As McCall Smith said “tea is always a solution”, and five o’clock tea calls for… Scottish Scones.
The first thing you need to know about Scones is that once you’ve tasted the first one you can’t do without it. The first time I ate them in Rome, at the most beautiful English tea room in the capital, at Babingtons, one cold February morning in front of the fireplace with my mother. And those sweet rolls, toasted and buttered, served with strawberry jam and cream… they were out of this world! And after that to Dublin, and to England, and who knows, I might even go to Scotland sooner or later…
Casa Babingtons published the original recipe on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, and for this we will always be grateful. Tried at home it is perfect and easy to make to amaze friends and acquaintances for a very British breakfast or snack.
Here we thank the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Stanhope, who in 1840 officially established the ritual of five o’clock tea with cakes and biscuits (in order to better get from lunch to dinner).
Ingredients:
- 150 g of butter
- 475 g of flour
- 90 g of sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- milk
- Raisins, to personal taste
First, heat the oven to 185° C and prepare a large baking tray (butter it or cover it with baking paper).
In a large container mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
Cut the cold butter into small pieces and work it slowly with your hands into the dough until you obtain a crumbled mixture that looks like breadcrumbs. At this point add enough milk to make the dough soft, working it as little as possible. If you like them, add raisins.
Roll out the dough to a height of 3.5 cm and cut out 16 scones with a round cutter of approximately 6/7 cm.
Place them on the baking tray well separated and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they become golden.
Serve hot, cut in half (lightly toasting the open halves) with a thin layer of butter, strawberry jam and whipped cream.
I’m a marvel!!! Tea with scones… will always be a solution 🙂
