Royal Scones

April 29, 2011: The Royal Wedding Day of HRH Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton

The royal wedding is scheduled for 11 a.m. British time, which means it is even earlier in the morning to watch it on television or the Internet in most parts of America. While our friends in Europe may be having their lunches then, here we are having a basic breakfast of tea and scones. Highlander and Islander have had various scones before (search our blog for recipes), but the one we are featuring is Royal Scones from a royal chef’s cookbook to commemorate the historic day Wills marries Kate!

Recipe

(Adapted from Eating Royally by Darren McGrady)

Ingredients

• 3 ¼ cups self-rising flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¾ – 1 ¼ cup milk
• 1 cup raisins or currants

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beaten egg in the center.

Pour in ¾ cup of milk. Mix until it becomes a sticky dough. If it is too dry, add a little more milk 1/8 cup at at time. Add the raisins or currants and combine well. Press the dough into a greased scone pan or shape by hand into a traditional triangle shape.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, being careful not to burn or brown the edges too much. Remove from the oven. Transfer from the scone pan to a wire rack.

Notes

• If not using self-rising flour, use 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour mixed with 4 teaspoons baking powder.
• For a more muffin-looking scone, roll out the dough onto a floured surface to an inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter or rim of a glass to cut out the scones. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Brush the tops with one beaten egg yolk. Bake as above.
• Serve the scones warm with butter, jams or clotted cream.
• We bought our mini scone pan from Williams-Sonoma.