just take a look at that...freshly baked scones, straight from my oven, for breakfast this morning, spread with some strawberry jam and I was transported back to the year 1990, somewhere in a B&B in a small village in Glasgow, or was it Edinburgh or was it Inverness? I am reminiscing, going back down the memory lane for those were the days when you have not so much worries as you do now. the only thing that you need to worry is to pass your exam, to make sure that you come back with a scroll in your hand.That B&B place served the BEST scones I have ever tasted. If given a chance I would love to go back there and have that scone again, In the mean time I have to make do with my home bake scones which is no where near to that perfection but tasty and crumbly enough to be called a scone. For those who do not like their scone too sweet , then this one is definitely for you. even with generous portion of strawberry jam, it is still not sweet and since I have made it, I have to eat it but I do admit that I quite like it. quite big for a portion, I think more than 8cm in circumference and I had two this morning and had a glass of milk to complement it. Felt like having afternoon tea ( tho' I was having it for breakfast)in an english garden at somebody's backyard somewhere in the faraway land ....
I have been meaning to make scones since....like forever...keep postponing it and finally I said to myself, I must do it,so i took out the recipe book " Exceptional Cakes" which my hubby bought for me and there it was:I think, 450g of self-raising flour with two tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt , sift together, add 25g caster sugar. Rub in 85g unsalted butter , i think 85g( I'll check back the correct recipe later cost the book is downstairs and I'm in my room upstairs, ( checked, yup, it's 85g alright! )with the flour till you get he crumbly texture. Beat 2 eggs and 25gsugar .Add 200ml of cold milk and pour the mixture into the flour mixture. Make it into a dough, roll them and cut into about 16, I got more than 10 scones measuring about 8cm each.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 175 C for about 20 minutes or until it is cooked. you know when it is done, the usual, brownish, skewer doesn't stick when you poke it into the scone. I almost forgot, glaze the scone with egg and milk mixture ( 1 tbsp of milk with 1 egg yolk) and sprinkle some caster sugar before you bake 'em.
There you go, all done and baked, ready to be enjoyed and savoured. Note: the secret of a good moist, light scone is the correct proportion of raising agent to flour. Use too much leavening and your scone will stand tal, but taste horribly of baking powder. You also need to keep handling to a minimum, otherwise the gluten in the flour is overworked, making the dought elastic and the scone hard."( Exceptional Cakes book )
