Very English Scones

Adapted from the Be-Ro home recipes book. As an english person I actually have no idea why scones are considered so British. But these are great with tea, a good breakfast food and look very pretty. You can use a variety of fruit fillings (my favourite is glace cherrys), to be honest I think any dried fruit will work as long as it's chopped to a good size (think around the size of a sultana). Also the recipe calls for 8oz self raising flour but when I made these this morning I used 4oz self raising, 4oz plain and 1 teaspoon baking powder and that worked wonderfully. The salt is optional, you can use margarine or butter and caster sugar is white granulated basically. Handle lightly for best results. It's a versatile recipe, enjoy.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 8 scones

Ingredients

• 8  ounces self raising flour
• 1  pinch salt (optional)
• 2  ounces butter or 2  ounces margarine
• 1  ounce caster sugar
• 2  ounces currants or 2  ounces sultanas or 2  ounces raisins or 2  ounces  glace cherries or 2  ounces  dried fruit (chopped if needed) or 2  ounces chocolate chips
• 1  egg, beaten with enough milk to make a 1/4 pint (150ml)

Directions

1. Start heating your oven to 220C, 425F or Gas mark 7 and grease a baking tray (a sheet of grease-proof paper will do the trick).
2. Mix the flour and salt.
3. Rub in the butter/margarine.
4. Stir in the sugar and fruit.
5. Add the egg and milk mixture but keep a little to brush on the tops of the scones before baking.
6. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thickness.
7. Cut into 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) rounds.
8. Brush the tops with the egg and milk mixture.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes.