I love the combination of date and walnut so I had to include this Date and Walnut Rock Buns recipe in my Rock Buns Recipe series. I think the flavours combine beautifully to make a scrumptious rock bun, especially when drizzled with a little glacé icing while still hot.
I decided I would create my rock buns series of recipes after experimenting with a number of variations based on my original Rock Buns Recipe – see all of my rock buns recipes below:
Date and Walnut Rock Buns
9
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
8 ounces / 225 grams / 1 cup self-raising flour
4 ounces / 110 grams / ½ dark soft brown sugar
4 ounces / 110 grams / ½ cup butter
6 ounces / 170 grams / ¾ cup pitted dates cut into small pieces
3 ounces / 85 grams / ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
1 large egg
1-2 tablespoons milk
Glacé icing (optional)
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / 390°F / Gas Mark 6.
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment or lightly grease with a little butter.
- Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar.
- Add the butter cut into small pieces and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the dates and walnuts.
- Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of milk and use to mix to a soft dough, adding a little more milk if necessary.
- Pile the mixture in little rock like heaps onto the prepared baking tray. You should have around 8-12 buns according to size.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. I like to drizzle them with a little glacé icing while still hot, but this is a matter of taste.
- Either serve warm from the oven or cool on a wire rack.
Traditional Rock Buns
Traditionally, rock buns are flavoured with mixed spice and include dried fruit and candied peel. In recipes, the ratio of fat and sugar to flour usually ranges from one-third to one-half, but never exceeds that.
Older recipes often call for lard, or a combination of lard with butter or margarine. Personally, I find the best rock buns are made with butter, using the higher ratio of fat and sugar — one-half of the flour quantity.
Most recipes suggest using about the same weight of dried fruit as flour, but I like to be more generous, adding at least 6 ounces of fruit to a mixture based on 8 ounces of flour.
You can use either self-raising flour or plain flour with baking powder; I’ve tried both and noticed no real difference. The choice between brown and white sugar is also up to personal taste. For traditional rock buns I prefer caster sugar, but for these Date and Walnut Rock Buns, my Ginger Rock Buns and my Apple, Sultana and Cinnamon Rock Buns I like to use a brown sugar.
Serving Date and Walnut Rock Buns
As with all of my rock buns these Date and Walnut Rock Buns are nicest served warm from the oven, but should anyway be eaten on the day they are made. Any leftovers can be frozen. Defrost wrapped in foil in a hot oven.
Happy baking!
Tanya
