Dining with Delia, Day 4
A very good scone in the garden
This morning, I had the first English scone of this particular trip to the UK. It wasn’t one of Delia’s, I am afraid. It was pulled from a friend’s freezer, put in a recycled butter container with about six of its siblings, and brought to my place by said friend when she popped round for a cup of tea and a long overdue chat.
Turns out, my friend didn’t make the scones either. She regifted them to me, admitting that fact just as I inquired whether or not she’d used cream in the recipe. Given the confession, she couldn’t answer my query with any authority. But if I were making an educated guess, I’d have to say they did have some sort of extra fat in the mix, because, in spite of the time spent frozen, they were just the right combination of crumbly and moist, a perfect carrier for a bit of butter and strawberry conserves.
I turned to Delia for some insight into which ingredients provide your best chance for a moist scone once you pull it out of the freezer. It turns out that your most secure bet is a mixture of three fats, whether they are butter, full fat milk, buttermilk, cream, Greek yogurt or cheese. All of the scone recipes in Delia’s cooking volumes I had on hand and on her Web site call for that three-way combination, whether she is instructing on a savory or a sweet variety.
Delia advises that all scones are best eaten on the day they are made. But she also concedes that any left on the plate will freeze perfectly well.
Mmmm…my favorite subject! Are British scones traditionally thin? May have to take a trip there someday, for, um, research and development.
I served one of these to a woman who used to have a bakeshop and while she said they were spot on for taste and consistency, they lacked some of the height they would have needed to be sold professionally. So no, they are not traditionally thin. You should visit and sample widely!