished texture of the buns is a little crumblier but quite delicious. I’ve made them this way many times.
  • Substitute the butter for a suitable margarine. Use non-dairy margarine to replace the butter. It will say on the tub if it is vegan friendly and whether or not it can be used for baking. Again, this is my preferred way of making them so I know that this will be successful.

If you like this, then you may like….

Other small and simple-to-make cakes…

  • Vegan Blueberry Muffins
  • Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins
  • Baked Cinnamon Donuts Recipe
  • Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

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old fashioned Rock cakes sitting on a red and white checked tea towel on a board
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Easy Traditional Rock Cake Recipe

These wonderfully craggy looking little cakes are a perfect make to satisfy those after school hunger pangs, to take on picnics or to make surprise visitors feel welcome. They use everyday ingredients making this a recipe to keep close at hand.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: British
Diet: Vegetarian
Keyword: baking powder, cinnamon, egg, margarine, plain flour, raisins
Servings: 8 buns

Equipment

  • mixing bowls, spoons, measuring equipment, baking tray

Ingredients

  • 100 grams wholemeal flour self-raising
  • 100 grams white flour self-raising
  • 75 grams light muscovado sugar
  • 1 egg 1 flax egg works well here
  • 100 grams butter or suitable margarine
  • 175 grams raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
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Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 375 F/190oC/Gas 5/170oC Fan oven
  • Add the flour(s) and margarine or butter to a large mixing bowl and begin to rub the fat into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the dried fruit, sugar, spices and any citrus zest if using.
  • Add a beaten egg or flax egg and stir until all the flour is combined and it forms a soft dough.
  • Divide into eight similar sized pieces and space them out on a baking sheet. They need room to spread. Celebrate a slightly craggy, uneveness in their texture.
  • Cook in the oven for between 15 and 20 minutes until they are a pretty golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and leave them to cool a little for 5 minutes or so then set them out on a cooling rack until cool.

Notes

Nutritional Information is computer generated and is intended as a guideline only.
Storage:  Old fashioned Rock Cakes will last for up to 3 days in an air tight container, but I suspect that they will not be around for that long!
Freeze the baked rock cakes for up to 2 months and defrost thoroughly before eating.
You can freeze the dough (for about 2 months) and bake from frozen. It helps to freeze the dough in the spooned out shape of the buns. Then you can just place them on a baking tray and bake. Bake at the same temperature as you would the ‘fresh’ dough and cook for the same length of time.
Make them vegan: Replace the egg with a flax egg. Make this using 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before using. The result is crumblier but quite awesome.
 
If you try this recipe I would love it if you would share your experience of making it.  
Did you make this? Mention @thesimplerkitchen or tag #thesimplerkitchen!

Nutrition

Serving: 1rock cake | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 342IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg

Why not Pin this Rock Cake Recipe for later?

old fashioned Rock cakes sitting on a red and white checked tea towel on a board
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