Workingman’s Rockcakes

I propose that rock cakes go superbly well with a well-earned coffee break after a hefty morning of DIY. Motion carried. Next.

We’re spending much of our weekends on DIY and this weekend is no exception: scraping 90 years worth of paint from internal window frames and an intricate set of french double doors, back to original wood.

Once tidied we’ll oil the window frames and sills and they’ll look amazing. Lots of hours of paint stripping, sanding and detail work, but worth it in our 1920’s bungalow project.

Rockcakes seem to be my Englishman’s second favourite, after Jaffacakes. As I learned when looking into the history of Jaffacakes, a cake will go stale over time, whereas a biscuit will go soft. These are definitely cakes and are are best at least a day or two from bake day (if you can hold off that long) as the hint of staleness makeith the ‘rock’ in rockcakes.

Traditionally made with dried fruit such as raisins and sultanas, I’ve seen them in the local bakery with chocolate chips which is a nice adaption.

Speaking of adaption, I’ve done that myself. I’ve added finely chopped dates (which I would personally prefer over raisins) and some lemon zest.

Recently I made some preserved Orange Zest & Juniper Berries which I am now putting in everything (both sweet and savoury) for a zesty twist, including my rock cakes. It’s actually a by-product, making the most of orange skins otherwise redundant after a juicing company had squeezed them. They are transformed into a delicious zest. Five stars from me (terribly biased, of course). Waste not, want not.

Workingman’s Rock Cakes

Makes: 22

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 100g butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest (or fresh zest from any citrus fruit)
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped (or chocolate chips)
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC (fan bake) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl then add cut up diced butter. With your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Add in the remaining dry ingredients – sugar, zest and dates. Mix well to ensure all the flavours are combined.
3. Add egg and milk, and mix together with a knife (cutting this mix is better at mixing than attempting to combine with a spoon or spatula, by experience).
4. Scoop tablespoons of mix (the size of golf balls) and plonk onto baking tray. Sprinkle with sugar for extra bling.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly and store in baking tin. Enjoy!