Basic Scones

 

I am back from the UK! Hope you didn’t miss my recipe updates too much. If you have, don’t worry I have loads of great family recipes to share.

The first leg of our holiday was in Scotland, and boy-oh-boy was it cold! As a Durbanite, I think the coldest we get to that is in an aircon room… and if I’m honest that aircon ‘cold’ is nowhere near as cold as it can get in Scotland’s minus degrees! We stayed with family friends Scott and Romina, who really treated my Dad and I like royalty! 

I refer to Romina as ‘the little Italian’; she cooked up a storm while we were there. Be warned, this is not the last time you will hear me talk about her, as she has many family recipes up her sleeve and is exceptional at cooking and baking. Very little was store bought, most meals and snacks were homemade! Every evening, morning and lunch; Romina made sure we were well fed. Our homemade food extravaganza started with a warm and hearty breakfast of bacon, egg and toast; dinner was cottage pie and veggies, of which we devoured, and dessert (yes, we even had dessert) was homemade freshly baked éclairs with a custard filling. The second morning we had croissants and cereals, and the evening we were fed pork chops, and an array of veggies. The next morning we had breakfast and lunch on the go, as Dad and I were taken to the snowy Cairn Gorms Mountains, where we trekked through the snowy mountains to feed tame reindeers. In case you are wondering, I did ask if Rudolf was around and unfortunately, because it was so close to Christmas, he was rather busy. It was incredibly cold; Dad lost feeling in his foot, I ended up covered in snow after making snow angels and being attacked by “the ice block launcher” aka Dad, who had a great time throwing “snow balls” (more like snow ice bricks) at me. 

We then went further up the mountain where all the snowboarders were, and that’s when I understood what cold really is. Although I had 2 layers of shirts and 3 layers of jackets on, nothing could have prepared me for that kind of cold. I had to hold my nose in case it froze off (I really did). After that experience, a warm meal was the only thing that could help me ‘recover’. That night, despite our adventures and long journey, when we arrived home, Romina went straight into the kitchen and made us Chicken Kiev with spinach and butternut. Our last morning, we woke up to Romina baking scones! What a way to wake up! That night Romina shared her homemade sausage rolls while we waited for dinner. Dinner was yummy spicy mince wraps with another spread of colourful veg.

As you can imagine, it was difficult to say goodbye; firstly who would want to leave the little Italian who fed us with such beautiful meals and treats. Secondly, we’d eaten so much, it was pretty difficult to walk with the extra weight. Most importantly though, this trip was all about spending time with our family and friends who were there for us when we had a tough year in 2013/2014, and it was truly special seeing Scott and Romina, and creating such lovely new memories.

So, here is the recipe of the gorgeous scones we woke up to. Enjoy, because we certainly did…

 

Ingredients

450g Self-raising flour

50g Caster Sugar

2 tsp baking powder

100g Butter

100g raisins, sultanas, cherries, cranberries (optional)

200ml Milk

Instruction:

• Preheat oven to 200® degrees.

• In a bowl, mix flour, caster sugar and baking powder.

• Cut in the butter and work with hands until well combined and resembling fine breadcrumb texture.

• Add in your fruit and gradually add milk – work in until well combined and forms a soft dough.

• Press out on a floured surface (not working or kneading the dough too much as it will not rise).

• Cut with scone cutter and lace on a floured baking tray (not too close together).

• Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with milk or beaten egg.

• Bake for +- 20 minutes or until golden brown.

• Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy hot or cold.