2014 Cooking Club Week 30: Sweet Scones

This weeks poster is a no-show so I've been drafted in at the last minute as a replacement! As such, I've no pictures to share, unfortunately.

This is an old recipe that's been floating around my house since I was a kid. It makes the best scones I've ever had - light, fluffy, without that weird dryness that comes with some scones that have too much baking powder. Sultanas are optional, but I'd always add them.

This is a very versatile recipe too - you could mix it up quite a bit. Alternatives might be a apple and cinnamon version, or you could even do a chocolate chip version!

Enough of the prattle, here's the recipe!

This makes about 18 - 20 scones, but they're perfect for freezing if you won't eat them all in a few days.

Ingredients:

900g plain flour
170g butter
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
55g castor sugar
3 American tablespoons/ 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
15 fl oz/ 425ml milk
125g sultanas (optional)

Glaze:

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with a a splash of milk - no need for precision here)
Granulated sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 240 degrees conventional/ 220 degrees fan/ gas mark 9

2.Sieve all dry ingredients into a LARGE bowl

3. Rub in the butter well. If you're not sure what this means, cut the butter into chunks and, using your fingertips, literally rub it into the dry ingredients, lifting it up out of the bowl as you do it to get air in. It's done when all the butter is rubbed in and no lumps remain, and the texture will be like breadcrumbs.

4. Make a well in the centre of the bowl.

5. Whisk the eggs with the milk

6. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough, using your hands

7. If you're adding sultanas, now is the time to mix them in.

8. Turn the dough on to a floured surface and knead lightly to form a round. It shouldn't too sticky at this stage - knead with more flour if it still is.

9. Roll out to about 1 inch thick and use a cutter to cut into scones. Be careful about using a glass for this, as the pressure can cause a glass to shatter.

10. When you've cut all the scones from the first batch of dough, gather it together, knead it lightly again and repeat until all your dough is used.

11. Put scones onto a baking sheet, ideally lined with parchment.

12. Brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle granulated sugar over them

13. Bake in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them after 10 minutes as the tops can burn, but it's likely to take 15 minutes.

14. To check if they're done, knock on the bottom with your knuckle. If it sounds hollow, they're cooked.

15. Cool on a wire rack, and then served decadently with raspberry jam and freshly whipped cream

Enjoy!