I know a thing or two about making scones; my mum, sister and I baked 150 of them on the morning of our wedding! They are definitely a family favourite. Scones are simple to make and the lighter your touch the better they’ll be. I love them warm with jam and clotted cream or mascarpone if, like me, you can’t get your hands on the real thing. You can jam and cream them or cream and jam them however you like, the most important thing is that you enjoy them.
Makes 12 scones (sometimes 13)
500 grams plain flour
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
4½ teaspoons cream of tartar
75 grams cold butter – cubed
300ml milk (plus a little extra to bush the tops)
You will also need a 5cm/2inch pastry cutter
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/450°F.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, bicarb and cream of tartar. Toss the cold butter in the flour mixture and then rub between your fingertips to break up the pieces of butter, keep going until the mixture is like damp sand with no large lumps of butter. Shake the bowl to bring any large chunks to the surface and incorporate them.
Pour in the milk and use a butter knife to briefly mix it into the butter and flour. It will make a rough raggedy dough. Tip the contents of the bowl onto the work surface and gently knead to bring all the loose flour into a smoother ball of dough. If the dough feels sticky add a little extra flour to the surface, but often you don’t need this.
I flatten the dough into a rough disc with my hands until it’s about 3cm (just over an inch) thick. You can use a rolling pin if you like. Then use the cutter to stamp out as many scones as you can get from this piece of dough. Gather up the scraps and re-roll and stamp some more until you’ve used up all the dough.
Dust a baking tray with a little flour and then place the scones on the tray fairly close together. Brush the tops with milk if liked.Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Allow them to cool slightly before covering in cream and jam or jam and cream.
*Scones really are best eaten freshly baked, but they do store well in an air tight container and warm though nicely in the oven in a few minutes so you can fake that freshly baked taste if you need to make them in advance.
*This recipe calls for cream of tartar which I stock up on when I’m in the UK and bring back to France because it’s hard to find here. Cream of tartar activates the bicarbonate of soda in this recipe, in fact both are found together in baking powder. You can use 6 ½ teaspoons of baking powder to replace both the bicarb and cream of tartar.
