Do as the Royals do and indulge yourself in tea and a sumptuous scone. I must confess, this scone recipe does not qualify as a skinny sweet. I did use thickened cream as an ingredient and double thickened cream as a topping....need I say more...but I have also devised a skinny sweet counterpart for this recipe. Check out my skinny scone version here.
What made these scones even more delicious was the accompaniment of my home made cherry jam (and yes, some gorgeous fresh cream). Making my cherry jam is very simple and is well worth the little extra effort. As a child, I remember loathing the chunky bits of strawberry in the jam on my toast. My cherry jam is a little chunky but instead of chewy over-processed strawberries, the jam is filled with juicy cherries which have a slightly sour edge, balancing the sweetness of the jam itself. The combination is truly delightful.
This is a fabulous recipe to serve at an afternoon tea with girlfriends, to make as a treat for your family or to serve as a special dessert, adding the jam and cream to create a take on the strawberry shortcake. I call them my Royal Scones because there is nothing more British than a scone and these ones are the creme de la creme of their category.
Decadent Royal Scones
Ingredients:
*3.5 cups of self-raising flour
*300 ml of thickened cream
*250 ml of organic lemonade
Directions:
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the fizzy lemonade and drizzle over the cream. To mix together, cut through the mixture with a blunt knife until all the ingredients start to come together. Then lightly flour your hands to begin gently kneading the dough until a soft ball forms. If the dough seems a little too sticky, don't worry, just add a sprinkle more of flour until the right consistency is achieved. The key here is to not overmix the dough, treat it with loving respect and the outcome will be light fluffy scones. This is not the time to pound out your frustrations, or your scones will be rubbery and hard enough to be quite the weapon if throw with a good arm. Although if you are feeling particularly angry, this might be the exact scone you are after...
Roll out your ball of dough quite thickly onto a lightly floured surface. I cover my kitchen bench with two pieces of cling film, which is easy to wrap up and throw away the mess when you are finished. Using a knife, cut your dough mixture into rough squares (or whatever shape eventuates). I made ten scones from this recipe.
Bake in a hot oven (200 degrees) for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the scones have risen and coloured golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, wrap in foil to keep fresh and leave them on the kitchen bench - your family will happily help themselves!
Cherry Jam
Ingredients:
*1 tin of stoned cherries in natural juice (mine was 350 g)
*1/2 packet/50 g of jam setta (or whatever jam sugar you can find)
*250 g of white sugar
*1/2 a vanilla pod
Note: The idea with jam is to equal the quantity of fruit with the quantity of sugar. I use less white sugar in this recipe because the jam setta is very sugary tasting and after experimenting with quantities, I think this is the best balance. I prefer my jam to not taste too sweet.
Directions:
In a large saucepan, add the cherries and juice, sugar and jam setta. Turn the heat on high. Halve your vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the saucepan, then add the pod, which you will remove before storing your jam.
Bring jam to the boil then let vibrantly simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly. You can now transfer your jam mixture to a jar/jars of your choice, remembering to take out the vanilla pod. I use recycled jars from around the house. To steralise your jar, make sure you have run it through the dishwasher first. Once you have poured the jam into your jar, seal tightly and refrigerate. Be careful not to let the jam stick to your skin during this process, it will still be molten hot and thus be quite painful....
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