I chatted about fancy pavlova a while back because, well…, pav.’s at the top of eN-Zed’s mountain for class and dignity and ease. But how good are scones? I mean, scones are as easy as, and you can make cinnamon ones or cheese and bacon ones or with raisins or dates or plain, but with strawberry jam and whipped cream.
There’s a lot to be said for plain scones. Less is more of course, but plain doesn’t really mean plain because a gob of strawberry jam, home-made of course, and then some whipped cream makes this scone anything but plain. And that’s how Nana would make them. Mum would probably opt for savoury scones: cheese, onion, bacon and probably some mustard and chopped parsley.
Here’s how to make scones: ready, set, go (I mean that…, make scones fast, like you’re in a race)… Put into a biggish bowl 2 cups of self-raising flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt (everything has to have a pinch of salt in it, that’s why the salt-caddy’s always out on the kitchen bench). Don’t faff about rubbing butter in between your fingers to make breadcrumbs like Aunt Daisy and Her Highness Dame Alison Holst said to do; just melt the butter and pour it in with the milk; about 3-4 tablespoons of melted butter and enough milk to make it the Goldilocks consistency; not too wet, not too dry. Actually, make it a wee bit too wet, but tip it all out onto a floured bench and lightly knead in the flour. Lightly!, I said. And quickly. Roll it all out to about 2cm thick and cut it with a cookie cutter or a small-ish glass. Round scones cook better than square ones and using a cutter means all the edges will be neat and that makes the scones easier to pull apart. Squish the remaining dough together, roll it out again and cut out some more because ‘waste not want not’, said Nana.
If you want to show off your baking skills to your neighbor, brush the tops of the uncooked scones with beaten egg and they’ll be croissant golden brown when they come out of the oven. Classy, not arsey. Cook them at about 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, but because the oven’s thermostat is probably a wee bit wonky, just keep an eye on them while you clean the bowl and bench and make a cup of tea.
If you really want to show off to your neighbour, add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the flour mixture and some dried cranberries. But don’t make them any fancier than that because scones aren’t supposed to be fancy, they’re wholesome and sincere. If you want fancy and fluffy, buy some toffee pops or mallowpuffs. If the shearers are coming make a quadruple batch and then double it. Add in grated cheese, chopped onion, and chopped bacon. And have a jar of vegemite ready.
What to do with leftover scones? I don’t know because if you make scones properly, there won’t be any leftovers.
What are your favourite scones? And who makes them?
eN-Zed 