They were promoted by the British Ministry of Food during the Second World War since they require fewer eggs and less sugar than ordinary cakes, an important savings in a time of strict rationing.

Usually, flour and butter are first mixed until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs; then the other ingredients are added to create a stiff dough, which is dropped from a spoon to a baking tray or roughly formed with two forks.

The cakes (optionally sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon) are baked for about 15 minutes at 180°C (350°F; Regulo 4),[1][3] retaining an uneven form and contour.

Author Agatha Christie mentions rock cakes in her stories and novels, including Three Blind Mice and The Murder at the Vicarage.

In the P. G. Wodehouse novel Sam the Sudden, (1925), Willoughby Braddock warns Kay Derrick against eating rock cakes baked by Clara Lippet, the cook, as they are her worst effort.