British tea break and scones

One of the British customs I adore is the afternoon tea break and a nice cup of tea –as they call it- is just what I need to get me through the afternoon. Whenever I have the time, I indulge myself and have a cream tea. This is a tradition loosing ground due to the demands of modern life, really a pity, because it is one of the most charming British food traditions.

I still remember the first time I had a proper afternoon tea –also the first time I tried scones. I had dainty cucumber sandwiches, there were some ham sandwiches too, sponge cake, and plain tea scones -so warm the butter melted- with butter, strawberry jam and clotted cream. Everything was British nice, but I just thought the scones were perfect and quickly became my favorite British treat.

There are many mixtures for scones, but all of them are very easy to prepare and the recipes are here, so you can indulge too and have a tea break.

Would you like a nice cup of tea?

I certainly would, a cup of tea and two scones, please.

British tea scones recipe

Serve tea scones warm, with butter, whipped cream, and your favorite jam. Heaven.

Ingredients

USA 1 cup    flour   1 tsp    baking powder   1 pinch    salt   2 Tbs    butter   1 Tbs    sugar   1/2 cup    milk     extra milk for glazing

Metric 225 g     flour   1 tsp    baking powder   1 pinch    salt   50 g   butter   25 g   sugar   125 ml     milk     extra milk for glazing

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F (225° C).
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub in butter. Add sugar. Add the milk and mix with a knife until obtaining a soft, not sitcky, dough.
3. Turn the dough on to a lightly floured board and knead it quickly until it is smooth.
4. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thickness. cut 16 rounds with 2 inch (5 cm) fluted cookie cutter and transfer them to a buttered cookie sheet. glaze tops with milk.
5. Bake towards top of the hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

Servings: 4 Yield: 12 to 16 scones Nutrition facts Serving size: 1 serving Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients for a 10 lb (5 kg) turkey. This is a very rough estimate to be used as guideline only.

Amount Per Serving       Calories   187.68   Calories From Fat (32%)   60.07       % Daily Value Total Fat 6.79g   10%   Saturated Fat 4.17g   21%   Cholesterol 18.32mg   6%   Sodium 598.53mg   25%   Potassium 97.12mg   3%   Carbohydrates 27.08g   9%   Dietary Fiber 0.83g   3%   Sugar 5.33g       Sugar Alcohols 0.00g       Net Carbohydrates 26.25g       Protein 4.36g   9%

Cooking tips

Raisin scones - add 1-2 Tbs raisins with the sugar.

Lemon and raisin scones - add 1 tsp finely grated lemon peel and 1-2 Tbs raisins with the sugar.

Orange and cherry scones - add 1 tsp finely grated orange peel and 1-2 Tbs finely chopped candied cherries, washed and dried, with the sugar.

Date and walnut scones - add 1 Tbs finely chopped dates and 1 Tbs finely chopped shelled walnuts with the sugar.

Cinnamon scones - sift 1 tsp cinnamon with the flour.

Ginger scones - sift 1/2 tsp ground ginger with flour.

Honey scones - use 1 Tbs honey and 7 Tbs milk instead of 1 cup milk.