Rich Scones Recipes

THE BEST SCONES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk the cream, egg and milk powder in a liquid measuring cup. Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse only until pea-size pieces remain. Transfer to a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix with a fork, incorporating the dry ingredients a little at a time until a shaggy dough forms (it's okay if the dough looks a little dry, just don't overwork it). Lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it just comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 by 7 inches). Cut in half lengthwise, then cut in half again crosswise; you should have 4 equal rectangles. Cut each piece in half from corner to corner making 8 triangular wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.
• Brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake the scones until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 more minutes. Serve warm with softened butter and jam.

RICH SCONES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.
• Thoroughly mix in lard with your fingers.
• Add sugar and currants, mixing well.
• Stir in enough milk to form a stiff dough.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• On a lightly floured surface roll dough out until it is 3/4" thick.
• Cut into 2" circles.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in middle of oven for about 10 minutes or until tops are light golden.
• Serve while still warm with butter, jam and real whipped cream.

RICH CREAM SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers. (The largest pieces should be the size of small peas.) With your fingertips, flatten butter pieces into small disks. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until butter is very firm, about 20 minutes.
• Combine cream and vanilla in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture with a wooden spoon until almost absorbed and dough just comes together. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface; roll out into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, fold rectangle into thirds, as you would a letter. Rotate dough a quarter turn clockwise. Repeat rolling out, folding, and rotating dough 2 more times. With floured hands, pat out dough to a 1 1/4-inch thickness, and cut out as many rounds as possible with a floured 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter. Gather scraps, reroll once, and cut out more rounds (you should have a total of 12).
• Place scones 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ULTIMATE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C and lightly butter a baking sheet (unless you're using a non-stick sheet). Tip the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Shoot in the butter, then rub together with your fingers to make a reasonably fine crumbed mixture, lifting to aerate the mixture as you go. Try not to overrub, as the mixture will be lighter if it's a little bit flaky. Now stir in the sugar.
• Measure the buttermilk, then mix in the milk to slacken it. Make a bit of a well in the middle of the flour mixture with a round-bladed knife, then pour in most of this buttermilk mixture, holding a little bit back in case it's not needed. Using the knife, gently work the mixture together until it forms a soft, almost sticky, dough. Work in any loose dry bits of mixture with the rest of the buttermilk. Don't overwork at this point or you will toughen the dough.
• Lift the ball of soft dough out of the bowl and put it on to a very lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture just 3-4 times to get rid of the cracks.
• Pat the dough gently with your hands to a thickness of no less than 2cm and no more than 2.5cm. Dip a 5.5cm round fluted cutter into a bowl of flour - this helps to stop the dough sticking to it, then cut out the scones by pushing down quickly and firmly on the cutter with the palm of your hand - don't twist it.You will hear the dough give a big sigh as the cutter goes in. Gather the trimmings lightly then pat and cut out a couple more scones.
• Place on the baking sheet and sift over a light dusting of flour or glaze if you wish. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered if you prefer crisp tops, or covered loosely with a cloth for soft ones.
• Serve with strawberry jam and a generous mound of clotted cream (Cornish people put jam first, then cream, Devonians the other way round). Eat them as fresh as you can.