HOME-BAKED SCONES

Ingredients

• 600 ml cake flour, sifted

• 30 ml baking powder

• 5 ml salt

• 250 g butter, plus extra, melted, for the tart base

• 3 free-range egg, beaten

• 2 cups buttermilk

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Rub in the butter using your fingertips (do not let the butter become warm or you will end up with hard, flat scones), until the mixture resembles the texture of coarse crumbs.

4. Beat together the eggs and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture.

5. Using a butter knife, gently cut in the liquid to form a soft dough.

6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently pat to a thickness of 2cm.

7. Cut out rounds using a cookie-cutter. Place the scones on a greased baking tray. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until puffed up and golden.

Extra! Here are Abigail's tips for making super scones:

1. Brush the tops of the scones with milk before baking them for an extra golden colour.

2. Pop the tray of uncooked scones into the fridge for 15 minutes before baking – this will help them rise once the heat hits them.

3. Use sour cream instead of buttermilk. To make your own sour cream, add 2 t lemon juice or vinegar to 200 ml (4/5cup) milk.

4. For a sweeter scone, add 4 T caster sugar to the flour.

The foolproof way to make melt-in-the-mouth scones:

Top tips

1. Pop the tray of unbaked scones into the fridge for l5 minutes. This will help them to rise.

2. Use yoghurt or sour cream instead of buttermilk. To make your own sour cream add 10ml (2t) Iemon juice or Vinegar to 200ml (4/5 cup) milk.

3. If you prefer a sweeter scone, add a little caster sugar to the dough

4. Grate the butter if it’s hard.

5. Make sure your cookie-cutter is sharp as this will help the scones rise. To keep your cookie-cutter sharp, run a steel over the base.

6. If you prefer scones with a softer crust, pack them close together.

Top twists:

For variation try adding the following:

1. a cup or two of grated mature Cheddar

2. a handful of chopped dates. dried cranberries or raisins

3. a cup of chopped almonds

4. a little orange or lemon zest

5. a cup of chopped, dark chocolate

6. chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives

7. substitute the cake flour with half wholewheat flour and bran

#scones