These little rock cakes may look craggy, but they are soft and almost flaky in texture. You can substitute whatever dried fruit you like for the sultanas and prunes.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Afternoon Tea, Picnics, Snack
Cuisine: British
Keyword: apples, picnic, prunes, rock cakes, sultanas, traditional
In a large mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour, baking powder and mixed spice with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
8 oz wholemeal spelt flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp mixed spice, 4 oz unsalted butter
Stir in the sugar and mixed fruit.
2 ½ oz demerara sugar, 2 oz sultanas, raisins or currants, 2 oz prunes
Make a well in the centre and add the egg and 2 tbsp of milk. Stir with a flat bladed knife until the mixture comes together into a ball of sticky dough. Add more milk as necessary. The dough needs to be stiff enough to hold it's shape, but not so dry that you can knead it.
1 egg, 2-4 tbsp kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
Spoon 12 craggy mounds onto a baking sheet, spacing a little apart. They will spread a little, but not hugely if you're mixture isn't too wet.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cakes are risen and golden, but not too dark. Set onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Handle the dough as little as you can get away with. You'll have a softer, flakier result the less you mix it.Try not to have too much of the dried fruit poking out of the dough before baking as it's likely to burn in the oven.Keep well in a sealed container for up to a week.To make apple rock cakes, use fresh apple instead of prunes and replace the mixed spice with one teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Peel, core and finely chop one cooking apple and stir this into the dry ingredients before adding the wet ones.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They're approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used.