Scones for a Summer Afternoon Tea

Herb & Parmesan Scones and Raspberry Scones on the garden tea table.

Guests for afternoon tea yesterday afternoon coincided with the first ripe raspberries of the season. (Now that they are safely netted, although that does not stop bold thrushes from having a go at the ones on the edges of the raspberry patch.)

There were enough raspberries to make and decorate raspberry scones, and also enough last season's raspberry jam left to spread them with. Since I was making scones I decided to make a split batch, flavoring the other half with herbs and Parmesan cheese. Here's how I did it.

RASPBERRY SCONES / HERB & PARMESAN SCONES

Ingredients

4 cups flour

4 t baking powder

large pinch salt

50 g butter, cut in small chunks

2 cups milk (approx)

For the Herb & Parmesan Scones

4 T grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t mustard powder

1/4 t salt

large pinch cayenne pepper

2-3 T chives, finely chopped, and/or pizza thyme leaves

For the Raspberry Scones

12-15 raspberries

1 T sugar

3-4 T natural yogurt (or honey-flavoured yogurt)

Method(s)

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C; grease a large oven tray.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients (or whizz it in, using a food processor).

For the Herb & Parmesan Scones

Mix in the cheese, mustard powder, salt, cayenne pepper and chives.

Mix in around a cup of milk, to make a soft but not sticky dough.

On a well-floured board, roll out the dough lightly until 3 cm high.

Cut out round scones with a cookie cutter, and put them on one half of a

well-greased oven tray.

For the Raspberry Scones

Stir the raspberries and sugar into the flour mixture.

Mix in the yogurt and around a cup of milk, to make a soft dough.

On a well-floured board, pat out a large square of dough.

Cut it into 9 or 12 scones, and put them on the other half of the oven tray.

Bake the scones in the top part of the oven (second highest rack) for 10-12 minutes.

To Serve

For the Herb & Parmesan Scones

Cut in two and butter with Herb Butter (finely-chopped parsley and/or other herbs mixed into soft butter).

For the Raspberry Scones

Spread with raspberry jam, top with whipped cream and a whole raspberry.

TWO TIPS FOR REALLY LIGHT SCONES

1. Use a soured liquid - soured milk or cream, yogurt. (Sour milk or cream with a tablespoon of lemon juice, or use milk or cream that has just gone off.)

2. Mix in the liquid and form the scones lightly and quickly; get them into the oven as quickly as possible.