If I think about 5 o'clock tea, the first thing that comes into mind are scones - still warm, freshly made, crispy outside and nice and fluffy inside. This English tradition, that is normally served with black tea, is one of my favourites. It is a moment for myself, to calm down after a busy day, getting my mind off different things and simply enjoy this combination: some nice music or a great podcast with a cup of warm tea with milk and a scone slathered in clotted cream and home-made jam. Try to bake scones at home, they are so easy to make and a great treat for yourself and your loved ones.
For 15 scones you will need:
500g plain flour
85g caster sugar
2g salt
28g baking powder
110g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
175g whole milk
1/2 lemon or 1tbsp of vinegar
First mix the milk with the juice of half a lemon or vinegar to create a home-made buttermilk. Let it curdle aside until you need it.
Next mix the flour and cold butter together and crumb them with your hands so you get a mixture similar like bread crumbs. Then add the sugar, salt, baking powder and finally the eggs and buttermilk. Try to not overwork the dough, because you do not want the gluten of the flour to develop too much so the scones get dense. Once everything is combined well, let the dough rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Roll out the dough to 2cm thick. Take a glass or round cutter and cut small disks out of the dough. Brush the scone disks twice with milk and place them on a baking tray, let them rest outside for another 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 210°C and bake the scones for 10-12 minutes, until they have risen and are golden brown.
Serve the scones still hot with some clotted cream (or cream cheese, if you cannot find any) and some home-made jam.
Tip: Once the baked scones are cooled down, you can freeze them and simply toast/defrost once you are in need of a tasty scone.