The scone, so beloved of the British Isles, is thought to be
about a thousand years old. There is a town in Scotland called Scone. It is tempting to believe that that's where the scone got its name from but there are other contenders from as far afield as Germany and The Netherlands.
The scone as we know it can only date from the mid 19th
century with the appearance of baking powder and baking soda. These culinary equivalents of the Wonderbra gave what must
have been quite a flat and boring mass a bit of a lift. Since then, the scone hasn’t
looked back and no teashop worth its salt would be without this stalwart of Afternoon
Tea (or breakfast, or anytime with a cuppa really).
I’m not crazy about sultana scones and one of my young nieces
shares this foible. If she gets a sultana scone, she picks out all the fruit,
saving the ‘good’ plump sultanas for a better life (!!!) and eating the ‘bad’ smaller
ones before demolishing the denuded quick bread.
I prefer more interesting fruit in my scones and I’ve gone with a buttermilk version simply because, for the
first time in my life, I’ve run out of baking powder. The result is Almond,
Orange and Apricot Buttermilk Scones. My taste tester said “Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! Would it be rude to eat three?” Of course not!
For approximately 10
dainty (5cm) scones you’ll need...
... to pre-heat your
oven to 190°C
250g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of
soda (bread soda)
½ teaspoon ground
cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
the zest of an orange,
finely grated
50g butter, cold from the fridge, cut into
small pieces
30g honey (or caster
sugar if you prefer)
1 egg yolk
110mls buttermilk*
(approximately)
½ teaspoon almond extract
50g ready-to-eat dried
apricots, snipped into sultana-sized pieces
Method
Method
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour,
bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt and orange zest.
Add the butter, and “rub it in” to
the flour by taking large pinches of the mixture and crumbling between your
fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the honey (I weigh it
directly into the bowl).
 |
| Grate! I love orange zest! |
Combine the egg yolk with the
buttermilk and almond extract and add just enough of this mixture to the flour
mixture so that there is no dry flour left (you may not need to add it all).
Finally mix in the apricot pieces and
turn the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface. (The dough can quickly be
prepared in a stand mixer too.)
Handle the dough as little as possible to keep the butter cold for a better rise. Knead very lightly then pat the dough
out into a round of about 2cm high. Stamp into rounds using a lightly floured 5cm
scone cutter. (Try to avoid twisting as you stamp out the rounds as this will
cause them to rise unevenly, like mine... old habits die hard). Gather up any scraps, re-form into
a round and continue stamping out scone shapes until you’ve used up the dough.
Place on a non-stick baking sheet and
brush with a little beaten egg or milk to glaze. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes or until well risen and golden
brown.
 |
| Oven-ready in about 5 minutes flat! Tummy-ready in about 20! |
Serve warm with butter and/or jam and
a decent cup of tea or coffee - best served on the day of baking but can be frozen and refreshed in a hot oven. Cherry jam goes fantastically well with these.
 |
| Rude to eat three? Why, it's practically mandatory! |
Tip:
* If you
don’t have buttermilk, use whole milk and add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon
juice.
This recipe
can easily be increased. Double everything except the cooking time.
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