Photo: timtom.ch / Flickr

When it comes to baking, few things are simpler – and more rewarding – to make than butter scones. These scones require fresh butter, as well as eggs, milk and self-raising flour. You will need a quarter of an hour to prepare them and another quarter of an hour’s baking time. With a total baking time of half an hour, it will probably be quicker to bake your own than dash out to the shops when you have unexpected visitors popping by. Besides the ingredients for the scones, you’ll need strawberry jam and cream.

Ingredients for 24 butter scones

Measure out the following ingredients for 24 butter scones: 125 grams of fresh butter at room temperature (but not melted), 500 grams of sifted self-raising flour, a few pinches of salt, 2 lightly beaten medium sized eggs (at room temperature) and 125  to 145 ml of fresh milk. For 12 scones, halve this recipe and reduce the required baking time.

Method

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Add a 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt to the mixture when the consistency takes on the appearance of breadcrumbs. Mix in the beaten eggs a little and add the milk. Mix gently to combine the ingredients so that you have a soft dough.

Lightly pat out the dough to a thickness of 1.5 cm and use a 4cm round pastry cutter to cut out the butter scones. You will end up with more or less 24 scones depending on the thickness of your dough.

Bake and serve

Bake the scones in your preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes. They should have a light golden brown colour when they are ready. Allow the scones to cool on a wire rack a little before serving them with tea, whipped cream and strawberry jam.

Other options

If you prefer a sweeter scone, add a tablespoon of sugar to the scone mixture before you add the milk. Fruit scones are sweeter still, in which case add 50 grams of sugar and 100 grams of sultanas to the basic scone mixture. Serve with butter.

Tags: baking, recipes