April 8, 2009

Scones Save The Day

The day has flown by and my two hungry fellas would be home in less than two hours. I haven't been to the shops and I'm now panicking about their afternoon tea. The macadamia bikkies are all gone and I really feel like I need to have something homely and cosy for them when they come home today. I get like that sometimes. The weather is starting to turn cooler, they have been working very hard, physically that is, and I want something home made to greet their faces when they walk in.

Scouring through my cookbook library I stumble upon "scones". Goodness, I haven't made those for yonks.One thing is for sure they are quick. No time to delay, I whack the oven on. I dive into the fridge and look for any leftover jars of home made preserves. The strawberry jam is gone, the cumquat marmalade is gone, the lemon curd is gone but wait. There is a couple of little orange jars looking rather neglected. On closer inspection I see that my mandarin jelly marmalade has been doing a good job hiding. Out she comes.

I literally throw the dough together, shape it roughly, twist out the rounds and toss them into a floured and buttered cake tin. I am feeling really proud of myself with the speed at which I churn out these scones. It's not until later; a good deal later actually; like right now infact; that I realised I forgot to rub in the butter. Oops.

But guess what, they were just fine. Infact everyone really enjoyed them and my daughter even went so far as to say "gee these are so luxurious mum". So funny. I would however recommend adding the butter because their keeping time was definitely reduced. Or am I just being paranoid?

Scones
adapted from Family Circle

280gm self raising flour
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
20gm salted butter, grated & cold
1 egg
185mls full cream milk at room temperature
a little extra milk for glazing


Preheat oven to hot 220deg Celcius. Sift the flour, salt & sugar into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until well incorporated & crumbly.

Mix the beaten egg with the milk; pour almost all of the liquid into the dry ingredients; add the rest if needed. Bring the dough together without being heavy handed. Place dough onto a floured bench; pat gently into a round, about 1 inch thick.

Dip your cutter into flour each time you press out a round. Put the rounds into a buttered, floured baking tin, with a little space between each one. Brush each round with extra milk. Bake for approx 15 to 20 minutes. You may need to turn down the oven half way through baking.



Take the cooked scones out of the oven; place onto a wire rack for only a minute.



Remove from baking tin; place onto wire rack covered with a teatowel.



Wrap teatowel loosely over scones to help them stay warm and moist.



Serve with freshly whipped cream and preserve of your choice. Ohhh my goodness, so simple yet so delish.



I could just admire this for ages.




Enough admiration; it's time to enjoy!

10 comments:

  1. These are really beautiful, Marianna. I can just picture your two boys sitting at the table and enjoying tea with homemade scones.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You made me laugh - I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who sometimes forgets to add 'essential' ingredients. They look great, though. I've never thought about baking them close together in a cake tin, rather than on a baking sheet, but I'm sure that helps to keep them moist and puffy. The mandarin jelly looks like a little pot of heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum that is my comment!! The photos look amazing and one can almost taste them just by looking ....but of course the presentation is excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with you...but couldn't admire them as long because I couldn't resist them! So beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. you are amazing!I love scones and with a homemade jelly it makes it even better. The muffins were very moist and for putting the milk and the lemon together could just be part of my laziness. I think all muffins should be made with buttermilk but I never have it so mixing milk with lemon makes the same mixture as buttermilk. thanks for checking in and your pictures are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Mary but they didn't eat them with tea. I'm afraid my fellas aint that dainty.

    Yes Debora, baking in a cake tin has lots of advantages. The sides of the scones are better protected and they do rise more. I also love breaking them off from each other. Something so old fashioned and warm about doing it that way.

    Aww I wish you both were here Gayle and Catherine to share them with me!

    Thanks for the tip Baking Monster and a special thanks for noticing my photos. To be perfectly honest the cooking part is easy for me; its the photography that is time consuming and not so easy. But I'm learning all the time and I'm enjoying it.

    PS: I will feature jam and marmalade recipes during winter (australian time) because that is when all the citrus will be ready. Two months away.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have just discovered you blog and it is wonderful. I am so envious that you have avocados and kiwis in your garden. The scones with cream and marmalade and making me drool - I can't wait for your recipe for citrus marmalade. I have a Meyer lemon and Key lime tree that would be perfect for it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Isn't it wonderful to have lemons and limes in the backyard Dragana! A day rarely goes by that I don't use either one of them. Thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Marianna! I love this recipe, bruno and i are LOVING scones at the moment - bruno's mum has given us some homemade jam, nectarine and apricot. They are so delicious on a hot scone. I'm going to try your recipe though - little different to the one i have been using. Thanks for looking at my blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oooh Kylie, I'm so envious. Homemade apricot jam. Our climate isn't kind to apricots so unfortunately we don't have an apricot tree.
    Your mum pointed out your blog to me and I can see your flare for craft continues to flourish. For some reason I expected to see a "kentish cake". Does that ring a bell? Hehehe.

    ReplyDelete