"rock cakes" news and stories

What "looks twee and smacks of tea parties and pinkies out," according to blogger tamarindandthyme? Consider the rock cake, a sometimes beloved, sometimes reviled, craggy-textured, spiced scone-like snack of English schoolchildren and expats, and a purported teatime favorite of fictional boy wizard Harry Potter.

Another blogger, bakingforbritain, finds that even the revered 19th-century cookery writer Mrs. Beeton, in her Book of Household Management, offers up a rock cake that's "dry... hard, and bland." However, also included in the post is an Elizabeth Craig recipe, calling for orange rind and juice, that satisfies. Tamarindandthyme's recipe favors a mix of currants and a glace cherry topping, satisfying a nostalgic yearning and an appetite for a tender treat.

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