Hello
dear friends and a happy July to you!
I
am delighted to be back in the lovely world of blogging...as I mentioned to a
very sweet blog friend the other day, I miss ‘my home on the web’ so dearly
when I am absent!
This
week has been quite an industrious one, for we have had quite a lot of fresh
produce come in which needed to be preserved, and I also spent two afternoons
babysitting a precious little one year old boy…
In
just a few days’ time I will be visiting a very dear friend of mine to help her
celebrate her eighteenth birthday!
She
will be having a lovely high tea, so I am busy preparing for being away by making
sure I have enough stock for the market…
But…today
is a beautiful, sunshiny winter’s day, and we are enjoying some much needed peace
and quiet at home after all the frantic activity of the last few days…
~
One
of our favourite things to do on a day like today is to bake a special tea time treat,
and these
delicious
scones were just perfect…
I
love using my heart cookie cutter to make heart shaped scones…something a
little different and special…
Our
scone recipe is a simple one which we have used for many years now.
I
don’t even know where or when we first discovered it, but I do know I have made
several changes to the ingredients and method over the years…
“Rubbing the butter into the
sifted flour gives the scones a shortbread texture which is absolutely sublime
when served with the homemade raspberry jam and fresh cream…”
Buttermilk
Scones
3
tbsp buttermilk
225g
cake flour
2
tsp baking powder
Pinch
salt
75
butter
40g
castor sugar
1
egg, beaten
Sift
together the flour and salt.
Rub
in the butter till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
In
a separate bowl, combine the beaten egg, castor sugar and buttermilk.
Add
to the dry ingredients.
Mix
and knead lightly to form a smooth dough, then roll out to about 5cm thick.
Use
the rim of a glass dipped in flour or a cookie cutter to cut out shapes and
place
on
a tray lined with baking paper.
Brush
a little buttermilk over the tops of the scones and bake at 180 degrees Celsius
for
About
15 minutes, or until golden brown and done.
If
like me you are watching your intake of sugar, how about using a drizzle of raw
honey instead of jam…honey and whipped cream is a delightful combination!
…Finely
grated cheddar is also scrumptious on these scones, and is perfect if you are
serving these as a light lunch…
I
made the jam just a few minutes before serving as my method is a very simple
one…
I
used two cups of raspberries (fresh or frozen will work) and just half a cup of
sugar.
I
put the berries and sugar in a small pot and brought it to a boil over a medium
heat…
I
then boiled the fruit and sugar together, stirring almost constantly to keep it
from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the mixture had a jam like
consistency and a lot of the liquid had evaporated…
As
this jam is more fruit to sugar, it would be advisable to store it in the
fridge.
Be
aware that it also won’t gel as regular jam would… Using a lower quantity of sugar means your
jam hasn’t got a sickly sweet taste, but rather a gorgeously rich and fruity
flavour…
Serve
scones warm with a pot of freshly brewed tea of your choice…
Set
your tea table in a simple yet elegant fashion using tea cups and a pretty
tablecloth…
A
vase of wildflowers set in the centre of the table adds a graceful touch to the
scene, and place freshly baked scones in little baskets around the table…
Invite
a dear friend to join you, or simply enjoy as a family…
What is your favourite tea time treat...?
Wishing
each of you a beautifully blessed month of July!
~
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