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 A rock cake made byGolden Krust bakery | |||||||
| Alternative names | Rock bun Scone (US) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | pastry | ||||||
| Place of origin | United Kingdom Ireland | ||||||
| Main ingredients | Flour,butter ormargarine,sugar,egg,baking powder,water,dried fruit (currants,raisins,candied orange peel),nutmeg andmixed spices | ||||||
| 166.6 kcal (697 kJ) | |||||||
| |||||||
Arock cake, also called arock bun,[1] is a small cake with a rough surface resembling arock.They were promoted by the BritishMinistry of Food during theSecond World War since they require fewer eggs and less sugar than ordinary cakes, an important savings in a time of strictrationing. Traditional recipes bulked them withoatmeal, which was more readily available than white flour.
Mrs Beeton's widely known 1861recipe book includes two early recipes for rock cakes.[2] One calls for flour, butter, 'moist sugar', lemon, milk, and baking powder. The other recipe more closely resemblesshortbread, as it uses flour, butter, and currants but no leavening agent.
A typical modern recipe for 12 cakes requires about 8 oz (225 g) offlour, 1teaspoon ofbaking powder, 4 oz (110 g) ofbutter ormargarine, 2 oz (55 g) ofsugar, 4 oz (110 g) ofdried fruit such asraisins,candied orange peel, etc., 2 oz (55g) ofcurrants, 1 beatenegg, 1 to 3tablespoons ofmilk and a pinch ofnutmeg andmixed spices. Usually, flour and butter are first mixed until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs; then the other ingredients are added to create a stiff dough, which is dropped from aspoon to a baking tray or roughly formed with two forks. The cakes (optionally sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon) are baked for about 15 minutes at 180°C (350°F; Regulo 4),[1][3] retaining an uneven form and contour.
Variations include theJamaican rock cake, which is similar, but usually includes gratedcoconut, and the traditional British rock cake, which contains oatmeal[citation needed].
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AuthorAgatha Christie mentions rock cakes in her stories and novels, includingThree Blind Mice andThe Murder at the Vicarage. Detective Alan Grant is offered rock buns inJosephine Tey's novelThe Daughter of Time.
They are also a common feature in the popularHarry Potter series of books and films. For example,Hagrid serves rock cakes toHarry Potter andRon Weasley at tea inHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately, his rock cakes are hard enough to crack their teeth and they politely decline them (and other examples of his cooking) in later stories.
Early inThe African Queen, Mr. Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) is offered a rock cake while at tea. Rock cakes are also referred to in an early scene in the 1939 movie,Goodbye Mr. Chips. They are mentioned as an alternative to doughnuts in the 1940 British filmNight Train to Munich.
In theBenny Hill song "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)", Ernie is killed by a rock cake below the heart and apork pie to the face.
In the British soap operaEastEnders, rock cakes are stocked in the local cafe. Tamwar Masood frequently eats them as an alternative topastries.
In the British series'Allo 'Allo!, season 7, episode 10, rock cakes are used to feed the British Airmen that are trapped in the sewers under the village. René Artois (Gorden Kaye) and his wife also give rock cakes to the gypsies to get information from them.
In theP. G. Wodehouse novelSam the Sudden, (1925), Willoughby Braddock warns Kay Derrick against eating rock cakes baked by Clara Lippet, the cook, as they are her worst effort. In Wodehouse's novelMoney in the Bank, (1942), character J G Miller tosses unwanted rock cakes into the office across the way; when he goes to that office to apologize, he encounters Anne Benedick and her uncle Lord Uffenham, beginning the plot.