My best high-hat scones

I think the sign of a good scone is when it’s towering so high you worry for its safety. It should teeter on the edge of lofty ridiculousness and split happily, as if relieved those topple verging days are over. Scones freeze like a dream so if you don’t get through them all on the day of baking conserve them in the freezer. Whatever you do don’t keep them in a tin and expect them to taste wonderful the next day. They won’t. Scones like to be gobbled up. With clotted cream and jam if you’re game.

INGREDIENTS

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

15g baking powder

90g salted butter, very cold and cut into 1 cm cubes

145ml whole or semi-skimmed milk, very cold, plus extra for brushing

METHOD

Mix the flour and baking powder together until well combined. Stir the very cold butter pieces through the flour with a blunt knife until all the pieces are well coated. Wash your hands in cold water and rub the fat into the flour. You can also use a pastry cutter for this job if you have one.

When you have a breadcrumb-like consistency, pour the milk over the butter and flour mixture and bring together with a blunt knife, then use your hands to pull it together by squeezing gently. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C and check the rack is at the top of the oven. Cover a baking sheet with non-stick greaseproof paper. Flour your work surface, then pop the scone dough onto it. Roll to about a 3 cm thickness then use a 6 cm scone cutter dipped in flour to cut straight down, without twisting or turning it. Place on a baking sheet and repeat until all the dough is used; you can re-squidge it but the scones won’t be as tender. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk, making sure that none of it runs down the sides as it will stop a good rise. Bake immediately for 10–15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the scones are well risen. A good scone has a little split around the middle, ready for breaking in two with your hands. Knives only required for the jam and cream.

#normalmum #scones #canada