This recipe for Chocolate Rock Cakes is going to be short and sweet. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We are making a cake that is already delicious… chocolatey! What’s not to love?
What are Chocolate Rock Cakes?
The simple answer is that our rock cake recipe, with chocolate chips and cocoa added, makes a chocolate rock cake or bun, which is more decadent and less fruity.
Ok then, what’s a Rock Cake?
Rock Cakes or Rock Buns are small scone-like cakes that have been made in Britain for hundreds of years. The non-chocolaty kind has dried fruit such as sultanas or raisins instead of chocolate chips and sometimes has added mixed spice.
They are incredibly moreish yet easy to bake and a great recipe to try with kids.
Why are they called Rock Cakes?
This one is easy; they are said to have both the size and look of a small rock. But don’t worry, they don’t have the taste! One minor issue with our chocolate rock cakes is that they look a wee bit less like a rock.
We’ll leave it up to you as to what they look like. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all!
Where do Chocolate Rock Cakes come from?
Rock Buns or Rock Cakes have been a popular tea-time treat since at least Victorian times. Their history and origin were more complicated to track prior to this. Like many British recipes such as Eves Pudding, Crumble, Bread and Butter Pudding and Cranachan, the recipe has been passed down through families so they can all be a little bit different.
They gained more popularity during WWII as they required fewer eggs than other treats, so they were made to help the war effort.
You can even find them mentioned at least three times in the Harry Potter books, made by Hagrid and Mrs Weasley, though we’re still determining if they followed our recipe.
The addition of chocolate is more modern and something we’ve yet to find a history for. Like many recipes, adding chocolate is often a no-brainer.
Things you’ll need to make Chocolate Rock Cakes
- Large Bowl
- Sifter
- Baking Tray
- Baking Paper
- Wooden or metal spoon for mixing
- Pastry cutter to help with mixing the flour and butter
- Two forks for arranging on the baking tray
Ingredients for Chocolate Rock Cakes
- 100g Chocolate chips
- 30g Cocoa powder
- 1 Large egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 220g (1.5 Cups) Self-raising flour
- 100g (3oz) Butter
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 50g (1 Cup) Granulated sugar
How to make Chocolate Rock Cakes – Step-by-step method
This recipe makes 12 Rock cakes, depending on the size you mould them into.
Preheat the oven to 190C/160C Fan or 370F/320F Fan.
Grease a baking tray or use a sheet of baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder into your mixing bowl.
Add cocoa powder and stir.
Cut the butter into cubes and slowly rub it into the flour between your fingers and thumbs until it resembles breadcrumbs.
It’s easiest to do this if the butter is cold but not too hard.
If the butter is too firm, you can grate the butter in.
Like scones, you should handle as little as possible so the heat from your hands doesn’t melt the butter.
We sometimes use a pastry cutter tool like this to speed things up and cut the butter into much smaller chunks with minimal handling.
Stir in the chocolate chips and sugar.
Beat the egg and 1 tbsp of milk, then add this to the mixture. If it’s too dry, add the other tbsp of milk. It should be a stiff dough.
To put on the baking tray, use two forks to shake into a rough ball and put on the tray.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack when they’re cool enough to touch.
Enjoy! They are best eaten while still a little warm or within the next day or so.
Chocolate Rock Cakes Recipe
Our Chocolate rock cake recipe is simple but yields really great results. It elevates the traditional rock cake to decadent, chocolaty new heights.
Okay, so it's just a chocolate rock cake, but it's really tasty!
Ingredients
- 100g Chocolate chips (0.5 Cups)
- 30g Cocoa powder (0.3 / 1/3 Cups )
- 1 Large egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 220g (1.5 Cups) Self-raising flour
- 100g (3oz) Butter
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 50g (0.5 Cup) Granulated sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190C/160C Fan or 370F/320F Fan.
Grease a baking tray or use a sheet of baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder into your mixing bowl.
Add cocoa powder and stir.
Cut the butter into cubes and slowly rub it into the flour between your fingers and thumbs until it resembles breadcrumbs.
It's easiest to do this if the butter is cold but not too hard.
If the butter is too firm, you can grate the butter in.
Like scones, you should handle as little as possible so the heat from your hands doesn't melt the butter.
We sometimes use a pastry cutter tool like this to speed things up and cut the butter into much smaller chunks with minimal handling.
Stir in the chocolate chips and sugar.
Beat the egg and 1 tbsp of milk, then add this to the mixture. If it's too dry, add the other tbsp of milk. It should be a stiff dough.
To put on the baking tray, use two forks to shake into a rough ball and put on the tray.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack when they're cool enough to touch.
Try Some More of Our Easy Chocolate Recipes
- Easy White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies
- Easy Triple Chocolate Flapjack Recipe
- Easy Chocolate Tiffin Recipe
- 4 Ingredient Chocolate Bourbon Biscuit Cake Recipe
- The Most Excellent NYC Mini Egg Cookies Recipe
Pin for later!
Chocolate (yum, yum) – definitely will try these!!
How many does this recipe make, because the size will affect the bake?
Hi Clair,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to your comments, the recipe should make 12 depending on the size of cake you want to make. Unless you really make a big size difference it won’t affect the cooking time hugely.