Vegan Rock Cakes
If you’re a fan of nostalgic, crumbly baked treats, then this vegan rock cakes recipe is for you. These little cakes have a rich history rooted in British baking and are beloved for their rustic rock like appearance.
Originally thought to have been named after the rugged, rocky landscapes of the UK, rock cakes are a variation of the traditional scone, featuring a denser, more textured crumb. These are packed with dried fruit and are best served with a steaming cup of tea.
In this recipe, I’ve put a plant-based spin on the classic rock cake, swapping out dairy for vegan-friendly ingredients – and you can’t tell!
The mix of plump raisins (or sultanas, if you prefer) and mixed spice, paired with the zest of fresh orange, creates a comforting sweet treat. Here’s how you can whip up your own batch of these easy, vegan rock cakes!
What you need to make vegan rock cakes
-
plain flour
-
baking powder
-
vegan block butter
-
granulated sugar
-
raisins
-
mixed spice
-
orange
-
6 tbsp of vegan milk
-
A little demerara or granulated sugar to sprinkle
Substitution and Ingredient Notes
Vegan butter: I used Flora buttery or Stork for vegan baking usually. Use soya free vegan butter to make this recipe soya free.
Sugar: I used granulated sugar but you could also use any caster sugar. For sprinkling you can use any sugar, I used demerara.
Dried fruit: I used raisins but you can also substitute this for sultanas or any mixed dried fruit.
Mixed spice: This gives the rock cakes a nice aromatic flavour but you could swap out for a bit of cinnamon or leave out completely.
Orange: If you don’t have an orange to hand you can leave out, but it really adds a lovely flavour so I’d recommend you don’t!
Vegan milk: I used oat milk but you can also use any plant-based milk alternative.
How to make vegan rock cakes
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan /220°C/428°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Add the flour and baking powder to a stand mixer’s bowl. Turn on the mixer and, on medium speed, mix the flour and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.
You can also do this by hand and ‘rub in’ the butter to the flour. First, dice the butter into small cubes and measure the flour. Then add the flour and butter to a large bowl and using your fingertips, gently rub the butter into the flour, lifting the mixture up to incorporate air.
Continuously rub and break down the butter until it’s evenly coated in flour and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the orange zest, spice, sugar and dried fruit and mix.
Now add the milk to the mixture and mix into a stiff, sticky dough. It may be worth adding 4 tbsp to start with and then adding the next tablespoon as you go, until you get the stiff sticky dough consistency. However I found I needed to add all of the 6 tablespoons.
Dollop 8 tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking tray, they don’t need to be perfect shapes, as rock cakes have a raggedy look. Sprinkle on top of each a little demerara sugar or granulated sugar.
Place on the baking sheet into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until golden and firm.
Once out of the oven, leave the rock cakes on the baking sheet to cool for 5 minutes before placing on a on a cooling rack. Or just eat them straight from the oven!
Vegan Rock Cakes
Ingredients
- 180 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 60 g vegan block butter (cold and diced)
- 50 g granulated sugar (or caster sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 160 g raisins or mixed dried fruit
- 1 orange (zest of )
- 6 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp demerara sugar (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan /220C/428F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, butter and baking powder to a stand mixer’s bowl. Turn on the mixer and on medium speed mix the flour and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. If you don't have a stand mixer, mix with a spoon to combine, and then mix together with your hands until breadcrumbed.
- Then add in the orange zest, spice, sugar and dried fruit and mix.
- Next add the milk mixing to the mixture and mix into a stiff, sticky dough. It may be worth adding 4 tbsp to start with and then adding the next tablespoon as you go, until you get the stiff sticky dough consistency.
- Dollop 8 tbsps of the mixture onto the baking tray. Embrace their imperfection to create that rock cake look! Sprinkle on top of each a little demerara sugar or granulated sugar.
- Put the baking sheet into the oven, and bake for about 15 minutes until golden and firm.
- Leave the rock cakes on the baking sheet to cool for 5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack. Or just eat them straight from the oven!
Nutrition
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Fancy more vegan cake recipes?
- Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake
- Italian Lemon and Raspberry Olive Oil Cake
- Vegan Lemon Shortbread
- Vegan Choc Chip Cookies
Did you make this vegan rock cakes recipe? Please rate and review the recipe below, and leave me a comment! I love to hear your feedback, and if you’re enjoying my recipes. Make sure to take a photo, tag me @MadeleineOlivia and tag it #MadeleineOlivia.
4 comments
Grace
I am so sorry but I am from the U.S, and do not use grams, but when I changed the recipe to US customary, the recipes goes from needing 160g of raisins to needing 4 cups of raisins. Again I am from the U.S and have never used grams, so I may be wrong but I feel like 160g of raisins is more like 1 cup. Again I am so sorry, thank you in advance for your time and I hope that you are well.
MadeleineAuthor
Hi Grace, thanks so much for flagging this. You’re right, for some reason the automatic conversion is saying 4 cups which is definitely too many. I’ve amended this to show 3/4 of a cup. x
Jess
Can’t wait to make these! Just wondered what vegan butter you use for baking? Thank you ☺️
MadeleineAuthor
Hi Jess, I used Stork Vegan Baking Block for these but also sometimes use Flora Block too. Enjoy! X