PAT-a-cake-pat-a-cake baker’s man! Bake me a cake if you can. Who doesn’t like rock buns?

We’ve all made them at some point in our lives, and for most of us that would have been at school. They were probably taught to us because of the high success rate, simple preparations and basic ingredients.

Rock buns are a type of easy cake that can be rustled up with not much more than a bag of old flour and some sad-looking currants left over from making the Christmas cake. Making them requires no fancy techniques - no baking tins, no fuss, no art, just lots of good fun.

But while we are happy to revisit other recipes from our childhood such as jam tarts, fairy cakes and gingerbread men, long after our tastes and baking prowess have evolved, we are happy to leave the poor old rock bun firmly in the past.

A rock bun is also a good basis for your imagination too, because if necessary it can feature rather complex and intense ingredients. By all means add a handful of dried fruits or nuts, spices and zests, and take this little bun in a bolder direction it deserves.

Of course, part of the rock bun’s appeal is its rustic good looks. Nobody wants a batch identical, as its rugged nature and craggy crust charm is in contrast to its soft scone-like interior.

It doesn’t need rolling or stamping out like biscuits and scones, which makes it perfect for little hands who care nothing for precision. They prefer poking and prodding, and eating the fruits of their labour as soon as possible, please mum.

This easy store cupboard recipe is a must-bake during the extended time off school, and maybe if you do have some chocolate chips or mini marshmallows at the back of the cupboard for a wicked combo, the kids will thank you and offer to make their beds for a week.

On a final note, rock buns were originally one of a host of cheap bakes promoted by the Ministry of Food during wartime, because they required less sugar and fewer eggs. This is a bit like today in our time of food shortages due to selfish bulk-buying.

Does the rock bun need to be locked-down in the past or shall we promote it for a comeback thanks to the loo roll shortage?

Get the kids off the computers, dig out the aprons and spend an afternoon in the kitchen baking rock buns away form all this doom and gloom.

Keep safe - and keep clapping for our #NHS.

Store Cupboard Rock Buns

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Ingredients

300g/11oz self-raising flour or plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder, sifted 

150g/5oz butter or margarine, cold from the fridge

150g/5oz caster sugar

2 egg, lightly beaten 

150ml/1/4 pint milk or cream

150g/5oz currants 

A little caster sugar to sprinkle over once baked

Method  

1. In a large mixing bowl, sieve over the flour then add the caster sugar. 

2. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips so that it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

3. Stir in the caster sugar and currants.

4. Add the beaten eggs and milk to form a soft dough. 

5. Empty the contents of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface, and lightly knead. 

6. Divide the mixture into 12 rough heaps placing onto two lightly-buttered baking trays. 

7. Bake in a preheated oven 180c/Gas Mark 5 for around 15 minutes or until well-risen and golden brown. 

8. Once out of the oven, sprinkle over a little caster sugar and allow to cool on the tray. 

* If the kids have been good? replace the currants for chocolate chips and a handful of mini marshmallows.