Name: Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g (1.5 Cups + 1tbsp) Self Raising Flour; 100g (3oz) Butter; 2 tsp Baking Powder; 50g (1 Cup) Granulated Sugar; 150g (1 Cup) Mixed Dried Fruit (Raisins/Currants/Peel); 1 Large Egg; 1-2 tbsp Milk; 150g chocolate chips (3/4 cup)

Chocolate Chip Rock cakes are many things: they are simple and delicious, they are a cousin of the humble Rock Cake, and this cousin has been made famous several times over the years.

One thing they are not is complicated, despite their scrumptiousness, and the length of this recipe will reflect this!

What are Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes?

The humble Chocolate Chip Rock Cake is a middleman. The perfect compromise between the traditional Rock Cake and more decadent Chocolate Rock Cakes.

They have all the taste and tradition of a plain rock cake, just hinting at a sweeter chocolate version with chips of chocolatey goodness.

What are Rock Cakes?

The traditional rock cake is a classic. It’s a simple cake made from a minimum of ingredients—such a limited amount of ingredients, in fact, that the British government promoted Rock Cakes as a great option during the rationing of World War 2.

These simple little cakes generally consist of flour, sugar, butter, egg, milk, and mixed dried fruit.

If eaten warm, straight from the oven, it’s hard to find a better-tasting treat. They’re so popular that they have appeared in modern culture since the war. From Agatha Christie and Humphrey Bogart to Hagrid and Harry Potter, these wee cakes go beyond famous, making them a classic.

Where do Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes come from?

Rock cakes originated in Great Britain, at least since Victorian times (1837-1901, the length of Queen Victoria’s reign), but potentially before.

Like many of the classic British recipes we’ve made here on Scottish Scran, rock cakes have changed over the years. Like recipes such as Eves Pudding, Crumble, Bread and Butter Pudding and Cranachan, the Rock Cake recipe has been altered and adapted from family to family. An “original” recipe is hard to find. However, the early rock cakes would have contained a lot more oats.

Adding chocolate chips to pep this plain cake up a little is not a great leap. Chocolate has been available since the 1600s, but mainly as a drink. Chocolate chips, however, first appeared in the UK included in ‘cookies’ as late as 1956.

So, as much as we can’t tell you exactly when some genius added chocolate chips to Rock Cakes, we’re delighted they did!

Things you’ll need to make Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes

Baking tray
Baking paper
Mixing bowl
Wooden mixing spoon
Grater (optional)
Tablespoon / two forks

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes

This recipe will make 9 large or 12 small rock cakes. If you need more, increase the ingredients proportionally.

250g (1.5 Cups + 1tbsp) Self Raising Flour
100g (3oz) Butter
2 tsp Baking Powder
50g (1 Cup) Granulated Sugar
150g (1 Cup) Mixed Dried Fruit (Raisins/Currants/Peel)
1 Large Egg
1-2 tbsp Milk
150g chocolate chips (3/4 cup)

How to make Chocolate Chip Rock Cakes – Step-by-Step Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/160C Fan or 370F/320F Fan.

Grease a baking tray with butter or use baking paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. This is easiest if the butter is cold but not too hard.

If it’s too cold/hard, you can grate the butter and then rub it into the flour.

Like scones, you should handle as little as possible so the heat from your hands doesn’t melt the butter.

Stir in the chocolate chips and sugar.

Beat together the egg and 1 tbsp of milk and add to the mixture. If it’s too dry, you can add the other tbsp of milk. It should be a stiff dough.

To put on the baking tray, either drop a heaped tablespoon of the mixture from a spoon or use two forks to shake it into a rough ball and put it on the tray.

Bake 12-15 minutes until they start to turn pale golden brown at the rough edges.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack when they’re cool enough to touch. They are best eaten while still a little warm or within the next day or so.

Enjoy!

Yield: 12