Most of you know that I do the bulk of the cooking, but what you might not know is that Ada (aka Maria) does the bulk of the baking. She’s been making these rock cakes for years now and they are simply amazing!

We enjoy them as a quick breakfast when we’re underway and as a sweet treat after dinner. The dried fruit varies depending on what we have onboard – we’ve used chopped dried cherries, dried blueberries, raisins, dried currants and probably my favorite, Craisins (dried cranberries)

While we made them with fresh dairy when we were land-based, we now use Hoosier Hill Farm powdered milk & powdered cream – whole, not non-fat! I’ve provided Amazon links at the end of the recipe… BTW, those are affiliate links; you pay the same, but I get a small percentage from amazon for sending you their way. So please, use the links if you decide to buy these products.

Ingredients (Makes 9)

2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

4 oz salted butter cut into about 1/4” cubes

1/4 cup craisins or other dried fruit
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange (grated or finely chopped – we grate using a micro plane)

1 egg
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze/Icing (optional)
1 cup of confectioners sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp of heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

In a large bowl, use a whisk to combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt

Cut in the cubed butter until the mixture starts to resemble course breadcrumbs – yes, I know you shouldn’t, but we use our hands to mush it together… it works, just start with well chilled butter and work quickly so the butter doesn’t soften too much!

Add the craisins, nutmeg, sugar & orange zest and combine (yep, use your hands again to toss together)

Set aside

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk & vanilla extract

Add the wet to the dry (all at once) and using a spoon mix until it just comes together – DO NOT over mix!

Using the spoon, drop slightly larger than golf ball size lumps onto the greased cookie sheet (we use the silicone pads), and use a fork to make the surface uneven (spike it up?), sprinkle with torbinado sugar (optional?) and bake for 20 minutes at 375°

On Rocinante, our little oven is no match for a convection oven, so we actually rotate the sheet 10 minutes in to the baking process to promote even cooking. Since the temperature is also not as exact, we adjust the cooking time in 5 minute increments until the rock cakes “look right” – just starting to get that golden brown color.

They’ll still be soft, so let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then move to a wire rack to finish cooling

While they cool, make the Glaze if desired – Simply whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.

Enjoy!

Here are the links I mentioned – both products are excellent for baking! :