Royal Scones

As the London Olympic games drew to a close yesterday, we thought we would pay tribute to England and our family heritage with a traditional afternoon tea of jam and scones.  I forgot what a quick little snack these are and the smell of them baking is so heartwarming, the perfect thing to do with kids.

The girls really enjoyed baking with us particularly as we let them cut the scones into apple shapes and love hearts.  They turned out so beautifully... light, fluffy and golden brown.  Just perfect.  Thank you CWA, you can't go past the Country Women's Association recipe - they have been doing it for years and unlikely to get it wrong!

For your next afternoon with friends, whip up a batch and sit down and relax over these.

Makes approx 15

Ingredients:

2/3 cup cream

1 cup milk

3 cups self-raising flour

3 tblspn icing sugar

2/3 cup sultanas/raisins (optional)

For serving:

cream, whipped with a tspn of sugar

strawberry jam 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400'F 
• In a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the cream, milk and sugar together for 1-2minutes.
• Add the sultanas and continue to mix while adding the sifted flour gradually until it just comes together, do not over-kneed.
• Roll the mixture out onto a floured bench.
• Using a rolling pin flatten out to the mixture to roughly a 2 1/2 - 3cm (1 inch) thickness
• Use a round cookie cooker, or bottom of a glass even, to cut out your scones to the desired shape.  Use a twisting action when removing the cutter from the dough.

• Place on a lined baking tray, placing the scones quite close together as they will help each other to rise.
• Brush with a little milk to glaze and cook in a hot oven for 12-15mins or until golden brown

My little helpers

• Whip the cream for serving, adding a 1 tspn of icing sugar for added sweetness
• Serve hot with Jam and Cream, and your favourite pot of tea. 

Straight out of the oven

Fit for a Queen