Delicious Rock Buns Recipe

This easy Rock Buns recipe is quite simple to make. Treat yourself to these gorgeous, flavoursome buns, perfect for an afternoon snack. Not quite a cake or bread, nor is it like a scone. They look a little rustic and homespun, but don’t be deceived, these are soft, fruity and wonderful.

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.

Rock Buns Ingredients

These everyday ingredients are combined to make a simple dough and baked in the oven.

Flour: This recipe uses self-raising flour, which keeps the little buns light.

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

Sugar: Castor sugar gives sweetness and keeps the texture light.

Dried fruit: Dried fruit, raisins, give nice little pops of sweetness, but you can use other dried fruit if you prefer just keep the amount quoted in the recipe.

Eggs: A fresh, medium sized egg works well here. This helps the cakes to rise but also hods the mixture together. Ive also made these with a flax egg with good results. This vegan version of a rock bun is very good.

Butter or margarine? I tend to bake with butter as I like the depth of flavour that it gives. However, I have used a plant-based margarine and the results are good.

Curious about other variations to the main recipe?

How to make this Rock Buns recipe

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

• Preheat the oven to 190 ^oC/Gas 5/170^oC Fan.
• Begin, by weighing out the flour and margarine or butter into a mixing bowl. (See notes above.)
• Rub the fat into the flour until you achieve a nice breadcrumb-like texture.
• Once you have a nice crumbly texture, stir in the sugar and dried fruit.
• Then add the beaten 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 this stage, but be careful not to overwork the dough. You want a little craggy personality with these cakes.
• Divide this mixture into 8 evenly-sized pieces. Place the dough 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 cool for about 5 – 10 minutes and then move them onto a cooling rack until they are fully cool.

Storage

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

The baked rock buns freeze successfully 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. When you’re ready to bake the rock buns, 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 basic recipe

These are a few interesting variations you can make to this recipe and below are a few of the ones that I’ve tried and that we’ve enjoyed.

• Orange Rock buns – Add a little orange zest and a teaspoon of cinnamon to the original recipe for a lovely, deep, warming flavour. This is especially delicious if you substitute ‘mixed dried fruit (The sort that you buy from a supermarket, which includes dried peel) for the raisins in the recipe below
• Substitute 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 make this rock bun recipe.

Vegan Rock Buns

This is an easy recipe to adapt so that it’s suitable for those following a plant-based, vegan diet.

• 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 for 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, I’ve made them this way many times and they’re quite wonderful.

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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