Scones

This marvellous book bears my grandmother’s name and the date “December 1960″ on the flyleaf.  It includes many of her handwritten emendations to recipes throughout, as well as a variety of pieces cut from antique newspapers and magazines.  Its scone recipe, with some tweaks of my grandmother’s, is fantastic.

Ingredients: 3/4 lb cream flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, good pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon caster sugar, about half a pint of milk. 

 

Preheat your oven to gas mark 6.  Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt; rub in the butter thoroughly.  Mix in the sugar.  Mix in the milk in parts – you want just enough to make a soft dough without being too sticky.  Roll on to a floured surface and cut with a floured cutter. 

For a shiny topping, brush the tops of your scones with milk and add a small sprinkle of caster sugar.  Bake on a baking tray for 12-20 minutes, depending on size (the enormous ones in these photos took twenty minutes).