CORNISH SPLITS, RASPBERRY JAM, CORNISH CLOTTED CREAM

Nothing evokes more Cornish childhood memories for me than the quintessential cream tea. I think a revival of the split is required. I love them and, of course, it almost goes without saying – jam first! Preparation 35 minutes, plus rising Cooking 20 minutes Makes 12 28G FRESH YEAST

2 TSP CASTER SUGAR

275ML MILK, WARMED

450G STRONG WHITE FLOUR, PLUS EXTRA FOR DUSTING 115G PLAIN FLOUR

85G SALTED BUTTER

TO SERVE

RASPBERRY JAM

CORNISH CLOTTED CREAM

1 First, mix the yeast and sugar together with the warm milk until blended (if the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast, so just warm it to hand-hot).

2 In a large bowl, sift together the flours, then rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the middle, pour in the milky mixture and work into a dough with your hands. Knead for about 10 minutes, then set aside, covered with a damp tea towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

3 Knock back and knead again for about 10 minutes, then form your dough into 12 buns using a plain round scone cutter. Place on a floured baking sheet, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hour until doubled in size.

4 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4. Bake the splits in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and cover with a damp tea towel for about 15 minutes so that they don’t develop a crust.

5 Serve the splits warm, with goodquality homemade raspberry jam and

Cornish clotted cream. Always add the jam first. If you don’t get cream on your nose when you eat them, you don’t have enough cream on the split.

The buns will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container. EXTRACTED FROM Sea & Shore by

Emily Scott (Hardie Grant, £26).