Easy scones
Anyone for cream tea?
Scones are pretty contentious, aren't they? First there's the issue of pronunciation. Should it rhyme with 'cone' or 'gone'? Then there's the perennial question of whether the jam or cream should go on first. Both vitally important issues!
The Queen apparently prefers the traditional Cornish way of doing things - jam followed by cream - whilst I'm more of a Devonian girl myself, and usually put the cream on first.
As for pronunciation, it's all about where you come from - so say researchers at Cambridge University (search "The Great Scone Map" - it's fascinating!)
Whatever your accent, and whether it's cream or jam first for you, one thing I think we can all agree on is just how utterly scrummy these baked treats are 😉
Ingredients
- 525g self-raising flour
- A generous pinch of salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 130g butter
- 4½ tablespoons sugar (caster or granulated)
- 270ml milk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla essence
- a generous squeeze of lemon juice (if available)
- 1 egg
Method
- Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl.
- Then, cut the butter into little cubes and add to the mixture. Use your fingertips to rub the ingredients together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add in the sugar, stir and set aside.
- Heat the milk until just warm and add in the vanilla essence. If you have a lemon available, you can add in a generous squeeze of juice before leaving it to curdle for a minute or so. This serves two purposes: it enhances the taste - making the scones taste a bit more 'buttermilky', and also helps them to rise when it interacts with the raising agents in the flour and baking powder.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and gradually pour in the milk, mixing well until you get a nice dough. Fold over a few times with your hands if need be.
- Add a little extra flour to the dough so it's not too sticky then tip out onto a floured board.
- Cut out the scones using a cutter or glass. They should ideally be about 5cm in diameter and 4cm deep.
- Brush with a beaten egg before placing on baking tray lined with greaseproof paper (if you have some) and bake for around 10 minutes. The scones will be ready when they have risen and are golden on the top.
- Once cooked, remove to a cooling rack. The scones can be eaten warm or cold and can also be frozen once they've cooled down.
- Serve with jam and cream, or butter if you prefer. Enjoy!
NB This recipe makes 12 scones, but if you save it to your MyMeals365 app, you can change the number of servings and the app will work out the exact quantities of each ingredient you need.