May 9, 2020

Recipe: Fruit Scones

Whenever anyone asks Alison what her favourite cake is, she replies, ‘Well, it’s not really a cake, but scone, jam and cream.’ After the Chelsea bun, it’s the sweet item we sell most of in the café. Cream tea is surely one of English cookery’s greatest gifts to the world.

Ingredients

Makes 10 large of 14 small scones

- 460g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting.
- 30g of baking powder.
- 50g caster sugar.
- 80g unsalted butter, cold and cubed.
- 2 medium eggs.
- 200ml milk, full-fat or semi-skimmed.
- 120g sultanas.

Served either warm or cold, with jam and clotted cream, obviously.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder and caster sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips.

3. Lightly beat together the eggs and milk in a separate bowl. Reserve a tablespoon of the milk and egg mix to glaze the top of the scones.

4. Add the liquid to the dry mix and bring together with your hands. Stir in the sultanas last so that they don’t get broken up.

5. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and give it the very lightest of kneads – just two folds should do – to make sure it comes together evenly. Roll out to 3cm thick and cut out to the size you want. We use a 7cm cutter for large scones and a 5cm cutter for smaller scones.

6. Place the scones spaced well apart on the lined baking sheet and brush with the reserved beaten milk and egg. Bake the large scones for 15–20 minutes and the smaller scones for 12–15 minutes until they are lightly golden. 

Serve either warm or cold, with jam and clotted cream, obviously.

For more recipes, cake ideas, baking tips and stories buy our Fitzbillies book

Published by Nathaniel Mahoney