Buckingham Palace Scones

If you know me, then you likely know that I have a bit of a passion for afternoon tea, and scones are a huge part of that.  This recipe comes from the cookbook entitled, Royal Teas:  Seasonable Recipes from Buckingham Palace.  With a title like that, how could I refuse?  These scones do not disappoint.  They are delicious and are served best with real Devonshire Cream and jam or lemon curd.

 I doubled the original recipe as I wanted to make sure I had enough scones for my tea party.  The instructions suggest that the scones are best served the day they are made, but I froze them, after wrapping them individually with plastic wrap.  The day of the party, I let them thaw and warmed them in a low oven, which worked very well.

Ingredients (this is the original recipe)

250g (1 7/8 cups) flour

3 tsp. baking powder

45g (1/4 cup) unrefined caster sugar (I blended regular white sugar in a magic bullet to make it finer, similar to caster sugar)

50g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 egg

70ml (1/4 cup) buttermilk

a pinch of salt

1 extra egg yolk and a pinch of salt for the egg wash

Devonshire cream and jam or lemon curd

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Sift the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl.  Stir to combine.

 Add the chilled diced butter and cut in with a pastry blender.  The original recipe suggests using your hands, which you can do as well.

 You want the butter to be incorporated

 Add buttermilk and egg(s) - I doubled the recipe.  Gently add and combine, until you have a soft, sticky dough.  I needed to add a bit more buttermilk.

 Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 2 cm.  Cut out, using a round cutter.  You can dip this in flour if it gets sticky.

 Place on parchment lined pan.  Combine egg yolk and pinch of salt, and brush onto the top of the scones.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

 Once baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy the day of or freeze for later.  These are wonderful with Devonshire cream and jam or lemon curd (and of course a pot of tea!).