BA’s Best: Cream Scones
These are almost foolishly simple to make. I don’t say that to make you feel badly if you do make them and somehow manage to make a mess of things (though it may be time for a good bit of self-reflection if that does in fact occur). No, instead I say that to encourage you to actually consider making freshly-baked scones as a weekend breakfast treat instead of scoffing and muttering about people with too much time on their hands at the mention of such a suggestion. Have you noticed how every coffee shop in existence, even the dreadful ones, manage to get a batch of scones out at the beginning of each day? That’s because scones are dead easy, to the point where even that perpetually stoned-looking kitchen employee seems capable of producing them. Imagine how much simpler it will be for you, with your intact cognition and motor skills? It’d be almost silly to not make them now, wouldn’t it?
BA’s Best: Cream Scones
Taken directly from BA’s Best arsenal, with the most minor of tweaks here and there
Makes 8 scones
Ingredients:
¼ cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten to blend
1 ¼ cups heavy (whipping) cream + more for brushing
Demerera or raw sugar, for sprinkling
Jam and clotted cream, for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour in a large bowl to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and toss to coat with the flour. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until only pea-size pieces remain. Make a well in the centre, then add the beaten egg and heavy cream, and mix with a fork, incorporating the dry ingredients a little at a time until a shaggy dough forms. It’s okay if the dough looks a little dry; just be oh-so-gentle and try to not overwork it. Lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it just comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat gently into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut the round into 8 fat wedges and transfer to a large lined baking sheet. Brush the scones with cream and sprinkle with Demerara/raw sugar. Bake the scones until golden brown, roughly 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front-to-back halfway through. Cook the scones for an additional 5 minutes if they are not golden-brown after the initial 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Serve with mugs of hot tea and gobs of jam and cream. Plan for a nap.
