Scones for Tea

As I read through some of my earlier blog posts, I realized that I reminisce about food that reminds me of my childhood quite often. I also became conscious of the fact that when you really like some kind of food, it has evoked some kind of special memory in you. You might rave about a particular dessert because it has hints of your mother’s pound cake in it, or that pasta tastes just like the one you ate at an anonymous village restaurant during that unforgettable trip to Italy.

The peach and cinnamon scones that I made today took me right back to my primary school days when I used to devour Enid Blyton books like they were Lindt chocolates. Apart from the exciting adventures that the Famous Five and all the girls at St.Clare’s and Malory Towers used to have, I would be thrilled to bits reading about their picnics, start of term suppers, high teas at farms and midnight feasts. The mouth watering descriptions of homemade jam, ginger cake, scones, treacle tarts, pop biscuits, Moonface’s Hot and Cold treats, lemonade, cans of peaches, sardines, and pies to be finished off with a ginger beer was stuff dreams were made of. Even bread and butter sounded exciting in her books.

Since then it had been my dearest wish to have scones with clotted cream and treacle pudding for tea. I had never had scones before and I was quite disappointed when I finally did have some at a bakery. They were nowhere near what I had imagined them to be. However, seeing how delicious they looked on Kelly’s blog, I couldn’t resist giving them one last chance. And I was glad I did. Make these for the days you want to revisit the adventures of George and the gang and raise a toast to Enid Blyton.

Now, does anyone have a recipe for treacle tarts?

Cupcakes I made just because they remind me of Silky, from the Magic Faraway Tree.

Peach and Cinnamon Scones

Adapted from Eat Make Read

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

5 Tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 cup heavy cream (whipping cream works as well)

2-3 peaches, diced

cinnamon sugar

Whipped cream to serve

Method:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F or 220 C.

2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

3. IF MAKING BY HAND

Use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps.

IF USING FOOD PROCESSOR:

Remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Transfer dough to large bowl.

4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. Gently fold in the peaches until fully incorporated into the dough.

5. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dust the scones with a little cinnamon sugar and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with some whipped cream.