It's summer, so it makes sense to make a scone with a nice short crumb that works well with fresh fruit preserves
Scones are a divisive topic. Some people like them lean and mean, made with lard to give them a wartime austerity chic, while others enrich them with eggs and butter so that they look like yellow-tinted buns. Both are right to my thinking, though they suit different times in the year, as they would have done traditionally, when what you put in them depended on what you had to make them with.
When you make scones with a mixture of double cream and yoghurt or buttermilk, they stay crisper on top and have a short crumb that suits fresh-made summer preserves. And the addition of vanilla gives them a subtle, fragrant sweetness that suits homemade strawberry jam very well.
The basic rules are to keep the dough soft, pat it gently, keep it thick and, when cutting, do so swiftly and straight down without twisting. And bake in a very hot oven, to give you the tallest scones possible. These are best eaten as soon as they're warm, with butter or cream, as you prefer.
400g plain flour, plus a little extra for shaping
3 tsp baking powder
� tsp salt
50g unsalted butter, slightly chilled
225ml natural yoghurt
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp caster sugar
75ml double cream
1 egg, beaten
Flaked almonds
Spoon the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and toss with a fork. Cut the chilled butter into cubes, then rub into the flour mixture until only the odd flake remains visible.
Stir the yoghurt with the vanilla extract, caster sugar and cream, then tip this into the flour bowl and combine until the mixture barely forms a smooth dough. Flour a patch of worktop, scoop the dough on to it and tap it out to 3-4cm high ? you want it quite thick because you want a good lift from the scones.
Line a tray with nonstick paper. Cut scones from the dough using a round, 6cm cutter, and place them 3-4cm apart on the tray. Brush the tops with beaten egg, press a few almonds on each and bake at 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7 for 12-14 minutes, until lightly brown on top.
No comments:
Post a Comment