I really adore scones. To me a scone is better than a piece of cake or a pie. It's like a cross between the two, and such a delight to enjoy with a nice hot cuppa.
Don't worry, I only drink herbal infusions which I drink black, so nothing to take away from the delightful flavour of a good scone!
Having said that even when I did drink ordinary tea, I always enjoyed it black and unsweetened.
I am always on the lookout for a new scone recipe. I spied this recipe for Vanilla Scones the other day on a blog called Stuck on Sweet, they pushed all my buttons.
I just knew that I was going to have to bake them!
The sticky dough did not present a problem for me. I simply tipped it out onto a well floured board, patted it into a round and then flipped the round over before cutting it into wedges.
When I say well-floured, I mean well floured. I am sure I had about 1/2 cup of flour on that board, so nothing would stick. It worked beautifully.
I also decided to add some chopped sour cherries to the mix because, one I like them, a lot, and two . . . vanilla . . . it just begged to have some kind of dried fruit added.
I adore sour cherries. They go really well with vanilla.
I also chose to use a mix of pure vanilla extract and some grindings from a vanilla grinder. Oh boy but these smelled heavenly when they were baking.
I ground some of that vanilla into the glaze also!
These are light and sweet with a lovely buttery flavour and lots of vanilla oomph. The tartness of the sour cherries sets that all off beautifully.
Wise choice on my part if I don't say so myself. And yes, I know I just did!
Because my dough was quite damp, I did end up with some craggy bits, but to me that's all the better because it made for lovely little sweet crevices for that glaze to soak into.
All in all . . . these are really prize worthy, blue ribbon winning, delightfully tasty scones!
1 tsp vanilla extract
Its recipes like this that make me really grateful that I live in a fairly temperate climate where you only have a few days in the summer that make turning on the oven unbearable. And if you do live in a climate where its hotter than that, bake them anyways. They are well worth a few minutes of discomfort. Trust me on this. Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
A few days ago I didn't think it was possible to make a cheese scone taste any better then it did already.
And then . . .
I had a brainstorm.
What if you took a really good cheese scone recipe . . . one that produced light and flaky scones with really cheesy flavours . . .
and then filled them with some tasty chutney before baking??? Just so that the scones bake up light and fluffy, but with delicious chutney oooooozing out the sides . . .
No need to butter these. Just bring on the ham, thickly sliced . . .
and perhaps a pear or two,
Cheesy Scones with tangy chutney centres. I used a delicious Apple and Pear Windfall chutney that I got at Marks & Sparks.
Two words. Nom Nom! What a tasty way to end the month!
*Ploughman's Scones*
Makes about 9
Printable Recipe
Nom Nom!
8 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBS chilled butter, cut into bits
4 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
2 heaped Tablespoons of finely grated Parmesan Cheese
Cayenne pepper to taste
250 ml of whole milk (1 cup)
a smooth chutney (I used Marks and Spencers Windfall chutney, containing apples and pears)
Preheat the oven top 205*C/425*F/ gas mark 6. Lightly butter a baking tray. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in quickly with your fingertips until the mixture is mealy. Stir in the cheeses and the cayenne pepper. Add the milk and stir until the dough is soft, adding a touch more milk if necessary.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surgace and knead a couple of times before patting out 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.
Take a sharp knife and make a hole in the side of each biscuit, widening it with your index finger. Spoon in a half teaspoon or so of chutney and then place onto the prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps and repeat, until all the dough it used up.
Bake in the upper third of the oven until well risen and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. The chutney will leak out a bit, but that's ok. It only adds to their scrumminess! Serve warm, or at room temperature.
I love scones and am having a lot of fun developing new combinations and varieties. Todd's having fun testing them too, I must say! He loves being my taste tester, and . . . lucky him, he is one of those people who can eat whatever they want to eat without putting on an ounce! (I know, I'm jealous too!)
They're so easy to make, using techniques very similar to that of making biscuits (a scone type of quick bread, very popular in North America, not a cookie!) But that is where the similarity ends!
Scones are a lot lighter, and in many cases sweeter, often varying between cake-like and cookie-like in texture . . . but then again there are savoury versions that are more biscuit-like.
I guess there is no definitive way to describe a scone except to say that they are delectably delicious and the perfect thing to munch on with a hot cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon. (My choice is a lovely herbal tea, but I have friends that love Earl Grey and I do love the smell of a nice hot cup of Earl Grey.)
Whatever your poison . . . a cup of something hot and a plate with a warm scone on it just can't be beat on any occasion.
Today I thought I would try some dried sour cherries, white chocolate and flaked almonds in a scone . . . three wonderful flavours that go so very well together. The sour cherries help to cut the sweetness of the white chocolate that can sometimes be a bit cloying and the flaked almonds added a delightful bit of crunch.
All in all I'd say these are da bomb!! Definitely repeatable! These are going in my success file of things I have conjured up!
*Sour Cherry, White Chocolate and Almond Scones*
Makes 8 wedges
Printable Recipe
Cherries, white chocolate and almonds . . . the holy trinity of sconedom!! Seriously, these are fabulous!
8 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 1/4 ounces caster sugar (1/3 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled (1/4 cup)
125ml of double cream (1/2 cup)
1 large freerange egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
6 ounces of good quality white chocolate, cut into small bits, or use
good quality white chocolate chips
5 ounces dried sour cherries, quartered (1 cup)
3 ounces toasted flaked almonds (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Drop in the butter and then cut it in using a pastry blender or two round bladed knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk together the cream, egg and extracts. Add all at once to the flour mixture, mixing it all in well and kneading until it is well combined. Lightly knead in the chocolate chips, cherries and almonds. Pat out with lightly floured hands to a 9 inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on the lined baking sheet, leaving some space in between each.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Allow to cool on the pan for five minutes, before scooping off with a spatula to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.
Note - if you want your scones to have soft sides, place the whole round onto the baking sheet, and cut into wedges there, leaving them together and baking them as a whole. Cut them apart again once they come out of the oven with a serrated knife. Me . . . I love crunchy sides, and so I bake them apart!!
It was four years ago today we lost our mother unexpectedly. At the time I was living way over in England and had no way of getting home. She had been in hospital, but was doing well. We had no reason to believe that she wouldn't fully recover.
I miss her every day. We were always very close. It still pains me that I was unable to say goodbye properly.
I decided to make myself a picky-bits Teatime Supper today to help distract myself from the nasty weather we are having outside and to cheer me up. Just because I now live alone, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a nice teatime supper ever now and then.
.JPG "Teatime Supper")
This was something I often did when I was in the UK. You don't always feel like making a bit meal do you? Sometimes picky bits are just the ticket for filling that gap! Supper in the UK was always something quite different than dinner.
Supper is meant to be something much more casual than dinner. Supper can be an evening meal but normally when one is invited to supper the invitation is quite different than when one is invited to dinner, which is usually more formal. Supper can also mean a hot or cold snack before bedtime.
It is not meant to be meat, potatoes and veg, but rather a rather informal gathering of picky bits and cakes. Not as formal as a high tea, but meant to be enjoyed on a small plate, next to a fire and, if you are so lucky, enjoyed with some bright conversation and company.
It is a delicious opportunity to gather together some picky bits that you have in house into a simple repast of tasty delights that will please everyone, all washed down with hot cups of tea of course!
.JPG "Teatime Savories")
.JPG "Cheese & Tomato Sandwiches")
.JPG "Teatime Supper")
Some things to bear in mind when making Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches. One, make sure you use a really nicely flavored cheddar cheese. I used some cheese that I had leftover from Christmas. It had not gotten used. A two year aged cheddar that was nice and sharp and well flavored.
Grate your cheese by hand on the large holes of a box grater.
Use a serrated knife to cut your slices of ripe tomato thinly, and then leave them to drain on some paper towels for about 10 minutes. This helps to prevent them from making the bread soggy.
Butter both slices of bread. This not only helps the cheese to adhere, but it also keeps the bread from drying out and getting soggy as well.
I add the grated cheese to the buttered side of one slice of bread, top with the sliced tomato, add a grinding of black pepper, and then place the other slice of bread on top, butter side down. Slice as you wish.
.JPG "Teatime Supper")
Something crunchy is also very nice to add to the table. Today I added some sweet mixed pickles and slices of sweet eating apples. Oh, how I miss the pickled onions you get in the UK. They are rather larger than our pickled onions and not so sweet, having been pickled in malt vinegar.
You could do crisp raw vegetable sticks such as carrots and celery, or thick slices of cucumber. Potato Chips/Crisps also go down very nicely if you are so inclined.
Of course, one of the highlights of any supper/tea table is something sweet to end the meal. This can take the form of cakes or cookies, just whatever tickles your fancy really. Today I had a few cakes leftover from Christmas and some small dainties (Queen Anne Slices, date squares, etc.)
.JPG "Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf")
.JPG "Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf")
.JPG "Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf")
It is beautiful cut into thick slices and enjoyed with a hot cup of tea, or coffee for that matter. It's also very nice served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Rich and fudgy with a beautiful chocolate flavor. Simply put, it's delicious and something I think you and your family will really enjoy!
.JPG "Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf")
Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf
Ingredients
- 6 TBS Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- 3/4 cup (180ml) boiling water
- 1/2 cup (120g) of butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) of soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 medium free-range eggs
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) of full fat sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F. gas mark 3. Butter a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan and line with baking paper.
- Combine the water and coffee powder. Allow to cool. Stir in the sour cream. Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, soda and salt.
- Beat the butter together with the brown sugar. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with dry. Mix well together. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until risen and the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool ten minutes in the pan before tipping out to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap tightly once cooled and let stand overnight before cutting.
Notes
You can also fold in up to 3/4 cup (170g) of semi sweet chocolate chips.
I grew up in the land of biscuits . . . no they were not cookie. Cookies are called biscuits over here in the UK)
Rather they were beautiful, flakey, and savoury (only very rarely sweet) quick breads quite similar in texture and flavour to what is called a scone over here.
Some might question the difference between a scone and biscuit. There has been a great deal of debate over this very topic. I would have to say as subtle as it is . . . it is there.
A scone will use butter and either cream or soured/plain milk, whereas in North America biscuits use either shortening or lard and buttermilk or plain milk, are less sweet and more savoury.
They can have things like cheese, bacon, onions/scallions and sometimes ham in them. Scones can have these things in them as well, although I would say that then they are more like biscuits than scones.
Does that make sense? I know, very confusing to say the least.
Another difference is in the way the fat is added. Here in the UK the fat is most always rubbed into the flour with the fingertips.
In North America it is "cut" in . . . using a pair of forks, two double bladed knives or a pastry blender.
Both benefit from using a light hand when preparing them. Both rise although I would have to say that Biscuits are usually flaky whilst scones have a more crumbly texture.
Biscuits are meant to be eaten hot or warm from the oven. Scones are almost always eaten cold.
I say Vive la difference! Both are beautiful and scrummy and moreishly delicious and both have their uses!
Today I baked some beautiful Black Pepper Biscuits.
I wanted to serve them with some good cheese and some of my latest batch of homemade Spicy Plum Chutney.
Oh my . . . they went down a real treat.
The biscuits were flakey, savoury and peppery, which went beautifully with the cheese and chutney. These would be great served with some smoked gammon or slices of crisp bacon as well . . . and cheese of course!
I think they would make great little chicken salad sandwiches and would also be a lovely host to egg mayonnaise!
Just look at that beautiful texture.
I just can't think of anything that wouldn't taste better sitting on top of one of these, split, buttered and warm from the oven, or a bowl of soup that wouldn't be enhanced by their presence! Enjoy!!
*Black Pepper Biscuits (Scones)
Makes 16 to 18 (2 inch) biscuits
Printable Recipe
Beautifully fluffy and peppery. Perfect to serve with chutney's, cheeses, salty meats (bacon, ham, proscuitto) or with hot soups and stews.
8 ounces plain flour (2 1/4 cups) divided
1 TBS Baking Powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 TBS freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces chilled vegetable shortening,
divided into 2 ounce lots (1/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
250ml of cold buttermilk (1 cup)
softened butter for brushing
Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F. Lightly butter a large baking sheet. Set aside.
Remove 8/10 of an ounce of flour (1/4 cup) and set aside. Whisk the remaining flour together in a large wide bowl with the baking powder, soda, salt and black pepper. Add half of the shortening in bits and then work it into the flour using a pastry blender, two forks or two round bladed knives. The mixture should look like well crumbled feta cheese. Scatter the remainder of the shortening over top in bits and continue to work in with your fingertips, until you have no pieces which are larger than a pea. Shake the bowl occasionally to move any bigger bits up from the bottom. Do not over work.
Make a deep hollow in the centre of this mixture and add about 3/4 of the buttermilk, reserving some for later if needed. Stir in with a fork, using broad strokes to quickly pull the flour into the milk. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Sprinkle the remaining flour onto a clean surface. Turn the dough out onto it and turn to lightly coat. Pat lightly into a round which is 1/2 inch in depth. Brush any visible flour off the top. Cut into 2 inch rounds with a round biscuit cutter, using a sharp tap up and down, remembering not to twist the cutter. (Twisting results in a lop-sided biscuit.) You can pull the scraps back together to cut out additional biscuits. They will not be quite as tender as the first ones, but good all the same. Place onto the baking sheet, leaving some space in between each.
Bake for 6 minutes in the upper third of the oven. Rotate the pan and bake for an additional 4 to 6 minutes, until they are a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with some softened butter. Serve hot.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
I picked up some beautiful little blueberries yesterday at my local shop that were quite tiny in size and for once they didn't come from Poland! Not that I am against Poland per se, but I do like to use British Ingredients whenever I can. These ones came from Surrey.
They were almost as small as the wild blueberries from back home and I knew just the perfect thing to make with them.
My delicious Blueberry scones.
They went down fabulous with this lovely green tea.
*Blueberry Scones with Lemon Drizzle Icing*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe
These lovely scones are tender and moist and oh so very delicious. Chock full of blueberries and covered with a lucious lemon drizzle icing these are pleasing on all levels. Use only fresh blueberries in these as frozen ones will bleed and spoil the look of this lovely scone.
225g plain flour (1 3/4 cups)
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS caster sugar
5 TBS cold, unsalted butter
250ml of double cream (1 cup plus 2 TBS)
8 ounces fresh blueberries, toss with 1 TBS flour (1/2 pound berries)
Lemon Drizzle:
4 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 cup)
280g of icing sugar, sifted (2 cups)
1 TBS unsalted butter
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a bowl. Whisk together to combine. Add the cold butter and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and dump in the cream all at once. Stir with a fork just to combine, without overworking the dough. You may need a bit more cream. The dough should be soft, but not sticky, nor crumbly. Fold in the blueberries, leaving any excess flour out. Gently mix them in without crushing them.
Pat the dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a 12 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Cut into 4 equal squares, and then cut each square diagonally into even triangles. You should have 8. Place onto a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool somewhat before glazing.
To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a microwave proof bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and stir to melt the sugar. Add the butter and place in the microwave. heat for 30 to 45 seconds on high. Whisk again to smooth out any lumps and then drizzle decoratively over the warm scones. Let set before serving. Delicious!!
Social Icons