Scones and The First Signs of Life In the Garden

The weather is cold and gloomy today and as I'm still resting my knee and not really supposed to drive much, I was at a bit of a loss when I had a sudden craving for something sweet. With this in mind, I trawled through my recipes until I found something I fancied making and came across my favourite Mary Berry scone recipe. The perfect teatime treat, quick easy and even better, I had all the ingredients already in my cupboard although, I will have to forego the clotted cream because I don't have any and I don't want to drive to the shops. 

A bit of therapeutic rubbing in of butter, a tad of stirring in of sugar, throw in some eggs and milk and hey presto ......... scones.

I couldn't find a round cutter so I made them in to saucer sized scones and then scored along the top in a cross so I could break each one into four. 

Here is the recipe if you would like to have a go. It's from here 

DEVONSHIRE SCONES

450g (1 lb) self-raising flour

2 rounded teaspoons baking powder

75g (3 oz) butter, at room temperature

50g (2 oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

about 225 ml (8 fl oz) milk.

INTRODUCTION

The secret of good scones is not to handle them too much before baking, and to make the mixture on the wet, sticky side. Either eat scones on the day of making or freeze once they have completely cooled. If time allows, thaw them at room temperature for a couple of hours and then refresh in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes. If you like large scones, this amount of mixture will make 8-10 9cm (3 ½ inch) scones.

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation time: about 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Makes about 20 scones

Lightly grease two baking trays. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.

Measure the flour and baking powder into a processor. Add the butter and process until a crumble, then add the sugar. Or make by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Beat the eggs together until blended and make up to a generous 300ml (1/2 pint) with the milk, then put about 2 tablespoons of the egg/milk aside in a cup for glazing the scones later. Gradually add the egg/milk mixture to the dry ingredients until you have a soft dough. It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch). Use a 5 cm (2 inch) fluted cutter to stamp out the dough by pushing the cutter straight down into the dough (as opposed to twisting the cutter) then lift it straight out. This ensures that the scones will rise evenly and keep their shape. Gently push the remaining dough together, knead very lightly then re-roll and cut more scones out as before. 

Arrange the scones on the prepared baking trays and brush the tops with the reserved beaten egg/milk mixture to glaze. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the scones are well risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack, covered with a clean tea towel to keep them moist. Serve as fresh as possible, cut in half and spread generously with strawberry jam and clotted cream.

There was also another little surprise. Lurking in my planters yesterday, amongst the frozen hail stones were some teeny tiny little shoot of green poking their way out into the frosty air. Not entirely sure what they are, daffodils I think, but I can't be certain at the moment because I found a whole bag full of mixed bulbs lurking in the cupboard and I just bunged them into my pots. They looked a bit past their best and I didn't know if they would actually grow but I guess they were very hardy little bulbs. I can't wait to see what they turn into :-)

The Great British Bake Off and The Scone Saga

http://www.thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk

Well, the car boot sale that usually takes place on a Sunday morning has been cancelled due to bad weather and I was left wondering what I could do to fill the time. Having just watched my recording of this weeks The Great British Bake Off, I decided to take inspiration from the Queen of Baking and make some scones. I love The Great British Bake Off  and this season has so far been really fantastic, not to mention gory! I don't know what it is about the program but after I watch it makes me want to bake. Weird right?!  lol

Now, in the past, I have tried several different recipes for scones, mostly ending in 'things' that were .... shall we say ...... less than fluffy and light. Last year, for instance, I was riveted to the TV whenever Kirstie's Hand Made Britain was on and in one of the programmes she made the most delicious looking scones to enter into a local show. I carefully copied down the recipe and rushed off to buy the ingredients. Several attempts later I had 4 trays full of something that can only be described as hockey pucks! I don't know what it is about the recipe it just seems like too much flour and not enough liquid .... but hey ..... who am I to say?! Anyway, boredom looming, I decided it was time to give it another go and this time using Mary Berry's recipe. Surely the original domestic goddess wouldn't let me down? On the plus side, Mary's recipe has no frivolities such as buttermilk but on the negative, the mixture is much stickier, like some kind industrial, super-strength, sugary adhesive that could be used to wallpaper walls .... although the taste, I'm reliably told, is much nicer :-)

30 mins later Et voila .... scones. I'm thrilled. They taste fantastic. they aren't stodgy, they're light and fluffy........ although I did have one minor panic attack when I peered into oven and thought I had burnt them. Turns out it was only the glass on the oven door that needs a jolly good clean ........ something best left for the next rainy day methinks :-)

So, here is Mary Berry's awesome scone recipe:

Makes 8 to 10

450g (1lb) self-raising flour
2 rounded tsp baking powder
75g (3oz) butter
50g (2oz) caster sugar
2 large eggs
about 225ml (8fl oz) milk

To serve
raspberry jam
clotted cream or double cream, whipped

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Lightly grease two baking-sheets.

The secret to good scones is not to handle them too much before baking, and to make the mixture on the wet, sticky side.

Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs together and make up to 300ml (10fl oz) with the milk, then put about 2 tbsp aside in a cup for later. Gradually add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring it in until you have a soft dough. It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and flatten it to a thickness of 1-2cm (½-1in). Use a 5cm (2in) fluted cutter to stamp out the scones by pushing it straight down into the dough (as opposed to twisting it), then lifting it straight out. This ensures that they rise evenly. Gently push the remaining dough together, knead lightly, reroll and cut out more.

Arrange on the prepared baking-sheets and brush the tops with the reserved beaten egg mixture to glaze. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until well risen and golden, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool, covered with a clean tea towel to keep them moist.

Serve as fresh as possible, cut in half and spread generously with strawberry jam. Top with a good spoonful of thick cream as well, if you like.

Recipe Taken From 'My Kitchen Table: 100 Cakes and Bakes' by Mary Berry