Light, fluffy and studded with juicy sultanas, these delightful pastries offer the perfect balance of sweetness and texture. Baking scones is both an art and a science, requiring a gentle touch to ensure they rise beautifully and stay tender.
Ingredients:
- 350g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 85g butter, cut into cubes
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 175ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 100g sultanas
- 1 beaten egg for glazing
- Jam and clotted cream, to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan 200°C).
In a large bowl, mix the self-raising flour with the salt and baking powder.
Add the cubed butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
Heat the milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds until warm but not hot. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice to the milk.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid and the sultanas and quickly mix with a kitchen knife. It will look quite wet at first.
Dust the work surface with flour, turn out the dough and dust with a little more flour. Fold the dough 2-3 times until it’s a little smoother. Roll out to a round about 4cm deep.
Using a 5cm cutter, cut out scones from the dough and place on a baking tray. You may need to press the remaining dough back into a round to cut more scones.
Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes until risen and golden on top.
Serve the scones hot or cold with a generous dollop of jam and clotted cream.
