I wanted to make some scones to enjoy the other day. I have made quite a few scones here on the blog and I love them all. I do like to try new things however from time to time.
On this particular day I turned to the doyenne of British baking and cookery, Mary Berry. She has a lot of scone recipes. I chose to make her Cheese Scones.
Before I talk about them however I wanted to tell you about something else. Perhaps you may have noticed the new background beneath my photos here on the blog today.
It is courtesy of the Paper Bag Co. They were so impressed with my IG photos and the photos here on the blog they wanted to send me one of their Instagram Photo Bags. I don't know what was so impressive about my photos, but I am always open to discovering new ways of improving them.
This is what they call their Instagram Bag, the Foodie Bag. It has been created through a collaberation between phone photographer Matt Inwood and Stylist Sophie Purser.
It is designed especially for those who enjoyand have a passion for taking photographs of food specifically for posting them online, ideally on Instagram.
It is acually quite a large bag. The perfect size for holding your photograph taking equipment, making it easier to take along with you.
Included in the bag is a 15-inch photographic reflector and diffuser. This is the tool which all professional photographers have at the top of their kit bag.
It is designed to help you to brighten and enhance both highlights and shadows, and either subtly or dramatically alter the lighting and colour in all of the images you create.
Included are a set of four beautifully crafted papers fromBlack Velvet Styling, the photographic backdrop company set up by stylist Sophie a couple of years ago. These have been designed to provide affordable backdrops for amateurs and professionals to create mouthwatering images of their food and still life creations.
They are perfect for transforming a plate of food into a gorgeous image fit for sharing on Instagram and we’ve given you a variety of starter colours and textures to experiment with. I have used one of them here today as a backdrop for my scones.
Also included is an exclusive set of ten beautiful postcards for Cotton Bag Company, with tips on the reverse of each explaining how to use light, think about composition, choose your background and much, much more.
These have been put together by renowned phone photographerMatt Inwoodto share some of his knowledge on how to get the most from shooting with your phone camera. Matt has been running critically acclaimed phone photography workshops for more than three years.
I have to say it is quite an impressive bag of tools and I am really looking forward to really exploring everything about it when I am settled and back to work in Canada. If you are interested in discovering more about it you can find out more about it here.
Now back to Mary Berry's Cheese Scones. These are THE perfect cheese scone. I have made cheese scones before in the past and they were good, but these are excellent.
Then again, what would you expect from Mary Berry! She is an expert in all things baked and otherwise when it comes to cooking. I trust her judgement explicitly!
I have to say that the background paper I chose for these photos fit with the subject matter beautifully. It also went very well with my dishes, setting everything off beautifully.
I so love my dishes and I really hope that I will be able to transport them to Canada. They are me in every way. I do so love the colour white, and I also love hearts and words on things.
I will tell you upfront that I ended up using a bit too much milk in my scones. I misinterpreted how much 1/4 pint actually was in ounces. In otherwords, I got mixed up.
My dough was a bit wetter than it should have been. But I persevered and all credit to Mary, despite my dough being somewhat on the wet side, they still turned out beautifully.
I have made sure that won't happen to you. My measurements in the recipe are exactly what they should be. No worries on that score.
These scones have a mix of beautiful flavours. Dry mustard powder and cayenne powder are both included in the mix.
These are both ingredients that go very well with cheese. I always use them in the sauce for my favourite macaroni and cheese recipe.
It does use self-raising flour. I understand that self-raising flour is no something some of you can get ahold of easily, but don't worry. I have included instructions in the notes on how you can make your own.
Included as well is plenty of grated strong/sharp cheddar cheese. Do use the best cheese that your money can buy.
The better the cheese, the tastier the scone. I used a vintage cheddar from Wyke Farms. One thing I will miss from over here is the cheese.
British cheeses are beautiful and there is such a lovely variety of them. I became a true cheese lover only since moving here to the UK.
Prior to this I only ate processed cheese for the most part. Nobody had ever truly been able to tempt me into trying anything stronger.
I fell in love with the cheese here in the UK almost instantly. I used to buy bags of cheese crumbs from the cheese monger in the Chester Marker. They were a mix of every kind of cheese he had been using on any particular day.
I was never disappointed. They were always wonderful in sauces and sandwiches, on pizzas etc.
Then of course when I worked at the manor I used to cook for a lot of dinner parties. Silver service, multiple courses.
The dinner parties always ended with a cheese course. I need to be able to put together a delicious cheese tray for my employers and their guests. The only way I could do that is if I learn about, to taste and to enjoy the cheese.
I used to put together an assortmnt of five or six cheeses. One traditional such as a good cheddar. One blue of some kind or a stilton. One cheese would be soft for spreading such as an ash covered goats cheese
I would also include a French cheese and possibly a German or a Swiss. There would also be fruit. Grapes and pears were a favourite along with apple wedges. Sometimes if I could get it, membrillo or quince paste.
I became somewhat of an expert at putting together the cheese course. And I couldn't have done it without being brave enough to taste and try the different cheeses
These scones are beautiful served warm and split with some cold butter and some chilli jam. Its that sweet/hot/savoury combination that most people love. They are best on the day, but you can have it on good authority that they are also very good eaten cold the day after, whilst hunched over a computer keyboard.
Mary Berry's Cheese Scones
Yield: 8 regular scones
Author: Marie Rayner
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 25 Min
Delicious cold or warm. These are fabulous cut in half and spread wih lashings of butter and a bit of chili jam!
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 1 tsp (225g) self-rising flour (See note)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 TBS cold butter
- 1 1/4 cup (150g) grated mature cheddar cheese
- 1 large free-range egg
- milk to the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and baking powder. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in 2/3 of the cheese.
- Break the egg into a measuring jug and add milk to give you the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint). Stir this into the dry mixture and mix to a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly for a few turns. Pat out into a 6 inch round.
- Stamp out into rounds using a sharp round (2 1/2 inch) cutter and place onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit more milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until well risen and golden. Slip onto a wire rack to cool. Best eaten on the day.
notes:
To Make Self Raising Flour: Just add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/6oz/1 cup plain flour, plus 1/4 tsp salt. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a bowl before using, to make sure the baking powder is thoroughly distributed (or you can put both ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together).
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You really cannot fault any of Mary Berry's recipes. If you follow them scrupulously, they always turn out and are fail proof! I have never had a failure with any of them!
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