Afternoon cream tea is one of Britain’s favourite traditions, and here Imogen Krupski of Capital Cooking shares her recipe for delicious buttermilk scones, which for full effect are best served with a pot of tea, on a white wipeable table cover in a country garden!
Ingredients
250g self-raising flour
Pinch salt
60g butter, cut into small cubes
40g caster sugar
2-3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 beaten egg
Milk to glaze
To serve:
Clotted cream
Raspberry/strawberry jam
(makes 8 – 10 scones)
Method
1. Pre-heat an oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
2. Sift the flour into a clean bowl and add the salt.
3. Using the tips of your fingers rub the butter into the flour so that it resembles fine breadcrumbs. You don’t want any lumps of butter left!
4. Stir in the sugar.
5. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the buttermilk and egg. Using a palette knife mix the mixture together so that it becomes a soft dough.
6. Gently tip the dough onto a floured surface and roll out so that it is 2.5cm/1 inch thick.
7. Using a pastry cutter cut out individual rounds and place apart on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Lightly brush each scone with milk (this adds a glaze when the scones are cooked).
8. Cook on the top shelf of a pre-heated oven for around 15 minutes until golden and well-risen and transfer to a cooling rack.
9. To serve, cut each scone in half horizontally and spread with lashings of clotted cream and jam. Delicious!
Chefs Tip: The scones are best eaten on the day they are made.
