Scones
I’ve been in business for most of my life. If I worked for someone else for 7 years altogether, that’s probably it! In the late 80s’ I started my first company which was a High-end Fashion Boutique for Ladies, located on St Joseph Boulevard in Gatineau (formerly Hull), Québec. I carried big designer names such as Mondi, Marcella Priani, Le Truc, and so on as well as some very expensive lingerie including Chantelle, Lejaby, Filodoro, etc. I also designed some clothes with my own label on them.
It was quite an experience and I was blessed to have amazing ladies working for me. They worked very hard to make my boutique a successful business. Often, I was doing fashion shows and they were there helping me with them. During this time, I met a woman named Lisette who was the agent and promoter for the late Alys Robi, a popular singer from Québec. She also worked for me promoting my store through different events. She eventually got me a spot for one of my fashion shows at The Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. We did it during the day time in Zoe’s lounge throughout afternoon Tea, packed with ladies enjoying their three tiered plates and sipping their favorite tea while watching my models walking in between tables showcasing the clothes from my store.
After we wrapped up everything, I promised myself that one day I would return there to enjoy this British tradition. Sure enough, a couple of years later just before I officially moved to Toronto, I went there one afternoon with a friend, sat in the lounge and ordered some tea and a three tiered plate filled with sandwiches, scones and other sweet treats. This is when I first experienced these traditional English mid-afternoon tea time food items – Scones – those little cakey breads. They weren’t sweet as the British served them along with jam and clotted cream… definitely the real deal! Later on, I had the North American version and they were surprisingly sweet compared to the British ones!
When I was running my event planning biz in Toronto, a lady hired me for her charity fundraising event. She wanted this to take place during the afternoon with something simple, yet elegant. I suggested a traditional afternoon tea served with what I had in Ottawa. She agreed and I went off to search for a caterer as well as a pianist, florist, etc. The event was a success… well almost because many of the guests had a real British afternoon tea experience prior to this event and unfortunately the caterer didn’t deliver the “right” Scones.
There is a huge difference between British and North American when it comes to Scones. Recently I gave them a try and I was pleased with the results but here was the dilemma – would my Scones be a hit with the British or with the North Americans? David loved them and so did my friends… now that was a success to me! I served them with my Strawberry Butter and my Orange Curd along with petite sandwiches, a few one-bite sweets and a wide variety of teas. My “get-together” event was a success. Now if you will excuse me, I have a tea party to attend…
Bon Appétit!
Check out these other great snack recipes…
– Spicy Holiday Chocolate Bark
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and for even more bread recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Bread
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Scones
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Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- 6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, diced tips & tricks
- 1 medium free-run egg, beaten
- 1/2 tbsp. milk
Directions
- In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt; whisk until well mixed.
- Transfer the flour mixture into the bowl of a food processor and add cold butter; process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer back to the bowl and pour in milk.
- With the tip of the fork, stir the mixture until it just gets together – DON’T overmix it.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form a round shape, flatten it down to ¼-inch thick with your floured hands. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle some more flour on top. To make it even, roll it out with a rolling pin but don't press too hard on the dough.
- Dip a 2 ¼-inch (58 mm) cookie cutter in some flour and cut; repeat for each scone until all the dough is used.
- Transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Brush off any excess flour before applying an egg wash on top of each of them.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake 15 minutes or until puffy and slightly golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and let them cool off on a wire rack slightly before serving them warm with strawberry butter.
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