Lily's Scones

• servings: 12 items

Ingredients

500 grams plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

4½ teaspoons cream of tartar

50 grams cold unsalted butter (diced)

25 grams trex vegetable shortening in teaspooned lumps (or use another 25g/2 tablespoons butter)

300 millilitres milk

1 large egg (beaten, for egg-wash)

Directions

You will need a 6½ cm / 2½ inch crinkle-edged round cutter and a lightly greased baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/gas mark 7/450°F.

Sift the flour, salt, bicarb and cream of tartar into a large bowl. Rub in the fats till it goes like damp sand. Add the milk all at once, mix briefly — briefly being the operative word — and then turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly to form a dough.

Roll out to about 3cm thickness. Dip the cutter into some flour, then stamp out at least 10 scones. You get 12 in all from this, but may need to reroll for the last 2. Place on the baking tray very close together — the idea is that they bulge and stick together on cooking — then brush the tops with the egg-wash. Put in the oven and cook for 10 minutes or until risen and golden.

Always eat freshly baked, preferably still warm from the oven, with clotted cream and jam or, my favourite, Thunder and Lightning, which is (as in the picture) clotted cream and black treacle.

Notes

VARIATION:

Add 75g of raisins or sultanas for fruit scones, or, something I'm keen on, use the same amount of dried sour cherries, with or without the finely grated zest of half an orange. To make cheese scones, add 75g of mature Cheddar, grated.

MAKE AHEAD / STORE:

The scones are best on the day they are baked, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for 1-2 days and refreshed in an oven preheated to 150°C/130°C fan/300°F for 5-10 minutes. Baked scones can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw for an hour at room temperature and reheat as above.

Alternatively, freeze the cut out but unbaked scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake direct from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.