Friday 18 February 2011

Scones, a proper cream tea

Whack the kettle on, kick back fire up the Dansette and get  your scones out.  Who doesnt love a good scone?  Well probably those people who pap themselves if they eat cream, but thankfully thats a small minority.  Most of us enjoy them warm with jam and cream..  This recipe is for basic plain sweet scones, you can add fruit to the mix, orange zest, nuts, dried or semi dried fruits or just leave them plain, whatever you like.  If you are adding anything, add it at the sugar stage and about 50-75g should be enough.

Ingredients
Makes 8 scones
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
75g unsalted butter cubed
75g caster sugar
1 egg
120ml double cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Milk, for glazing 

Method
Preheat the oven to gs mark 6 (200) and lightly grease a baking sheet.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Alternatively, do this in a food processor before transferring the mixture to a bowl.
Stir in the sugar and additional ingredients if using.
Beat the egg and cream together, with the vanilla extract too, if you’re using it.
Pour into the flour mixture and bring together lightly with your hands into a dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead very briefly to form a fairly smooth ball.
Pat or roll the dough out to a thickness of about 4cm.
Use a 6-7cm diameter cutter to stamp out scones from the dough. Put them on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with a little milk, and bake for about 15 minutes until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then serve slightly warm.
Fill with lashings of cream and jam and a nice cuppa.

A little tune for your baking pleasure:

1 comment:

  1. hello stacey,
    i might just try to make these at the weekend. i was taken for a high tea at The Langham hotel yesterday (belated birthday treat) and now can't get scones off my mind. (whilst at it, i might give the beef bourguignon a go as well)
    thanks for sharing your recipes.

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