{{short description|Small cake resembling a rock}} {{refimprove|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox food | name = Rock cake | image = Golden-Krust-Rock-Cake.jpg | image_size = 280px | caption = A rock cake made by Golden Krust bakery | alternate_name = Rock bun<br>Scone (US) | country = United Kingdom<br>Ireland | region = | course = | type = pastry | served = | main_ingredient = Flour, butter or margarine, sugar, egg, baking powder, water, dried fruit (currants, raisins, candied orange peel), nutmeg and mixed spices | variations = | calories = 166.6 | protein = 2.5 | fat = 5.6 | carbohydrate = 26.1 }} A '''rock cake''', also called a '''rock bun''',<ref name=Lemm /> 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 since they required fewer eggs and less sugar than ordinary cakes, important savings in a time of strict rationing. Traditional recipes bulked them with oatmeal, which was more readily available than white flour.
==Recipe== Mrs Beeton's widely known 1861 recipe book includes two early recipes for rock biscuits.<ref name=Beeton>{{cite book | url = https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Mrs_Beeton%27s_Book_of_Household_Management.djvu/1614 | title = Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management | first = Isabella | last = Beeton | year = 1861 | publisher = S. O. Beeton Publishing | page = 1442}}</ref> One calls for flour, butter, 'moist sugar' (muscovado), lemon, milk, and baking powder. The other recipe more closely resembles shortbread, 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, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 4 oz (110 g) of butter or margarine, 2 oz (55 g) of sugar, 4 oz (110 g) of dried fruit such as raisins, candied orange peel, etc., 2 oz (55g) of currants, 1 beaten egg, 1 to 3 tablespoons of milk and a pinch of nutmeg 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 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),<ref name=Lemm>{{cite web | title = British & Irish Food: Truly the Easiest Traditional Rock Cake Recipe | first = Elaine | last = Lemm | url = http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/rockckaes.htm | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160915031440/http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/rockckaes.htm | archive-date = 15 September 2016}} </ref><ref name=kenwood>{{citation | url = http://reocarchive.byethost31.com/kenwood/instructions-A701%2018.pdf?i=1 | format = PDF | title = Instruction & recipe book for your Kenwood Chef (Instruction & Recipe Book - Edition No. 18) | page = 72 | publisher = Kenwood Limited | location = Havant, Hampshire, England | access-date = 2 January 2020}}</ref> retaining an uneven form and contour.
Variations include the Jamaican rock cake, which is similar, but usually includes grated coconut, and the traditional British rock cake, which contains oatmeal.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
==See also== *Scone *Fat rascal
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120316010343/http://www.cookingforgirls.co.uk/recipes/rock-cakes Cooking for Girls - Rock Cakes]; a rock cake recipe written for children.
Category:British cakes Category:British cuisine Category:Jamaican desserts Category:Barbadian cuisine Category:Economic history of World War II