Lemonade Scones

Scones mesh into a hell of a lot of occasions. They fit snugly on a tiered high-tea platter amongst the smoked salmon sandwiches, slightly overlooked beside the more glamorous options. They sit tall when stuffed with pumpkin or a sharp cheese, blueberries or raspberries. They go down extremely well with a cup of tea at the cricket at half time (the boarding school I went to used to host afternoon tea in the dining hall at half time on the weekends, we used to sneak in before the parents and leave through the back door laden with about six jam and cream scones before anyone noticed).

They may be eaten for breakfast or morning and afternoon tea. They can be dense, light, rock hard or soft. There is no end to the versatility of these simple little mounds of bread. When they rise properly it should be easy to pull them apart at the waist into two perfect halves.



My Grandma was staying with us for a week and asked me to make her a batch of the most light, delicate, gorgeous lemonade scones, the likes of which she had tried at a party once. No pressure or anything…

The winner in this recipe is the lemonade. It’s comforting to know that flour, lemonade and cream, three simple ingredients, will create a ball of the softest dough in the world. I don’t think you will find any baby’s bottom out there that is as supple. These scones might not be fancy; alas they are not spiced with exotic elixirs from Nicaragua, but they are a far cry from ordinary. I wouldn’t drown these in jam and cream, I would bust out your best butter, as to not mask the true, delicious flavour of the scones themselves. This recipe wins the short and sweet award hands down.

Lemonade Scones:
a recipe from an old boyfriend's mother

1 cup lemonade
1 cup pouring cream
3 cups self raising flour
milk

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until a soft dough forms. Place on a lightly floured bench top and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin to about 3cm thick (depends on how large you want your scones). Cut out rounds with a cookie cutter and place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.