Vegan British Rock Cakes are the easiest bake ever yet so tasty with a cup of tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or glass of chilled oat milk. A batch of home-baked rock cakes can be ready in just 30 minutes and enjoyed warm from the oven - they are just the best teatime treat. Our rock cake recipe is egg-free and dairy-free yet only a few everyday pantry ingredients are required so they are perfect for anyone. We also provide an easy gluten-free rock cake method within the FAQ section.
British rock cakes or buns are similar to traditional British fruit scones but with a less dense texture and less fiddly to prepare. Rock cakes are ideal for less confident cooks and kids to bake with supervision.
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Origins Of British Rock Cakes
Rock cakes or rock buns, are a traditional British bake that dates at least back to the 19th Century Victorian era as Mrs Beeton’s cookery books recorded recipes for rock cakes. Rock cakes are often associated with the British rationing periods during World War I and World War II, when ingredients like sugar, butter, and eggs were scarce, expensive, or rationed.
Really old recipes for British rock cakes often contain oatmeal as this ingredient was inexpensive and saved other more expensive ingredients being used.
Rock cake recipes were particularly popular because they only required a few ingredients, could be baked as egg-free and required less sugar and butter compared with other cakes. This made rock cakes an ideal budget-friendly and thrifty treat. The rough, lumpy appearance of these cakes, resembling rocks, comes from the way the dough is spooned onto the baking tray in uneven clumps rather than being rolled, patted, or smoothed out.
Rock cakes are still very popular in Britain especially for afternoon tea, teatime treats, or for evening suppertime - which is a snack and drink enjoyed a few hours after dinner. There is also the Jamaican rock cake which dates back to the colonial times and incorporates desiccated coconut into the bun. We do have an easy Jamaican rock cake recipe that is well worth a bake!
Our Scottish childhood rock cakes!
Growing up in Scotland, during the 80s, rock buns was my absolute favourite thing to bake and no one seemed to mind if I overbaked them, which I generally did, and the buns actually came out of the oven rock hard! You could literally chuck them at the wall and they would resist giving up the tiniest crumb! However, for some reason my older brother has fond memories of my concrete rock cakes and as an adult he even requested I bake a batch!
Harry Potter - Hagrid’s Rock Cakes!
These days I bake the rock cakes for less time and they are deliciously soft yet with the classic firmer crumbly outsides.
I guess my childhood rock cakes were similar to the ones Hagrid served up to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in the book and film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - as Harry Potter almost breaks a tooth trying to eat Hagrid's rock cakes! If you or your kids are Harry Potter fans then home-baked rock cakes do make great movie nibbles especially to enjoy for the first Harry Potter film.
Rock cakes resembling a scruffy more rustic scone in appearance and texture, but they are much easier to prepare.Their rock-like appearance does give them a quaint fun look. Traditional bakes that are similar to rock cakes include British fruit scones, Yorkshires fat rascals, England's singing hinny's, Scotland's fatty cutties, and Yorkshire turf cakes.
How To Prepare
For our traditional rock cakes the ingredients you will need are - plain flour, baking powder, sugar, margarine, sultanas, lemon zest and plant-based milk.
- Step 1: Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
- Step 2: Add the margarine in small blobs and with your fingertips rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Step 3: Mix through the lemon zest, sultanas, and sugar.
- Step 4: Add the milk and stir to a very thick sticky dough.
- Step 5 : Scoop 8 sticky rock cake onto the baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Step 6: Rock cakes are ready when they have golden brown bits, are firm and crunchy on the outsides.
- Step 7: Enjoy the rock cakes warm from the oven or cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
Storing
Rock cakes are best stored in a covered container, wrapped in a layer or kitchen foil to preserve their freshness for longer. Although they can be stored under a cake display, or within a cookie jar/tin.
Store for up to 4 days, any longer the rock cakes can be freshened up by placing in the oven for a few minutes, or toasted on a dry hot plate/panini hotplate or dry fry pan.
Freezing
Rock cakes can be frozen for 2-3 months if wrapped in food and freezer safe wrap and placed into a freezer safe container.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can easily bake these rock cakes as a gluten-free version by following these simple adjustments:
1. Start by using a gluten-free plain flour blend and a gluten-free baking powder. To prevent the rock cakes from becoming too crumbly, also add ¼ teaspoon of Xanthan gum.
2. Gluten-free flour tends to absorb more liquid, so you might need to add a little extra liquid to achieve a stiff, sticky dough consistency.
3. You can add extra flavour to the gluten-free rock cakes by adding one and a half teaspoons of cinnamon. Also for a richer taste, you can replace the white sugar with soft or light brown sugar. If preferred, you can also omit the lemon zest.
4. It's best to enjoy gluten-free rock cakes within a few days as they tend to dry out. To combat any dryness, serve them with some fruit preserve or jam, which is delicious, especially with a nice cup of tea. One of our kids particularly enjoys dipping their rock cake into their cup of tea, which they seem to like!
5. If you won’t be eating all the rock cakes within a few days, then its best to freeze them to maintain their freshness.
Image below: Gluten-free rock cakes, prepared with 1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, soft brown sugar, and the lemon zest omitted:
Image above: Gluten-Free British Rock Cakes split open to show the inside texture.
Yes, the sultanas can be replaced with raisins, dried currants, or a dried fruit mix. If you are going to use larger dried fruits - such as dried apricots, dates, figs - then do ensure that they are diced up to the size of raisins.
Yes, we often like to add about one and a half teaspoons of powdered cinnamon. Other spices that can be added include - mixed spice powder, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, ground ginger, etc.
Yes of course, this recipe will work with any type of milk.
We usually like to use Stork baking spread or block as it's free from animal ingredients and works well for mostly all our recipes.
However, any type of margarine, butter, baking spread or baking block that is suitable for baking can be used.
Although, do make sure not to use low-fat, diet, or lite versions of margarine, etc., as those tend to contain too much liquid which can affect the end bake.
A nice cup of tea, coffee, or plant-based milk, are perfect accompaniments to a tasty rock cake. Although, some people do like to slice their rock cake in half and spread with margarine or butter or fruit jam so that's another option.
It's both! Some people like to use the term rock cake and others like to use rock bun. It really just depends on where you grew up as the region you lived in would have had its own preference.
Yes and no. Both are very similar in texture and appearance but they are their own individual bakes. Paris buns were very popular during my Scottish childhood in the 80s and 90s and were commonly available in shops, bakeries, and cafes, but they are very rare to find these days, if at all!
The best thing about Paris buns was the large crunchy bits of sugar that was sprinkled over the top before baking. The sugar is also known as sugar pearls or sugar nibs and for a home-made version crushing up sugar cubes into large pieces is a good alternative.
We are currently creating and trialing a recipe for Paris buns which we hope to post soon so do look out for that.
More Traditional Bakes Made Vegan
These classic home-bakes are perfect for teatime treats as well as afternoon tea parties - our Jamaican Rock Cakes and Traditional Welsh Cakes. And these family favourites our Edinburgh Fruit Scones and this Mincemeat Crumble Traybake.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Vegan British Rock Cakes
Equipment
- Baking tray with baking paper to line the tray
- Mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- sieve
- tablespoon
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 180 grams plain flour [or all-purpose flour]
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 60 grams vegan butter or margarine [we use Stork baking spread or block]
- 45 grams granulated sugar [or caster sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling]
- 60 grams sultanas [or raisins, dried currants, or mixed dried fruits]
- 1 lemon [grate the zest, and keep the lemon for a different recipe]
- 6 tablespoons plant-based milk [more or less as required]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 Fan/ 220 Celsius / 428 Fahrenheit / Gas 7.
- Line the baking tray with baking paper.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.180 grams plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Add the butter or margarine and using your finger-tips rub the fat into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.60 grams vegan butter or margarine
- Mix through the lemon zest, sugar and sultanas.45 grams granulated sugar, 60 grams sultanas, 1 lemon
- Add three tablespoons of milk mixing to combine the flour mix into a stiff, sticky dough, add another tablespoon and mix. The whole six tablespoons may be required.6 tablespoons plant-based milk
- Once the dough is stiff and sticky, use a tablespoon to scoop the mix into 8 rock cakes, placing each on to the baking tray. The cakes do not have to be perfect circles or shapes. A ragged and rustic look is perfect.
- Place the baking tray on the middle shelf and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and firm.Our fan oven always takes 10 minutes for rock cakes but other types of oven will likely require a few minutes longer or the full 15 minutes to bake.
- Leave the rock cakes on the baking tray to cool for 5 minutes before removing to cool further on a cooling rack or simply leave the cakes on the baking tray to cool. These rock cakes can also be enjoyed warm from the oven.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict analysis as ingredients vary.
- Rock cakes are best stored in a covered container, wrapped in a layer or kitchen foil to preserve their freshness for longer. Although they can be stored under a cake display, or within a cookie jar or tin. Store for up to 4 days, any longer the rock cakes can be freshened up by placing in the oven for a few minutes, or toasted on an electric hotplate, fry pan, or skillet.
- Rock cakes can be frozen for 2-3 months wrapped in food and freezer safe wrap and placed into a food container.
- Instead of sultanas you can use raisins, dried currants or a dried fruit mix or you can omit the dried fruit for a fruit-free rock cake.
- For a tasty variation omit the lemon zest and add a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon or pumpkin spice mix/ apple pie mix/mixed spice/ginger, etc.
- Use a gluten-free plain flour blend, along with a gluten-free baking powder. And add a ¼ teaspoon of Xanthan gum to ensure the rock cakes are not too crumbly.
- You may need extra liquid to mix into a stiff, sticky dough as gluten-free flour tends to soak up more liquid.
- Incorporating one and a half teaspoons of cinnamon to the mixture [at the same time the sugar is added] is particularly tasty for gluten-free rock cakes.
- Gluten-free rock cakes are best eaten within a few days as they can become quite dry. Some fruit preserve or jam is a tasty accompaniment and helps with any dryness as well as a nice cup of tea.
- If necessary freeze any rock cakes that won't be eaten within a few days.
Nutrition
Comments
Prepared our Vegan British Rock Cakes recipe? We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do pop back and drop us a comment below and click the star ratings. Your feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks so much! Love, Jack x
Shelley Griffiths says
fab recipe. I doubled ingredients to make 10 Gregs size rock cakes. ( which they don't make anymore)
Hubi and I love them.
Thanks Shelley
Jacq says
Thanks! I'm very happy you and your hubi love the rock cakes! That's a great idea to double the recipe to make Greggs size rock cakes! Totally going to do that as well with my next batch. When I was little I loved the Paris Buns that Greggs used to bake, so I'm thinking larger rock cakes may be similar especially if cubes of sugar are crushed and sprinkled over the top before baking. Going to try that too! Thanks for the inspiration! x