Something for the weekend: Fruity Rock Buns

So here is my recipe for the best rock buns I know. They are something of a cross between a scone and a fruit cake. I think they shouldn't be dry and crumbly like some 1950s bakers would have them, but fruity, moist and quite rich. As for fruit, this is our favourite combination, but you could add less or change the proportions. It's a great recipe to make with children - nice bits of chopping, weighing, whisking and finger-licking.

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 12 oz/340g plain flour
• 2 level teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teapsoon salt (although I use 1/2 teaspoon crushed Maldon salt)
• about 1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
• finely grated rind of 1 lemon
• 6 oz/175g butter (at room temperature)
• 6 oz/175 g soft brown sugar (NOT caster)
• 3 oz/85g sultanas
• 3 oz/85g raisins
• 3 oz/85 g glace cherries (halved)
• 1 large egg
• 1 - 2 tablespoons milk

Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5 (375 F, 190 C). (I have an Aga and put the tray on the bottom shelf of the hot oven, with another shelf above). Line a large baking tray with baking parchment/greaseproof paper.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, grated nutmeg into bowl (as above). Add butter, sugar and lemon rind.

The fine Microplane grater is brilliant for the lemon rind and the nutmeg.

Rub in butter until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs and feels like sand.

Stir in fruit. I use undyed glace cherries.

Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon milk together.

Make well in centre of mixture and add egg/milk. Mix quickly with a fork.

If too dry, add a little more milk, but don't make the mixture too slack or it will become cookies. It should come to a stiffish dough quickly - I think one of the tricks with rocks buns is not to handle the ingredients too much.

Using hands (my preferred method) or two forks, pile the mixture into 12 'rocks' .

Bake for 15 - 20 mins (no more), until golden brown and with the tiniest hint of squishiness on the top (the buns will continue to cook when you have taken them out of the oven). Leave to cool.

Make pot of tea/orange squash/gin and tonic. Sit down and enjoy.

Comments

[Karen]

thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

even in cooking you manage to take beautiful, yummy pictures ;o)

so, let's go to the grocery store to buy what we need to cook these buns for breakfast tomorrow ;o)

thanks again, have a nice WE.

[Elizabeth]

Sounds lovely for this afternoon...Will preheat oven. Thanks for the recipe - such detail and photo instructions!... very jealous of the Aga.
There is a big difference in gluten between US and Canadian flours that sometimes requires recipe tweaking. I don't know about British flour. We shall see.

[Jan]

Since our kids have grown and moved, I don't bake as much as I used to. But I may have to turn on the oven to give these fruity rock buns a try!

[Simon]

The recipe and the photos look great. I am happy to volunteer to provide qualitative feedback to anyone who makes the buns (you send me one & I'll eat it...)

[jackie]

thanks, jane! but--uh--what's a sultana? i feel so american...

[africankelli]

My goodness! Does your presentation ever slack? The photos look like magazine quality. I am printing this out for my "domestic bliss" folder and baking these babies soon.
Thanks!

[Mariko]

Those look delicious!

[Isabelle]

Jane, thank you so much for the recipe. Your photos are awesome - looks like you can turn anything and everything in life into a work of art.

[Dixie]

I will be passing this recipe to my husband, who is the baker in the family. I am lobbying for these to be made for Sunday brunch. yum!

[Kate]

Recipes from other countries are always so exotic-- sultanas, glace cherries, and different measurements. It's intimidating at the same time that it fuels the imagination. Thanks for sharing! I bet these are wonderful.

[Nichola]

Mmmmmm, i think i need to get myself in the kitchen!

[LindaB]

Oooooh. Bliss. Do you perchance have any savoury muffin recipes? That is all I need now to make my life complete. :)

[deborah]

Thanks for the recipe. I look forward to making these. I really enjoy your blog and have fallen in love with the rabbits and bobbi bear that you knitted.

[karen]

thank you so much for sharing the recipe - I wanted so much to find out how to make those since your last post about them! Now I'll definetily try them!! Lovely pictures btw!!

[susoolu]

You made me clean my oven! There I was, on a Sunday morning, planning to have these ready for a late run at the Sunday Papers, when I realised that my oven was unworthy. But hours later, and substituting semi-dry apricots for cherrys, there is a crowd gathered around hot rock buns. Thank you!

Also, can I just say I find your site one of the most beautiful around - something about your colour palette is so soothing.

[susoolu]

Update - out of the oven, and beautiful.

Now, can you tell me to do with green tomatoes which refuse to ripen?

(ps got the right blog url this time.)

[Teddy Bear Baker]

Now the cat's among the pigeons! My family have been baking rock cakes for generations (my great grandfather was a baker in Gloucestershire)so making another recipe might split up the family. Your ingredients are almost totally different to ours but they've been assembled and baked and are now cooling. I look forward to the verdict when they are eaten with a good strong English cuppa at three pm. Thanks Jane.

[Norma]

Oh, Jane, could you just FedEx those to me? I'm sure they'd warm up nicely in the microwave. ;-)

Actually, I'm perfectly capable of baking them myself, but there's a moratorium on baking here so I can shed a few pounds. But if someone else bakes and gives me a present....well, I wouldn't want to be rude, you know!

[Teddy Bear Baker]

Jane - I bow down before you! Not just 'coz those cakes are superb but because my son Toby, who is now 20, has never before eaten one as he doesn't like dried fruit or spices. He not only ate one but also snuck a second. Well looks like the family recipe will just have to be changed. Thanks again.

[Mary]

I've just made a batch, ably assisted by Sam. He's watching the clock until they're ready to come out. They're smelling very good!

[Mimi]

What a serendipitous route to your blog! I found Alison at Brocante Home several months back through googling something else entirely...then I read a post on her site by Vintage Pretty, so I checked out her blog, who mentioned the above scrumptious recipe which I made yesterday- delicious! Thank you for sharing- do share more such yummies please!

[Diane E.]

Thanks for the recipes! I am an at home Mom with 3 kids but love many outdoor sports, kayaking, fishing, hiking, tennis. But when the autumn weather starts to chill, I dive right into baking and fiber arts, esp. knitting! I'm thinking of adding crasins(dried cranberries) to the rock buns, something my kids always like in choc. chip cookies. By the way, I've always thought some of my baked creations deserved to be photographed. Now after seeing your great site, I think for fun, I will!

[Paula]

I loved them so delicious! You can bet I'll be baking these yummy 'buns' often. They are great with cheese for breakfast or lunch. BTW I'll be linking to your recipe in my post today.

[Canadian]

Your recipe asks for sultanas AND raisins? Now, to me, sultanas are a KIND of raisins, so this doesn't make sense... Do you mean sultana raisins plus another kind (thompson??)?

[Elizabeth Buchner]

These look fantastic. I sit with the problem of being in north America where most of the baking is done in cup measures so I do not own a pound/ounces scale. Any chance you could convert this recipe into cups or ml.

Liz