Cooking Fail

After cooking up the curries with Rambling Pages last week at our (what is soon to be an annual) meet up, I decided to sort out my cookery magazines.

I have bought Good Food magazine (either through subscription or just as an when) since 2002 and have collected a rather big stack of them. As our house is not very big and in need of a clear out and cut back, I decided that they have to go. So, last night I spent some of the evening quaffing wine and chucking out. I have managed to get rid of one magazine holder full of 12 magazines already. Instead of just chucking them though I have been copying recipes that I will seriously use into a small notebook, easier to use and hopefully will turn into a black book of recipes like my mum had.
While copying and reminiscing, I found some of the recipes for cakes that my mum used to cook, and put them in there too. Namely, Bara Brith and Rock Cakes.
I then felt the urge to bake something and as I don't like Bara Brith I decided on the Rock Cakes. The recipe is below:

Coconut and Chocolate Drop Rock Cakes

5oz self raising flour
4oz sugar
4oz margarine
2 eggs
2oz dessicated coconut
2oz chocolate drops
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2tbsp milk

Mix all items together.
Put heaps on baking sheet. 
Cook for 20-25 mins at Gas Mark 4
 
And so I went about to make it and after hunting high and low I eventually found the coconut. I then realised that I had no chocolate drops so taking out my anger on some galaxy bar I used that instead. Everything, then went well - or so I thought. I also didn't have any vanilla essence either but hey ho, seat of pants kinda girl!

Rock cakes are meant to look like this:

and mine, well they don't they look like this:

Yep, a complete fail!
But the kids seem to like them, as there's not many left  so I guess they're OK!

Neb seems to think that the problem was no baking powder and and over mixed batter but god knows!
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

BNM