Not your North American Scone

Scones. The same term means something totally different here in Canada and the US. At least that's what I discovered when I moved to the States. Suffice it to say I was mildly horrified that a sc-OH-nhe (we pronounce it with a short 'o') was a horrible, dry baked good which most closely resembles what I would call a Rock Cake (seriously!).

After our Strawberry picking adventures of late, I decided it was time to make some real scones with jam and cream. here's how you do it:

What you'll need:

• 3.5 cups self-raising (self-rising) flour
• 80g butter, cubed 
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk, give or take 

Preheat oven to 400F. Rub your cold butter into the flour until it starts to resemble coarse breadcrumbs. You can do it in the food processor but make sure you leave a few larger chunks (i.e. don't do it too long). Then add your beaten egg and most of the milk. Mix it thoroughly but quickly and don't overmix. It should be a soft dough. Use your hands to pat it down to about an inch thick and use a glass or cookie cutter to cut rounds. Place on a baking sheet (line with a silpat or parchment) about 1cm apart. Brush tops with milk. Bake for about 12-15 mins or until golden brown on top.

These absolutely must be served with cream and jam. The best cream is double cream (60% mil fat!) which you don't have to whip - it stays solid by itself! But it's quite hard to buy here in Canada so I whipped some regular whipping cream.