Ruby Tandoh’s school of rock cakes

Apple spice cakes

 Any tea will do for soaking the sultanas in these lightly spiced rock buns, but I think that Earl Grey sits well alongside the citrussy lightness of the crushed cardamom seeds.

Makes 8
100g sultanas
1 earl grey teabag
150g plain flour
100g wholemeal flour
3½ tsp baking powder
125g soft light brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
4 cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed
A pinch of salt
125g butter
100g apple (from 1-2 cox or braeburn apples)
1 large egg
2-3 tbsp demerara sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

2 Measure out the sultanas with the teabag in a small heatproof bowl, and add enough boiling water to cover the fruit. Leave the fruit to soak and plump up until the liquid’s cool, then pass through a sieve, collecting the tea in a separate bowl.

3 While the sultanas soak, combine the plain and wholemeal flours, the baking powder, sugar, spice and salt. Cut the butter into chunks and rub it into the dry ingredients between your fingertips until there are no visible pieces left and the flour mixture is coarsely sandy.

4 Peel, core and chop the apples, cutting into ½ cm chunks. Toss the apple and drained sultanas through the flour and butter mix. Lightly beat the egg, then add to the rest of the ingredients. Work the egg in until you’re left with a slightly sticky dough. If you can pick a ball of it up without it sticking a little to your fingers, it’s too dry. Add a splash of the reserved tea if this is the case.

5 Spoon the batter into 8 portions spread well apart across the baking trays. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over their tops, to give a welcome crunch against the buttery softness of the cake. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, until well-risen and golden brown.

Lemon-glazed gingerbread rock cakes

These will spread a little more than the apple spice rock buns above, but that means a softer texture, too. They’re halfway between a soft gingerbread cookie and a traditional rock cake. If the heat of glace ginger isn’t to your taste, try raisins instead.

Makes 12
400g plain flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp salt
225g butter
200g soft dark brown sugar
200g chopped glace ginger

2 large eggs
200g icing sugar
50ml lemon juice

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Stir the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt together in a large bowl. Cube the fat and rub it into the dry mixture. Stir through the dark brown sugar and glace ginger. Stir in the eggs to get a rough, sticky dough. Spoon into 12 equal heaps spaced well apart on the prepared baking tray.

2 Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the rock cakes have risen, spread and set. They should be reasonably firm, not spongy, to the touch. While they bake, prepare the glaze by stirring the lemon juice into the icing sugar a little at a time until the glaze is smooth and pourable.

3 As soon as they emerge from the oven, brush the rock cakes liberally with lemon glaze. Sprinkle a little lemon zest or extra glace ginger on top of each if you feel like dressing them up. Leave to cool for a while on a wire rack and eat while still slightly warm.M