Strawberries And Cream...

Nothing beats freshly baked scones, served with lashings of strawberry jam and decadent cream.

They are surprising easy to make, as I discovered this weekend....


Here's what you need for fruit scones:

225g/2 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup/50g dried fruit

55g/½ stick cold butter

1 level tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

150 ml/¼ pint milk

1 egg beaten with a little milk

Here's what you do....

Heat the oven to 400°F/205°C/Gas 6

Grease and flour a baking sheet.

Sieve the flour into a roomy baking bowl then add the butter, baking powder and salt. Quickly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the center and using a dinner knife, stir in enough milk to make a soft, pliable dough.

Turn the mixture on to a floured board and knead very lightly until just smooth then lightly roll out to 2cm / 3/4" thick.

Cut rounds with a 7.5cm/3" cutter or cut into triangles with a sharp knife.

Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake near the top of the hot oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.

Cool on a wire rack before eating.

Serve with butter, or lashings of jam and cream.

In Devon, scones are eaten with the jam on top of the cream, 

in Cornwall the cream goes on top of the jam

Cheese Scones

Add 1/2 cup /50g grated cheese and 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder to the mixture after rubbing in the fat and flour and continue with the basic recipe. Sprinkle the scones with 1/2 cup/50g more grated cheese before baking the scones in the oven.