Just recently I got this itch that I needed to scratch: I was in the mood for scones, honest-to-goodness fluffy Scottish scones. I had actually never made scones up to that day, but my wonderfully supportive and ginger Scottish boyfriend encouraged me to make them myself – no self interest there at all…-. So I put myself to the task, finding a good old fashioned recipe that would work for a beginner in the matter as me. I got this one from the oldie but goldie Silver Spoon book, so I can’t claim credit for it, but I still wanted to share it with you.
I have to say that this recipe is a lot easier (especially for a newbie!) than many others out there and it turned out really well. I have made some slight adjustments to it and increased some measurements, because the initial amount was definitely not enough… They turned out so yum that I wish I had made loads more, they were all gone by breakfast next day and I was dreaming of them for days after. We put them together with some butter and strawberry marmalade and they practically disappeared, that’s how good they were.
I actually decided to be slightly adventurous and tried grinding some cardamom seeds into some, with disastrous results – wa wa waaahhh -. So you won’t be seeing those pictures, sorry! But I’m sure I can surprise you sometime soon making some tweaks and changes and delicious additions to this basic recipe. Maybe next time I’ll decide to have a go at making homemade clotted cream, who knows? But for now, ladies and gents, here is the recipe that has earned me some very valuable points as the SO of a true Scotsman:
- 100g butter, softened
- 40g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 400g flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4-5 tbsp milk
- salt
- Cream the butter in a bowl and beat in the sugar and eggs.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and a dash of salt, and stir into the bowl.
- Add just enough milk to form a very soft dough, shape with your hands into a ball, cover with cling film and leave for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 180ºC, and line a baking tray with paper or a baking mat (I used my wonderful amazon basics silicon mats that I got for Christmas, they work really well!).
- Flour a clean and dry surface and roll out the dough carefully to avoid beating the air out, it should be about 2cm thick.
- Cut out whatever shape you choose for your scones. I chose circles, but that ended in wasting a lot of the leftover dough. Cutting it with a knife in triangular shapes is a good option as well.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Serve with butter and jam, as is traditional in Scotland, or clotted cream (unfortunately difficult to find in Germany…).
