There's something so simple about a fresh, homemade scone. Whether served alone with butter or slathered with jam, strawberries or cream, there are few people whose mouths don't water at the sight of them.
Fresh scones are so easy to make and can be whipped up in less that 30 minutes, often with ingredients you'll already have in your kitchen. This recipe makes 10-12 scones.
You'll need:
- 500g plain flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 75 g caster sugar
- 85 g butter
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 230 ml milk
- 1 eggs, beaten to glaze
1. Preheat the oven to 230C for a conventional oven, 210C for a fan assisted oven, or gas mark 8.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar together into a bowl. Do this about three times to make sure the baking powder is mixed in well. It’s worth the effort as it really adds to the fluffiness and lightness of the mixture.
3. Make sure the butter is reasonably soft, and cut it up into small pieces. Rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs and milk. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the wet ingredients into the 'breadcrumbs'. This will give it a sticky texture and the mixture will be a little hard to manage (sticking to the bowl, the spoon and your hands if you touch it!), but continue to fold all the ingredients in together until you get a smooth consistency. Putting in the extra elbow-grease to smoothen the mixture is so worth it because it ensures the scones will stay light and fluffy. Otherwise, they may turn out very doughy.
5. Once smooth, turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a thickness of about 2cm and cut into rounds with a 5cm cutter. If the mixture is too sticky then simply use floury hands to roll into little balls which you can flatten slightly once they're on the baking tray.
6. Place the rounds are on a baking tray. Liberally brush with either beaten egg (just make sure it doesn't run down the sides of your scones and this will hinder the cooking) or, if you prefer, you can just use milk to glaze the tops.
7. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden-brown and well risen. If you like your scones sweet, then take them out after 7-8 minutes, glaze again, and sprinkle each scone with sugar.
8. Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
9. Finally, enjoy! Our favourite way is to serve these light, fluffy scones with some real butter, a generous helping of whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. So simple, so delicious!
