Recipe for Rock Cakes

Many years ago I worked in an office in Red Lion Square in the Holborn district of London, England. Just around the corner from the square was a small sandwich store that sold freshly baked rock cakes, fresh out of the oven, just in time for the start of office hours. It made going to work a real pleasure.

I have always loved rock cakes; they are easy to make and absolutely delicious fresh out of the oven with a nice cup of tea. The whole process from start to sitting down with my oven fresh rock cake and a nice hot cuppa took only 30 minutes. Here is how I made them:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 fistful of sultanas or raisins
• 1 dash vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 dash of milk

Preparation

• Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl
• Rub in the margarine until the mixture is nice and smooth
• Add the sultanas - go on throw in lots of them!
• Break an egg into the mix along with a dash of milk and a dash of vanilla essence then mix thoroughly until you have a stiff paste
• "Splat" rough lumps of dough onto a greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400F
• For best flavour, serve straight from the oven

John's Notes
The distinguishing feature of rock cakes is their hard, knobbly exterior with a light soft interior. I like lots of sultanas inside my rock cakes. And the great thing about this recipe is that it is very easy and quick to make. Feel like something nice to go with a cup of tea in the afternoon? In half an hour you could be caressing your taste buds with hot delicious rock cakes - give 'em a try.

Printable PDF version of this recipe