Rock Cakes

'This is Ron,' Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes on to a plate.

'Another Weasley,eh?' said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. 'I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest.'

The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons.

                                                                              from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Rock cakes get their name because they are lumpy and look a little like rocks, not because they are rock-hard.  At least, fresh rock cakes aren't hard, but like most scone-type mixes they should be eaten fresh or they can come to resemble pebbles.  I like my rock cakes straight out of the oven, split, and spread with unsalted butter.

This recipe comes from The Commonsense Cookery Book, which was the required text for year 7 Home Science at my high school.

Rock Cakes

2 cups self-raising flour

90 g butter or margarine

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp currants, sultana, chopped dates or mixed fruit

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

Heat oven to 200 degrees celsius (20 degrees less for a fan-forced oven).  Grease an oven slide.  Sift flour.  Rub in softened butter lightly with the tips of your fingers.  Add sugar and ginger.  Add dried fruit. Beat egg, and add to it the milk.  Add eggs and milk to dry ingredients, and make into a stiff dough.  Place mixture in small, rough heaps on prepared oven slide.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  Allow to cool on a cake rack.

Tips

• Although the recipe suggests ginger, you can easily swap this for cinnamon or mixed spice.  
• I usually use commercial mixed fruit for the dried fruit, and I always put more than the recipe says.  
• If the mixture appears too stiff after you add the milk, just add a little extra milk.  
• Keep an eye on the oven as overcooking will burn the fruit.