'Chuck everything in a bowl and hope for the best Cheese Scones.'
The wee cake shop/cafe I work at requires scones to be made fresh daily and if I'm opening up I have the honour of making these scones! I have now got pretty good at chucking all the ingredients together and whacking them in the oven within about 10-15 minutes. Love a good speed scone sesh! I usually make either fruit or cherry; sometimes throw in some berries and white chocolate to mix things up a little.
However, some of our customers do not share my uber sweet tooth and requested the savoury cheese scone! I'm partial to a bit of cheese scone myself because it is food and I love food so I was willing to give it a go! I will own up to being a little nervous yesterday morning when I had to make them for the first time as it is always a little daunting knowing customers are paying to eat your creations. They've got to be good! It also didn't help that my boss gave me some rather vague guidelines, so if you're one of these 'I don't need a recipe book' kind of cooks/bakers then this one is for you!
We start with:
85g butter
350g self-raising flour
(I do measure some things out properly at least.)
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine beadcrumbs. That's how most of the recipe books I have read in my time put it anyway. It is a pretty good description though. If you don't know what breadcrumbs look like (hey, I'm all for equal opportunties) then just keep rubbing until all the butter and flour are mixed together.
This is where things get a little guess-y. I'm sure that's a real word. My boss literally told me to put in "One and a half handfuls of grated cheese." I'm guessing if you have reeeally big hands then you're going to come out with some reeeally cheesy scones! So one and a half handfuls went into the bowl.
Next is the buttermilk. The secret to amazing scones is buttermilk, but don't tell anyone I said that. Again, I never actually measure this out, I just hope for the best. I would estimate about 200ml though. I just add a fair dollop and start mixing it all together with my hands. If the dough doesn't quite come together and still feels dry and crumbly, add more buttermilk. You don't need much! If it gets too sticky, add a little flour.
When everything is all mixed together nicely and forms a dough, roll it out onto the worktop. I say roll, I can never actually be bothered to use a rolling pin so I just kinda spread it all out with my hands. Lazy cook! Use a scone cutter to help get the required shape; this mix should make about 7 decent sized scones. Sometimes we're left over with a 'tiny scone' which we then have to butter up and taste when they come out of the oven. Quality assurance, people!
Brush a little milk onto each scone and top with a small amount of grated cheese. Pop in the oven at 180 for around 20-25 minutes or until they're a nice golden colour (more guesswork) and there you have it!
I think they came out quite well and I did get some good reviews! One customer admitted that they were better than her own!
That recipe probably was no help to anyone whatsoever but I thought I'd share the fun I have at work every day! I'm going to try and make a new cake/soup/meal/general food item every week and share my creations with you all!
Whilst we're on the subject, I made a fantastic sweet potato, parsnip and bacon soup for dinner last night. Healthy, delicious and really filling! You can find the recipe HERE.
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