Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Scones. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Scones. Sort by date Show all posts
One of the things I love most over here are Cream Teas, and of course when you think of a cream tea you must think of a scone. That delicious light bun thing that closely resembles the baking powder biscuits (not to be confused with a cookie) from back home in appearance, but is nothing like them at all in taste or texture.
I had my first cream tea when my husband and I were on holiday down in Devon. They brought the tea to our table in a lovely porcelain pot on a tray along with some dainty china cups and a plate full of lovely light scones, and bowls of red berry preserves and lucious clotted cream. I was hooked from first bite. I had never tasted anything so lovely in my life.
Scones come in many flavours. There's lovely cheese ones, currant ones, plain ones and I've even seen cherry ones. I prefer the plain ones myself, but then, I am a plain kind of gal!
*The Plain Scone*
Makes 6 to 10, depending on how large you cut them
Printable Recipe
These are anything but plain. They have a lovely light texture and a delicious buttery flavour. I'd call these the perfect scone!
8 ounces self raising flour (I like to use organic flour)
1/4 tsp salt
2 ounces lightly salted butter, quite cold and cut into small bits
1 ounce of soft golden brown sugar
4 ounces buttermilk
4 TBS whole milk
extra flour for dusting, or more milk for brushing on the tops
strawberry jam and clotted cream to serve.
Heat the oven to 220*C/425*F. Measure out the flour and then tip it into a bowl along with the salt.
Drop in the bits of butter. Rub it into the flour using the tips of your fingertips. You want a fairly reasonably fine crumb. Lift it up into the air as you rub so that you get lots of air into the mixture.
Add the sugar and stir it in.
Measure the buttermilk in a small beaker and then add the milk. Mix well to slacken it. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and tip in most of the buttermilk mixture, holding some back just in case it's not needed.
Tip it all out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 3 or 4 times until smooth. Pat the dough gently out to a 1 inch thickness.
Dip a round fluted cutter into some flour and cut the scones out by giving the cutter a sharp tap directly down onto the dough with the palm of your hand. Don't twist the cutter as you lift it or you will end up with lopsided scones.
Place onto a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, cutting out more scones. Gather the trimmings, pat down lightly and cut more until you have used it all up.
Sift over a light dusting of more flour, or brush lightly with milk, just on the tops. Don't let it run down the sides.
Bake in the heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until risen and golden brown.
Remove to a wire rack to cool, uncovered if you want crisp tops, covered loosely if you prefer soft.
Serve with strawberry preserves and a generous dollop of clotted cream.
I am a huge fan of quick breads . . . muffins, loaves . . . scones, biscuits. Scones and biscuits are really quite similar. The basic ingredients are essentially the same . . . flour, butter or shortening, milk or cream, leavening, and a bit of salt and possibly sugar.
The method of preparation, too, is pretty similar . . . you sift the dry ingredients, cut in the fat, and add the liquid. As with biscuits, the scone dough is rolled and cut into shapes.
I guess the main difference is in texture. Generally speaking, Scones are crumbly and biscuits are flaky!
I think another difference lies in the type of fat which is used, and in how you incorporate it. Traditionally in biscuits the fat is cut in with a pastry blender and in scones it is rubbed in with the fingertips.
In a scone, more often than not you will use butter and in
a biscuit . . . vegetable fat of some sort, but that is not always the
case . . . and too, scones tend to be more on the sweet side than the
savoury.
These flaky savoury breads I am showing you here today are called biscuits . . . but they use butter instead of vegetable oil and the fat is rubbed into the flour mixture, instead of cut into it with a pastry blender . . .
So in those respects they are more like scones . . . but
they are not sweet in the least. These are also a bit sturdier and flakier than a
scone . . .
Which is not to say that they are heavy, because they are not heavy in the least.
These are delightfully light and filled with lovely layers .
. . flaky buttery layers . . . with pockets oozing with rich soft goats cheese . . .
and lovely little flecks of oniony chives. These go wonderfully with soups and stews . . . with sliced meats and cheeses. Heck they would even be fabulous with bacon and eggs for breakfast.
We enjoyed them today with hot mugs of soup. They went down a real treat. I had halved the recipe because I did not have enough goats cheese to do a full recipe.
I forgot to pick some up when I did my shopping yesterday . . . but happily they turned out just beautifully, despite halving the recipe. Flaky. Rich. Savoury. Moreish.
*Flaky Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits*
Makes 16 2-inch square biscuits 
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a bowl. Whisk in the salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Drop in the butter. Work it into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until you have the butter about half incorporated and half pea sized bits remaining.
Stir in the chives and crumble in half of the goats cheese. Add the
buttermilk a bit at a time, stirring it in with a fork, until the dough
just begins to clump together and there are no dry floury bits
remaining. You may need all of the buttermilk, or less, or more,
depending on your flour and the day. Gently knead in the bowl a few
times to form a ball.
Mentally divide the dough in quarters lengthwise.
Crumble 2/3 of the remaining goats cheese into the centre two quarters.
Fold the outer two quarters over to meet in the centre from the short
edges. Turn the dough so that the short side is facing you.
Sprinkle
the remaining goats cheese down one half of this and fold the other half
over to enclose, like a book. Pat out gently to flatten slightly and
then roll it up into a loose spiral beginning at the narrow end. Pat
the dough out into an 8 inch square that is about 3/4 inch thick.
Trim
the edges with a sharp knife and then using a straight up and down cut
with a sharp knife, cut into 16 2-inch squares. Place them onto a
baking sheet which is lined with baking paper, leaving several inches in
between each.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool for five to ten minutes prior to indulging. Best on the day they are baked, but these will keep at room temperature for several days. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up.
Note - You can successfully cut the recipe in half and it works fine. Also you can freeze the biscuits prior to baking for use at another time. Freeze solid on the baking sheet and then pack into zip lock bags to bake off when you like. Partially thaw prior to baking.
There is nothing more beautiful, both to look at and to smell than gorgeous English Lavender. Down in Norfolk they have fields and fields of the stuff.
When we lived in the cottage down in Kent, the whole back of the house was flanked with beautiful lavender and during the lavender season, you could scarce move without being assaulted by it's beautiful smell. I have spent many an afternoon sitting out on the patio watching the bumblebees bumble from bloom to bloom. Such a pretty sight.
We have lavender here at our house in Chester as well, albeit not as much and it is just ready to burst into bloom, several weeks ahead of it's usual season . . . but that is result of the unusually warm April we had I think . . . Each year when it grows I am careful to harvest some of it to be used in our dresser drawers to help to keep our clothing fresh, and to lay amongst our sheets, pillow slips and towels in the linen closet as well. It smells just beautiful. More gets saved and put into bowls here and there in the house to keep the air fresh and yet more gets stuffed into jars of sugar to be used in delicious baked goods such as these lovely scones.
You might think that with a smell such as strong as lavender can be, that it would overwhelm the flavours of things that are baked with it . . . but you would be completely wrong.
The lavender sugar in these scones gives them a subtle fruit flavour and scent, and goes so very wonderfully with fresh lemon curd or preserves.
Make it a wonderfully different teatime treat by baking these lovely scones. Keep them guessing as to what your secret ingredient is. Buttery, subtly scented, with a lovely little crunch.
You can use storebought lemon curd of course . . . but making your own is really quite easy. I have a recipe here. It's wonderful! I think you'll find it will come in handy for all sorts.
*English Lavender Buttermilk Scones*
Makes about a dozen
Printable Recipe
These delightfully buttermilk scones are infused with lavender sugar and go very well with my homemade lemon curd, or preserves for a special Spring tea.
225g of self raising flour (scant 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
50g of unsalted butter, cut into bits (1/4 cup)
75g of lavender sugar (see below) (scant 1/2 cup)
150ml of buttermilk (5 fluid ounces)
salt
To serve:
your choice of lemon curd or preserves
Preheat the oven to 220*C/ 425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet. Set aside.
Stir the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Drop in the butter bits and rub them in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Add the buttermilk, and stir in with a fork, only adding enough to create a soft dough. Tip out onto a floured board and knead a few times before patting out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter. Place onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space in between for spreading. Brush with some more buttermilk.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving with your favourite spread.
To make your own lavender sugar:
Press two of three clean sprigs of fresh lavender, or a couple of TBS of lavender buds which you can buy in the spice section, into a jar of caster sugar and leave for at least 24 hours before using. Use pesticide free blooms, and wash and dry them before using.
Cherries are one of my favourite things. I know you are thinking . . . what isn't her favourite thing??? Well, the answer is quite simple . . .
I'm allergic to shell fish, so none of that please, and I won't eat anything with antennae or tenticles. Does that make me squeamish? Perhaps . . . but I know I am not alone!
One of my favourite things in a fruit cake has to be the glace cherries . . . next to the candied pineapple and citron of course! I like to use the naturally coloured cherries in my baking, eschewing anything artifically dyed a bright red or green. That means that my cherries always have a somewhat darker colour, but boy oh boy, do they taste good.
I just love cherry scones, but the ones in the shops always have those bright red cherried in them . . . and store bought baked goods always end up tasting a bit disappointing to me. They never quite come up to their promise. Am I alone in thinking that???
I thought so . . . Home baked anything is always infinitely better in my books.
Yesterday I baked Todd a teatime treat of some lovely Cherry and Almond Scones. Not quite as pretty as the ones in the shops, but boy, are they tasty.
They have a delicious short and buttery crumb, with a subtle hint of almond, and are just stogged full of lovely cherries.
Try them today . . . simply buttered, or if you are really feeling hedonistic, add some clotted cream and jam. Delicious!
In for a penny, in for a pound I always say!! The recipe makes a lot, but they do freeze very well.
*Cherry and Almond Scones*
makes about 20 2-inch scones
Printable Recipe
Delicious scones with a tender crumb and chock full of glace cherries and a subtle hint of almond. Serve cold with butter or clotted cream and jam!
450g self raising flour, sifted (3 1/4 cups)
1/2 tsp baking soda
125g softened butter (1/2 cup)
85g caster sugar (scant half cup)
170g glace cherries, roughly chopped (generous cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten
a few drops of almond essence
6 to 7 fluid ounces of milk
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a large baking tray (s). Set aside.
Sift the flour into a large bowl along with the soda. Rub in the butter until it resembles sand. Stir in the sugar and cherries. Add the beaten egg, almond essence and enough of the milk to make a soft dough, but not sticky dough. Knead lightly until smooth. Pat out on a floured board to a thickeness of about 1/2 inch. Cut into rounds with a sharp 2 inch cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheet (s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen, firm and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool before serving. Delicious split and buttered or served with clotted cream and jam for a special indulgence.
This coming Monday will be Saint George's Day. All of the beautiful countries in the United Kingdom have a Patron Saint and the Patron Saint of England (where I live) is Saint George! St George's Day was a major feast and national holiday in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century. The tradition of celebration St George's day had waned by the end of the 18th century after the union of England and Scotland. These days it barely gets a nod, except in certain circles, but I, for one, think that it is the perfect day to celebrate our "Englishness," and what better way to do that than by baking up some lovely scones. There are not many more things English than a warm scone smothered with jam and cream!
These scones are particularly lovely, with lots of wholesome nuggets of granola throughout, along with a healthy studding of dried black currants. (Oh we do love our black currants here in the UK!)
The Granola I chose to use today was Lizi's award winnig Granola. Lizi's products supply wholesome food that deliver sustained energy and protein throughout the day.
All Lizi’s Granolas are:
- 100% Natural Ingredietnts
- No GMO’s
- No added salt
- Dairy-free, wheat-free recipes*
- Suitable for vegetarians and vegans (no honey)
- Low glycaemic – GL labelled – good for blood sugar control
Its available in a variety of flavours such as the Original, Passionfruit & Pistachio, Treacle & Pecan, Mango & Macadamia, Belgian Chocolate, Pink Apple & Cinnamon, Low Sugar, High Protein, Gluten Free and Organic. The Original and Low Sugar are also available in portion packs of 10. To find out more be sure to check out their page. I love them!
Today I used their low sugar variety, as I figured with the sugar and honey in the recipe, they didn't need a whole lot more sugar, and it was the perfect choice!
I decided to pull out all the stops today and got out my best tea cloth . . . my Katie Lizzie cups and saucers, tea plates and my pedestal cake stand . . .
Not too sweet, but lovely, buttery and short, almost like a pastry . . .
Studded with lovely dried black currants, and the granola . . . make sure you use a free flowing type of granola. You don't want one which has huge nuggets in it. Lizi's is perfect for this. It is filled with lots of seeds like sunflower and pumpkin as well, adding even more interest . . .
Fruity jam and clotted cream are a must! (If you can't get the clotted cream, you can use softly whipped cream.) I favour berry jam . . . strawberry or raspberry . . .
I like to spread the cream on first . . .
topping it with the jam . . .
Wars have broken out over which is the proper way . . . cream or jam first . . . to me it doesn't matter. Just so long as there is cream and jam!
*Lizi's Granola Scones*
Makes 8
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g dried currants (1/2 cup)
1 TBS double cream for brushing
To serve:
Clotted cream or whipped cream
jam
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. (180*fan) Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into small bits and drop into the flour mixture. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs. (althernately you can do this in the food processor.) Stir in 2/3 of the granola and the currants. Mix together the cream, egg, honey and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry mixture and mix together to make a soft craggy dough.
Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a round about 8 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut into 8 wedges. Transfer each wedge to the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between each. Brush the top of each lightly with cream and sprinkle with some of the remaing granola.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until well risen and golden brown.
To serve split in half and serve with clotted cream and jam.
In honor of Valentine's Day for my sweetie pie I made the Toddster a Traditional Cream Tea. I do love him an awful lot and I like to spoil him whenever I can. He is really a very easy person to please and doesn't ask much of me. He truly is my sweetie pie.
You will find "Cream Teas" on offer throughout the UK, but they are truly a speciality of the SouthWest . . . Devon and Cornwall areas. I have seen Welsh Cream Teas as well as Cream Teas being offered in many other areas of the UK. In general nowadays, they are offered in Tearooms across the UK wherever someone wants to give an impression of British influence.
A traditional cream tea is comprised of two fresh scones, strawberry jam, clotted cream and a cup of hot tea. I like to use Sultana Scones. You can find my recipe for those HERE. I promise you, they are delicious!
If you don't have homemade strawberry jam or preserves (the best), then you should use a really good quality store bought variety. I like to use Bon Maman or TipTree preserves, because they have lots of lovely chunks of berries in them.
What is clotted Cream:
Rich, thick and indulgent, clotted cream is a delicious cream with the consistency of soft butter. Produced on many Dairy Farms in SouthWest England, it is made by placing un-pastuerized milk in shallow pans over indirect heat. Once warmed it is then left to cool slowly, without disturbing. The cream then rises to the surface and forms 'clots' or 'clouts. It has a nutty, cooked milk flavour, with at least 55 per cent butter fat, giving it a pale yellow colour that is often topped with a deeper yellow crust. It is an essential ingredient in a true "Cream Tea," and makes a fabulously tasty and rich filling for a sponge cake, especially when layered with fresh fruit. It also makes wonderful ice cream!
It's impossible for us to send true clotted cream over to North America because of regulations and such, but it is possible for you to make your own, if you wish. There is a long way . . . and an easy way, (which isn't really clotted cream at all, but tastes pretty good just the same)!
The long way:
Take two cups of heavy cream and heat it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until reduced by half. It should be thick and creamy and have a golden crust on top.
The easy way:
Beat 8 ounces of cream cheese until fluffy, then whisk in 4 ounces of sour cream and 2 TBS of icing sugar. Put into a serving bowl and chill until ready to use.
We always have herbal tea with ours, because we are Mormons and don't drink regular tea, but having worked as a Chef in a Manor House for many years, I do know how to make a proper cup of tea . . .
One of the biggest complaints of English people visiting the United States is that Americans don’t know how to make "proper" tea. Here’s the proper way to do it, and it doesn't involve dipping a tea bag into a cup and covering it with boiling water . . .
You must first fill a kettle and bring it to the boil. Just before your kettle has reached boiling point, pour a little hot water into the teapot and allow it to stand for about a minute so that the pot is warm. Empty out the hot water from the nicely warmed pot and put in loose tea or tea bags, whichever you prefer.
Serve with milk, sugar and lemon wedges and let people add as they please. It is a matter of debate as to whether you add the milk to the cup before the tea, or the tea before the milk.
How to assemble your Cream Tea:
Cover your table with a pretty cloth. Set a nice tea plate and warm cup and saucer out for each person, along with a knive and a teaspoon for each. Pretty napkins are a must as well.
Put your clotted cream in a decorative bowl and your preserves in another bowl. Place a tiny spoon in each for serving. Set these out on the table, along with a china plate of fresh sultana scones and warm tea cups. Place the teapot filled with hot tea on the table as well, and then let people help themself to the scones, preserves and clotted cream. (The scones are always served at room temperature and never warm)
Each person splits their own scones in half, then covers one half with a thick dollop of clotted cream and then the other haf with a nice layer of strawberry jam. I like my cream on the bottom, but there are others that like their cream on the top! It's all a matter of personal preference and upbringing!
Pour out your hot cup of tea . . . sit back . . . and enjoy!
Ahhhh . . . Cream Teas . . . they are my only weakness . . . sigh . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons