Traditional Rock Buns

If you're British, it's very likely you will remember making these as a child. If not, you were perhaps raised on a more exotic diet and these may not seem like the most appealing of teatime treats. After all, they only contain a few rather unexciting ingredients. But sometimes simple is best... and even if it's just because chipping my tooth on a rock bun makes me feel five again, I can't help but feel comforted by the sight of these coming out of the oven.
I used a recipe from the beautiful Leon "Naturally Fast Food" cookbook, and was very pleased with the results. However, the recipe claimed to make 12 but for some reason we only got 9 (and they weren't enormous). Though this may just be because I left Wonderboy to do most of the work so a lot of flour did end up out of the bowl!

180g plain flour

85g butter

85g granulated sugar

a pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

85g sultanas or raisins

1 small egg

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

2. Sieve the flour into a large clean bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and rub into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Add the sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and sultanas and mix thoroughly.

4. Whisk the egg and add it to the bowl, mixing it in with your hands. The mixture will seem dry but don't worry that's how it's supposed to be!

5. Lightly flour one or two baking trays and arrange the mixture in 12 heaps, leaving space between for them to spread.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool. The buns should be hard when cool, but slightly soft in the middle.