Scones

The scone is a small British quick bread of Scottish origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, but are also eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of flour, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea.



Scones, scrumptious as they sound, are among the easiest things to bake; something even amateur bakers can attempt without too much stress. Pronounced both skon and skoan, these are light, buttery quickbreads made with flour, sugar, butter, milk or cream, and eggs, besides a leavening agent such as baking powder. What is important though is to mix the ingredients correctly, with a light hand to end up with scones that are light and soft. Over-mixing will ruin the texture of your scones ( This write up is partially sourced from Wikipedia & Times of India).

Makes: 12: 14

You will need

250 g all purpose flour (maida)
40 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
50 g butter
3 - 4 teaspoon milk
2 teaspoon (10 ml ) cream
1 egg, beat well
25 g raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon extra butter (to grease baking tray)

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) together. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in the beaten egg, cream, vanilla essence and raisins. Gradually add the milk until a thick dough is formed.

Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out the dough to a 3/4 - inch thickness and cut into rounds with 2 - inch cookie cutter.

Preheat oven (OTG) at 180 * C or 350 *F (moderate).

Place the rounds about an inch apart on a lightly greased baking tray. Brush the tops with a little beaten egg or milk.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 * C for 15 to 25 minutes, until golden brown,

Serve warm with dollops of Devonshire cream, butter and strawberry preserve.