25/03/2026
Cornish Rock Cakes.
Taken and slightly adapted from a recipe on the Sainsbury's site.
Ingredients
a generous pinch of saffron strands
75ml milk (I used almond milk - I had it available!)
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g caster sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
zest of 1 orange
125g fridge-cold clotted cream or in my case, 125g cold unsalted butter!
100g raisins or sultanas (I did a mix)
25g cut mixed peel (I had citroen and orange peel)
1 medium egg, beaten.
Heat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Bring the saffron and milk to a simmer in a pan. Set aside to infuse. (I carefully heated in the microwave in a measuring jug) - CAREFULLY! 😁
Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and spices in a food processor with the orange zest and a pinch of salt.
Dollop the clotted cream or cubed cold butter into the food processor; pulse to form fine crumbs.
Tip into a bowl and then stir in the raisins and mixed peel.
Add the egg and saffron milk; stir to create a shaggy dough.
Dollop 6 fairly equal spoonfuls onto each tray, leaving room for spreading. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden; cool on a rack.
(I did them on fan 160° for about 20-22 mins.)
Living in Umbria, we don't have Clotted Cream here, but we do have Mascarpone!
You could do a Cornish/Italian cream tea - my rock cakes were a little flat and a bit crumbly - still absolutely delish tho!
So, what we are planning to do is top the rock cake, rather than split it (but if yours come out in a way you can split them, go ahead!) with some strawberry or raspberry jam and then a dollop of Marscarpone on top. I might even slice a fresh strawberry on top! Serve with a pot of tea! (Cornish way - Jam First!)
Or, simply eat them as they are - they are really tasty!
They freeze well too.
