A rock cake, also called a rock bun,
is a small cake with a rough surface resembling a
rock.
They were promoted by the British
Ministry of Food during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
since they require fewer eggs and less sugar than ordinary cakes, an important savings in a time of strict
rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...
. Traditional recipes bulked them with
oatmeal
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been dehusked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains ( groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel- ...
, which was more readily available than white flour.
Recipe
Mrs Beeton's widely known 1861
recipe book includes two early recipes for rock cakes.
One calls for flour, butter, '
moist sugar', lemon, milk, and baking powder. The other recipe more closely resembles
shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part sugar, white sugar, two parts butter and three to four parts plain flour, plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain leavening, such as baking powder or bakin ...
, as it uses flour, butter, and currants but no leavening agent.
A typical modern recipe for 12 cakes requires about 8 oz (225
g) of
flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
, 1
teaspoon
A teaspoon (tsp.) is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about . For dosing of medicine and, in places where metric units are used, for cooking pu ...
of
baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increas ...
, 4 oz (110 g) of
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
or
margarine
Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...
, 2 oz (55 g) of
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
, 4 oz (110 g) of
dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...
such as
raisin
A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...
s,
candied orange peel, etc., 2 oz (55g) of
currants, 1 beaten
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
, 1 to 3
tablespoon
A tablespoon (tbsp., Tbsp., Tb., or T.) is a large spoon. In many English-speaking regions, the term now refers to a large spoon used for serving; however, in some regions, it is the largest type of spoon used for eating.
By extension, the ter ...
s of
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
and a pinch of
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
and
mixed 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 a
spoon
A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...
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),
[
] retaining an uneven form and contour.
Variations include the
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n rock cake, which is similar, but usually includes grated
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
, and the traditional British rock cake, which contains oatmeal.
In popular culture
Author
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
mentions rock cakes in her stories and novels, including ''
Three Blind Mice
"Three Blind Mice" is an English nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.
...
'' and ''
The Murder at the Vicarage''. Detective Alan Grant is offered rock buns in
Josephine Tey's novel ''
The Daughter of Time''.
They are also a common feature in the popular ''
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' series of books and films. For example,
Hagrid serves rock cakes to
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
and
Ron Weasley
Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. ...
at tea in ''
Harry 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 in ''
The 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 film ''
Night Train to Munich''.
In the
Benny Hill
Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...
song "
Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)", Ernie is killed by a rock cake below the heart and a
pork pie
A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire). It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock ...
to the face.
In the British soap opera ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'', rock cakes are stocked in the local cafe. Tamwar Masood frequently eats them as an alternative to
pastries.
In the British series ''
'Allo 'Allo!
''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Frenc ...
'', 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 the
P. G. Wodehouse novel ''
Sam 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 novel ''
Money 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.
See also
*
Scone
A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...
*
Fat rascal
References
{{reflist
External links
Cooking for Girls a rock cake recipe written for children.
British cakes
British cuisine
Jamaican desserts
Barbadian cuisine
Economic history of World War II