Here Today, Scone Tomorrow

There’s snow hope, apparently, we are due for a white washing. I don’t mind at all as I have a fondness for

knitwear and snowball fights, but to me, snow days are baking days too. We grew up in the countryside with one of the best snowing slopes in the south west on our land. Kids from all over the valley would come to play on that slope, which turned into a lethal near-vertical ice sheet from over use.

But the best thing was when twilight began to descend and the bulk of my friends would start wandering home, mum would have baked scones for those of us left over. With these thoughts and the upcoming Christmas season in mind, I’ve put together a fruit scone swirl recipe, with a little cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed peel in the recipe to give it an extra seasonal kick. Now I just need it to snow so I can bake it again and take some to my niece’s friends when they are sledging in our local park.

Ingredients:

For the basic scone mix:
400g self raising flour
100g butter
40g sugar
120ml milk approximately

For the fruity filling
80g butter
80g soft brown sugar
180g dried fruit e.g. sultanas, raisins, mixed peel
1 grated desert apple
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg grated

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees centigrade
Makes about 15 scones

Put the butter, flour and sugar in a mixing bowl and crumb together. Using the finger tips of one hand, gather the crumbs into a soft dough as you add the milk slowly. Don’t add it all at once. The dough should be workable so don’t add all the milk if it feels too wet to roll out!

Roll the dough out into a square approximately 35x35cm on a well floured surface so that it is easy to roll later when needed.

In a small pan, heat the butter and sugar for the filling gently. Keep stirring it so the sugar dissolves in but doesn’t burn. Bring it to a gentle simmer for 1 minute. Add all the fruit and spices, then spread this mix over the scone base. Roll the whole lot into a sausage. Firm down the “seam” when you reach the end, then cut the sausage into 2cm slices, each one being one of the scones.

Place on a buttered baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. You may need to turn the tray for the last 5 minutes to make sure they cook evenly.

Picture credits
Vintage by Hemmingway Carnival Cake Tins
Rice DK Tray