Scones are a classic English tea-time treat, and are very easy to make. This scone recipe is also easy to change if you want to try a different flavour or filling.

Ingredients:

➢ 225g of self-raising flour
➢ a pinch of salt
➢ 55g of soft butter
➢ 25g of caster sugar
➢ 150ml of milk
➢ 1 free-range egg, beaten, to glaze (although you could, alternatively, use a little milk).

METHOD:

1) Heat the oven to 200°C.

2) Lightly grease a baking sheet, or put a piece of greaseproof paper on it.

3) Mix together the flour and salt, then rub in the softened butter.

4) Stir in the sugar, a little at a time, and then add the milk to make a soft dough.

5) Work the mixture well with your hands in the mixing bowl, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it again lightly.

6) Pat out the mixture into a round shape roughly 2cm thick. Use a 5cm cutter to make rounds / individual scones, and place them on the baking sheet.

7) Pull together what is left of the dough and repeat Step 6. Keep doing this until you have used all of the mixture to make scones.

8) Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg (or the milk). Put the baking sheet in the oven.

9) Bake for between 12 and 15 minutes until well risen and golden on the top.

10) Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter and a good jam (strawberry works very well), or maybe some clotted cream instead of the butter.

You can change the recipe by adding dried fruit at Step 4. You can also add some spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon.

You can make cheese (savoury) scones by leaving out the sugar and adding 100 grams of grated cheese. A strong cheese such as cheddar works best.

Enjoy!