Marlene’s lemonade scones
Mum says she almost died when Dad asked a celebrated French chef—of all things—what was the secret to scones? “Chuck the flour and butter in and rumble it around with ‘ze loose hands’. Knead quickly and don’t flatten. Keep the air in.” My friend Marlene makes scones with lemonade. She gave me her recipe after I devoured her scones at a picnic.
3 cups self-raising flour 1 teaspoon salt 300ml cream ¾ cup lemonade extra flour, for dusting full-cream milk, for brushing butter or cream and jam, to serve
Preheat oven to 220°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt and make a well in the centre. Stir in the cream and the lemonade with the flat of a knife until well mixed. On a chopping board dusted with flour, knead the mixture until it forms a soft dough. Flatten the dough with your hands or a rolling pin until 2 cm in thickness. Cut into rounds 5 cm in diameter, using a cookie cutter if available. Place the rounds on the baking tray and brush with milk. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until very lightly golden. If you tap one of the scones in the centre of the tray and it sounds hollow, the scones are ready. Serve the scones with butter or cream and jam.