Apple and muesli rock cakes

Method
Prep:20min  ›  Cook:15min  ›  Ready in:35min 

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC (375ºF, gas mark 5). Put the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon, diced apples and muesli. Add the egg and stir it in with enough milk to bind the mixture together roughly.
3. Drop dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto 2 greased baking sheets, leaving space around each cake, and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and serve warm or cold. The rock cakes can be kept in an airtight tin for up to 2 days.

Some more ideas

Replace the muesli with a mixture of 3 tbsp rolled oats, 2 tbsp sesame or sunflower seeds and 55 g (2 oz) roughly chopped hazelnuts or almonds. * For apple and mincemeat rock cakes, use just 1 peeled and diced dessert apple with 150 g (5½ oz) mincemeat, and substitute 75 g (2½ oz) rolled oats for the muesli. Omit the cinnamon. * For tropical rock cakes, replace the apples, muesli and cinnamon with 50 g (1½ oz) desiccated coconut and 170 g (6 oz) chopped ready-to-eat exotic dried fruits, including pineapple, papaya and mango.

Plus points

Apples are a good source of vitamin C and soluble fibre (in the form of pectin), as well as offering a flavonoid called quercetin, which is thought to have a potent antioxidant effect. * Adding muesli to cakes and bakes is a good way to increase their fibre content. * Children need healthy snacks to boost their energy and nutritional needs, and these little rock cakes are much better than sugar-laden commercial biscuits or salty crisps.