One of my TikTokFam requested this. I am humbled and grateful for all the requests. Greatly appreciate it. At first, I thought it was a Chinese kinda bun, but as I began to research, I soon found out that this is actually a tea-time treat in the UK.
UK cuisine like many other unpopular cuisines is so underrated and underexplored. Like these rock buns, for example, I have never heard of them, until recently. It is somewhat between scones (or biscuits for the USA) and cookies. It is usually served around 2 to 3 pm during tea sessions.
This is a pretty straightforward and easy recipe to follow. The only thing is not to overmix. The end result should be wetter than cookie dough, or to simply put it, a wet sand consistency that you would use to build a sand castle. And you will get a crispy exterior, a soft and chewy interior. Perfect for some tea.
Ingredients:
(Make 10)
Raisins, 50g
Dried Apricots Finely Chopped, 25g
Candied Orange Peels, 25g
Fresh Orange Zest, 1 Orange
Cointreau / Brandy / Rum, 2 TBSP
Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 200g
Baking Powder, 12g
Sea Salt, 1/2 TSP
Cookie Spice Blend Homemade, 1 TSP + More For Sprinkling
Unsalted Butter Coarsely Diced Softened, 100g
Light Muscovado Sugar, 45g
Fresh Orange Zest, 2 TBSP
Egg, 1
Demerara Sugar, For Sprinkling
Equipment:
Oven
Directions:
Please visit my "Cookie Spice Blend" page for the recipe.
Soak raisins, apricots, peels and zest with Cointreau in a bowl.
Mix to combine well and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and cookie spice.
Mix to combine well.
Add in the butter and crumble together with the flour mixture with your hands until it resembles wet sand consistency.
*You can do this in a food processor by pulsing the mixture a few times. Do not overmix or it will come together into a dough.*
Add in sugar, the soaked fruits and all the soaking liquid.
Crumble together until everything is well combined.
Add in egg and orange juice.
Mix until well combined.
It should come together into a huge chunk of wet sand. Something that you would build a sand castle with.
You can eyeball it into 10 equal pieces.
Or if you are as anal as me, weigh and divide into 10 equal pieces.
Transfer onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
*These don't spread as much as cookies, so it is safe to place all 10 in 1 tray.*
You wanna keep the pieces as rustic as possible so that they will resemble rocks after baking.
Add a pinch of cookie spice to 1 TSP of sugar in a small bowl.
Mix to combine well.
Sprinkle that mixture over the rock buns.
Set aside at room temperature for 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius or 355 fahrenheit.
After 30 mins, wack into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 mins or until it is browned on the edges.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.
Serve immediately while it is still warm with some tea.
You have to give this a try...
Crispy, soft and chewy...