Jamaican Rock Buns

I spend a lot of time researching recipes from all over the world but spend very little time on Jamaican recipes. We don't have a lot of traditional desserts but it's about time that I learn to make them. I'd been thinking about this for a while and voiced this some friends back in December. They decided to join me on this quest. We created a schedule. One recipe for each month in 2019. No pressure though. If it doesn't get done in that particular month, no big deal.

For January, we chose rocks buns. I first made rock buns in first form of high school (at 10 years old). It's a really easy recipe and a good way to start because some of these months are going to be very hard for me.

I'm not quite sure how to describe a rock bun. A dense mini cake? Scone's denser cousin? A delicious treat that you should just eat and stop trying to describe it? Let's go with that.


Jamaican Rock Buns 

Ingredients 

480 grams flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
170 grams butter
200 grams brown sugar
1 cup shredded, fresh coconut
1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
milk, as needed


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 baking sheets (I used a half sheet and a quarter sheet).
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar, coconut and raisins. Beat the eggs and vanilla then stir them in. Splash in enough milk to get the mixture to stick together. I used about a 1/4 cup but you might need more.

Scoop mounds of the batter onto prepared sheets. I used an ice cream scoop but you can use a large spoon. It doesn't need to be perfect. If desired, sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tops are dry and the rock buns are golden.

Note

Sometimes I use a cup of grated coconut. More coconut = more happiness.

Breudher Cake #BreadBakers

I am extremely excited about this month's Bread Bakers for two reasons. First, I have not participated in Bread Bakers in over a year! During the first 8 months of 2018 I was just very horrible at time management. Other times it would be because I just couldn't come up with a good idea for the theme. And that brings us to the second reason. The theme this month is CATCH UP. And catching up is exactly what I wanted to do. Thanks for hosting this, Pavani!

I really wanted to participate in last November's yeast cake theme but ran out of time. I'm glad that I did though because I would have made something else and would never have discovered this Breudher cake.

Breudher cake is a yeasted cake popular in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. However, it's not exactly Asian but a product of Dutch colonization. I may have spent too much time tracing the roots of this cake. What you need to know is that it is delicious. I thought some kind of glaze would have kicked it up a notch but I did love it as is. It's not very sweet and is definitely something that I'd make several times - adding a twist here and there. The list of ingredients is long but you make the cake in stages so it's pretty easy.

Breudher Cake 

Ingredients 
450 grams flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter

140 grams raisins
5 tablespoons of rum

150 grams butter
150 grams sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons rum
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions 

Combine the flour, yeast, salt, water, and milk. Knead until the dough comes together into a ball and all the liquid is absorbed. The dough shouldn't be dry. If it's dry, add a tablespoon of water.  Cut the butter in pieces and knead into the dough for about 8 minutes until the dough is soft. It shouldn't be sticky. If it's sticky, add a little flour. Place in an oiled bowl and refrigerate overnight. It can also be left to rise for about an hour or until doubled at room temperature.

Mix the raisins with brandy and set aside while the dough is proofing. I prefer to do this overnight.

When the dough is ready, thoroughly grease a 10 cup Bundt pan. Cut the dough into pieces. I cut into roughly 3 or 4 tablespoon pieces.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add rum and vanilla and beat until mixed together. Add the dough one piece and a time and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time mixing after each addition.

Add the raisins and beat until the raisins are distributed in the dough.

Scrape into the prepared Bundt pan. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. It will not rise much but it will look a little puffy.

When the dough is almost ready, preheat the oven to 325F.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!





This month, we are catching up on old ‘Bread Bakers’ themes we missed out on. Our host of the month is Pavani at Cook's Hideout. Check out what the Bread Bakers have baked up.

• Adjaruli Khachapuri from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Big Batch Dinner Rolls from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Breudher Cake from Passion Kneaded
• Coriander Garlic Pull apart Bread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Cranberry English Muffins from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Eggless Oats Banana Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Fig Jam Friands from All That's Left Are the Crumbs
• Garlic Cheese and Herbs Pull apart Bread from Ambrosia
• Herbed Wholewheat Garlic Knots from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Keema Naan from The Schizo Chef
• Peperoncini Focaccia Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Savory Almond Meal Bread from Palatable Pastime
• Sourdough Cinnamon Buns from Baking Sense
• Steamed Apple Date Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Vegan Gluten-free Banana Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Whole Wheat Palak Naan from Cook with Renu
• Yeasted Lemon Bundt Cake from Anybody Can Bake

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.