Lemonade scones

Yesterday my cousin Sarah contacted me via my blog and told me about a recipe she'd tried for scones made with just flour, cream and lemonade. She said that although she'd tried her friend's version which were lovely and light, her attempt hadn't turned out so well. I was so curious about this intriguing recipe I explored the internet and found lots of blogs and websites raving about them. I don't really understand the science behind this recipe (something to do with the cream replacing the fat of butter in normal scones, and the aeration of the bubbles in the lemonade replacing baking powder?) - but science has never been my strong suit and I've always loved the magic of baking - something gooey going into the oven and coming out as a well-risen cake! Anyway, I had to try these lemonade scones for myself. 

Wary of Sarah's difficulties, I also found some really good tips on the Internet Chef's website about how to make sure these scones turned out perfectly. Here are ten top tips - I followed them and mine turned out really well. Thank you Sarah!

1. Pre-heat the oven before you start mixing – the dough doesn’t like to sit around once it’s made, so this way you can pop the scones straight into the hot oven.
2. Pre-heat the baking tray in the pre-heated oven – this will kick-start the raising process.
3. Place the oven shelf in the top quarter of the oven – scones like to be in the hottest part of the oven.
4. Use fresh self-raising flour that has not passed its use by date – old self-raising flour will have lost some the potency of its raising agents.
5. Use the lemonade at room temperature – this will make the dough easier to work with and produce a better dough as it will require less handling.
6. Use a palette knife to mix the wet ingredients into the dry – this means you can quickly and gently cut through the ingredients to combine them into a light dough in just 30 seconds, and the less handling the better.  Scones like a light gentle touch - overworking the scones when mixing the dough will result in dense, flat scones.
7. Use the rolling-pin lightly so as not to knock the delicate dough about too much - using a very gentle touch to roll the dough out lightly will result in a smooth looking attractive scone.
8. Roll the dough more thickly than you think - ideally about a thickness of just over an inch - rolling out too thinly will just create thin, flat scones.
9. Dust the cutter in flour each time you cut a scone and push don’t twist the cutter – otherwise you just push down on the dough edges causing the scones to rise unevenly.  
10. Place the scones snuggly touching each other on a small baking tray – this gives them support as they rise.

Ingredients

3 cups (420g) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup (250ml) lemonade (at room temperature)
1 cup (240ml) thick double cream

For glazing

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp cream

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 220°C with the shelf in the upper part of the oven and place a lined baking tray in the oven to pre-heat.
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Place the cream and lemonade in a measuring jug and hand whisk to mix well.
4. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the liquid.
5. Using a palette knife, mix lightly for about 30 seconds, cutting through the flour until just combined.
6. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and use a rolling-pin to lightly roll out the dough until to about an inch in thickness.
7. Dust a 5cm round cookie cutter and press sharply into the dough, removing by pulling straight up without twisting.  Re-dust the cutter before cutting out each round.
8. Once the circles are cut out, remove the pre-heated baking tray from the oven and place the scones closely touching each other.
9. In a small glass, make the glaze by mixing together the milk and cream.
10. Lightly brush the surface of the scones with the glaze.
11. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for couple of minutes in the baking tray before removing to a wire rack to cool. (The scones may have joined together at the edges so you’ll need to cut or tear them apart.)
13. Serve with clotted cream and jam.