After making a roasted mixed berry jam last week I needed something nice or should I say something other than toast! I did think about making a Victoria sandwich but then I thought scones with clotted cream would be just perfect because the jam is a big part of this wonderful British classic. I of course had already tasted tested the jam and I can say it’s utterly delicious and so easy to make. So scones won, and so starts the decision of which recipe to use ( I have a few different ones ) you see here’s the thing with these little bites of deliciousness we made them at school, like boiling an egg ( lets face it that’s not easy to get right! ) they’re child’s play or are they? No! I thought it was just me then after posting them on my instagram feed and instagram stories it became very clear that these little blighters that we made at school in home economics are a mine field of different recipes, they don’t rise and using a straight edge cutter or fluted makes a difference on the end result! No wonder they can be hard to get right!!

Anyway I’m giving you a very simple recipe that’s both quick and easy, I find it works for me, I did play around a little bit as in I used mostly a fluted cutter but done a few with the straight edge to see the difference if any, I personally didn’t see that much of a difference but the one thing I do know when cutting don’t wriggle the cutter just pull it straight up! The other thing I done was I patted the dough into shape before cutting, I didn’t use a rolling pin. The thickness of the dough definitely makes a difference in the rise, that was something else I tried but in all honesty weather they had the perfect rise or not they all tasted really good and once cut and filled with cream and jam they were delicious. So after a lot of trying, testing, tweaking and tasting below is exactly what I done and they worked for me! Now I can confidently say scones are child’s play! Or are they?! Maybe I just got lucky!  Give them ago, play around a bit like I did and see what works for you. They take no time at all to throw together and 12/15 mins to bake. Oh and the other thing is you can add sultanas if that’s your preference. This recipe made about 12 mini scones.

You will need: Preheat oven 220c/ Gas 7/ Fan 200 ( I used fan ) lightly greased baking sheet

• 225g self raising flour
• 50g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 120ml milk, plus a little extra for brushing

Method:

Put the flour and pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Add the cold butter. Rub together with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and if using sultanas add them now.

Add the milk to the mixture and stir everything together, I used a round ended knife. Tip it onto an floured worktop.Then knead it altogether with your hands until a stiff dough forms. I didn’t knead it for long.

Now you can roll it out until it’s 2cm thick or do as I did and use your hands, either way once it’s ready cut out your shapes with round straight or fluted cutters. I used small ones about 5cm. I dipped the cutter in flour in between each one. I wasn’t taking any chances!!. You may need to knead together the leftover dough to finish off. Lift them carefully onto the greased baking sheet with a palate knife, brush with milk.

Bake for 12 to 15 mins. I checked after 12 mins, in truth I didn’t move from the kitchen and watched them throughout! Mine took just under 15 mins. Once they are slightly brown and risen remove them and cool on a rack for 5mins, at this point pop the kettle on, then get stuck in with your choice of filling. Let’s not start the debate on cream or jam first!! 

As always if you try this recipe please let me know what you thought.

Enjoy

Deb xx