In my years as a stay at home Mum, I’d love to say that we had weekly baking sessions, with the children perched on stools and taking it in turns to mix and measure and make.Alas, honesty forbids me to make out that my life at that time was perfect. We did bake, and often, but it was usually me throwing the stuff hastily into a bowl, or when one child was home alone and tired of doing nothing or… as she grew older…. Sarah using baking to de-stress. She’s 15 soon and still uses it to relax, often baking the products and then leaving them for others to enjoy. The relaxation is in the making, not the eating.

It does mean that from an early age I’ve been looking for easy recipes that she could make unaccompanied. Rock cakes (or buns, depending on your family name for them) are as easy as it gets. Eaten slightly warm, with or without dried fruit in them or a dab of butter to add moisture, these make a quick and easy mid morning treat. Ideal Fika.

For 12 Rock Cakes

Ingredients

340g plain flour

2 level tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 nutmeg, grated

175g soft brown sugar

175g soft butter

250g mixed fruit: we use about 100g cherries and 150g currants, raisins and sultanas mixed

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 egg (large)

1-2 tbsp milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to GM4.
2. Sift dry ingredients together. Add sugar and stir.
3. Add the butter and rub in until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Stir in dried fruit and lemon zest.
5. Whisk the egg and milk together, then pour into a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork. Work quickly. The mixture needs to be a stiffish dough.
6. Plop the mixture onto a lined baking tray. You should get about 12 piles.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns are golden brown.
8. Turn out and stand guard or they will disappear before your eyes.

My daughter, who is a great fiddler, has added chocolate chips to this recipe instead of fruit, which she doesn’t like, and serves it sometimes with a sprinkling of demerara sugar on the top. I like mine plain, with a warm chocolate sauce to dip it into. Ultimate hygge.

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