Recipe: Scones

A trusted scone recipe is as valuable as a good friend.  There is nothing worse than investing time in trialing recipe after recipe only to find that the scones are too dense, burn easy, not fluffy, too soggy or turn out like a door stopper.  This recipe is now your new friend and will not fail you!  I can't remember where I picked it up from however it has never let me down and has been used dozens of times.  The use of lemonade enables the scones to aerate and become light and fluffy and of course emazingly sweet- just how I like them.  As you would know by now I am a fan on recipes that only require one bowl and ingredients that are always found in the pantry and this recipe also ticks this box.  These will only take 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake which makes it perfect to whip up when people drop in for a cupppa, or in my case, I made 30 before trainimg at 4am to thank my beautuful work collegues for my birthday gifts. They are even 4am simple!

Because scone recipes are renowned to cause pain (and sometimes fill the bins of many homes) here are my top tips for the best scones:

Tips:

• You need to make sure the scones are touching as this assists them to rise;
• You can also brush the scones with milk or egg yolk;
• This recipe makes 12 big scones;
• Ensure that you use a butter knife when you are bringing the ingredients together as the metal knife assists the air to stay in the scones;
• If you have the time after kneading the dough let it stand for five minutes this will also ensure that the dough has settled adequately before baking;
• It doesn't matter if you use light lemonade or light cream;
• Make sure your oven is pre-heated and reached the temperature before putting them in the oven as this will ensure that the scones turn out crispy on the outside.

Ingredients:
3 cups of self-raising flour

pinch of salt

1 cup cream

1 cup lemonade
2 tbsps of milk

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees (fan forced) and line a baking tray with baking paper;
2. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre;
3. Pour in cream and lemonade;
4. Mix with a knife until mixture comes together;
5. Turn dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Knead gently until smooth and pliable;
6. Cut scones into rounds using a scone cutter.  Place them on your tray whilst ensuring that they are touching.  Brush them with milk to help them become golden when baking; and
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.