When it comes to baking there are some recipes that are pretty daunting to take on, but if you’re looking for something straightforward you can’t go wrong with scones.
The beauty of making scones is that it can all be done in one bowl – just throw in all of your ingredients and after a short bit of mixing you’re pretty much good to go. Most scone recipes stick to the same basic ingredients, including flour, caster sugar, milk and a beaten egg, but according to food experts, swapping out two of these items can actually yield much better results. Experts recommend ditching butter and milk in your recipe in favour of cream and lemonade (yes, lemonade) instead.
While most recipes say the key to a good scone is using cold butter, it can actually be difficult to mix it into your flour, particularly if you are doing it by hand.
So to save time and your arm muscles, it’s recommended that cream is used in its place and this will not only easily combine with the flour, it will also make the scones deliciously soft.
Cream contributes a wonderful richness to the bake and it can also result in a more moist and tender texture, as well as giving the scones a beautiful brown crust when baked.
King Arthur Baking says: “Using heavy cream as a base, cream scones can feel like a morning indulgence. Ultra-tender and cake-like, they’re softer than butter-based scones. Reason to love them: They’re quick and easy to make and don’t require working the fat into the dry ingredients.”King Arthur Baking says if your recipe calls for 113g or butter and 113g of milk, for example, simply replace both of these ingredients with 227g of heavy cream instead.
As for the lemonade, this is what will give your scones their lightness. The carbon dioxide in the drink acts as a leavening agent in a similar way to baking powder or yeast, and this helps to aerate the scones and make them rise, creating a lighter, fluffier texture. Plus it adds a nice hint of sweet lemon to the overall flavour.
Food recipe website Taste.com.au says a combination of 125ml of thick cream and 125ml lemonade to achieve deliciously soft and sweet scones, and if you want to lean into the lemonade flavour, try serving with a dollop of lemon curd and cream instead of jam.
explains: “I really dislike rubbing butter into flour to make scones. There, I said it. The bench always seems to be the wrong height, my hands get tired, and it takes forever. All the planets aligned the day I discovered lemonade scones.
“No pesky fridge-cold butter that refuses to yield to the flour. Instead, cream takes its place, adding the necessary fat plus tenderising the scones.
“Milk gives way for lemonade, which not only provides liquid, but also flavour and, best of all, the bubbles in the lemonade aerate the dough, helping the scones rise evenly.”
