British housewives have been making these delicious little cakes for centuries, but rock cakes did, at one point, fall out of favor. That is, of course, until they made an appearance in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
In the Harry Potter series, the cakes baked by Hagrid were definitely rocklike – genuine tooth breakers, and the main characters had to force themselves to eat them.
They may not have been popular in the books, but the series did make rock cakes famous again and kids the world over were keen to try them, not as Hagrid made them but according to popular recipes.
What are Rock Cakes?
The name rock cake comes from the fact that they are shaped like little outcrops of rocks, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the texture, which should be soft and melt-in-the-mouth sweet once you bite into them.
These are a favorite little treat to have with a cup of tea or coffee and to add to kid’s lunchboxes when you want them to have a fruity sweet treat that travels well. Grown ups love them too!
The Origins of the Rock Cake
Apparently the Irish and Scottish also bake rock cakes so whether they actually originated in Britain, Ireland or Scotland is debatable. My mother was Scottish and declared them to be a Scottish treat, so mum, I’m going with your opinion.
With people travelling throughout the British Isles the recipe soon spread anyway and it is safe to call rock cakes a British treat.
It’s interesting to know that during World War II when food rationing was in place in Britain that the Ministry of Food promoted the baking or rock cakes because they used less eggs and sugar than a traditional cake but were really tasty.
A Great Introduction for Kids
Another strongpoint for these cakes is that they are also an easy project to get kids involved in baking, as the ingredients are easy to come by and the time from mixing to tasting the finished product all happens within half an hour – well within the attention span of little ones.
What makes them special is the fact that real butter and sugar are used to give them their light crumbly texture. I added icing sugar instead of castor sugar and the result was delicious!
If you don’t have castor sugar at home then put ordinary granulated white sugar into your blender and pulse for 30 seconds – and then you have castor sugar – if you let it go too long you’ll end up with a texture like icing sugar though.
Nutritional Value: are Rock Cakes Healthy?
Traditional recipes use a lot of refined sugars – which aren’t very good for you in large quantities – so they aren’t the healthiest treats.
With that said, there are also recipes that don’t use refined sugars and these are considered much healthier options. The typical nutritional information is as follows:
| Calories | 214 Cal. |
| Carbs | 29g |
| Sugar | 14.5g |
| Fat | 9.5g (saturated fat: 6g |
| Sodium | 674mg |
| Fiber | 1g |
| Salt | 0.3g |
| Protein | 3g |
Rock Cakes Recipe
The Homesteading Hippy
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 10ml
- 8 ounces 2 cups cake flour (225g)
- ½ cup castor sugar or icing sugar (80g)
- 4 ounces 120g butter
- 5 ounces mixed dried fruit 140g raisins, sultanas, or cranberries
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon almond essence or vanilla
- 2 teaspoons 10ml sunflower or canola oil for greasing the cookie tray
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F (180 degrees C).
Grease a large cookie sheet with the oil.
Sift the flour and baking powder together.
Add the castor sugar, or for a really light texture use icing sugar.
Rub in the softened butter using your fingers to obtain a light crumbly texture.
Add the dried fruit.
In a small jug mix the egg with the tablespoon of milk.
Add the mix to the dry ingredients. In the beginning you will think that it is too dry but resist the urge to add more milk – as you mix the crumbly particles will start to come together. If you add too much milk the rock cakes will tend to spread instead of retaining their rounded rock-like shapes. I should know – I did this and they looked like flat choc chip biscuits – I may also have added too much sugar.
Divide the dough into half and then each half into half again so you have 4 roughly equal balls of dough. Divide each ball into five little rock cakes making sure they retain a rough texture rather than smoothing them into balls. Space them evenly on the cookie sheets allowing some room for spreading.
Bake for around 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack, or serve straight from the cookie sheets onto plates – they taste really good warm but the next day they are just as yummy.
Variations
Baking wouldn’t be much fun without a touch of creativity. After all, why make a sweet treat at all if you can’t play around with the recipe a bit?
There are variations like adding a little mixed spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon to the dough, or vanilla or almond essence.
Some dried fruit includes candied peel besides the raisins and sultanas. One of the mixes I used on a batch included cranberries and goji berries.
There is also no reason you shouldn’t add a few chopped walnuts to the mix for some added crunch and flavor. Here are some more recipes from around the web.
Fruit and Coconut Sugar > Refined Sugar
This is a pretty easy one, instead of using sugar, use fruit or a few spoons of coconut sugar. If you’d prefer not to use any sugar, refined or otherwise, just replace the sugar with fruit. It works well and tastes great.
Cranberry and Sultana (Grape)
Cranberries are sweet, with just a touch of tartness to them so when you add the sweet & sour flavor of grapes to them…well…it’s a match made in culinary heaven.
This is an easy recipe that results in a soft, fruity cookie that your family and friends will love!
Apple and Sultana
If you like grapes and you like apples, then this is the recipe for you. The two fruits work together to provide an interesting blend of flavors to your cakes. Try it for yourself, you’re not going to regret it.
FAQs
How long do rock cakes last?
Typically, a rock cake will last 3 or 4 days in the fridge.
Can you freeze rock cakes?
You certainly can! They freeze well and will last a couple of months in the freezer.
What’s the difference between a rock cake and a scone?
Rock cake dough is stiffer and is dropped onto a baking sheet. It makes smaller cakes. Scone dough is softly patted and cut into shape before the scones are cooked at a higher temperature.
Jeanie Beales
As a child I wanted to grow up and marry a farmer… simply because it was so different from my life right on the shores of the ocean. Well, I didn’t marry a farmer but a surfer instead. The urge, however, to grow stuff and make great food for a big family never left. We are on acreage with a sea view and easy access to fresh caught crayfish and other seafood – the best of both worlds. As an artist and writer I enjoy creating new recipes, tweaking traditional ones, and sharing the results not only with family and friends, but online. Mee the rest of the team at this page.
