Kit-tea Scones
(MAKES 9)
INGREDIENTS
350g self-raising
● flour plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
●
4 tbsp caster sugar
●
60g salted butter,
● cubed and cold
Leaves from 2 Earl
●
Grey tea bags
30ml boiling water
●
140ml cold milk
●
1 tsp vanilla bean
● paste or extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
●
Beaten egg to glaze
●
TO DECORATE
Whole blanched
● almonds, for ears
Royal icing
●
Pink and black gel
● food dyes
Method:
1 Add the flour, baking powder and caster sugar to a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes to the bowl and use your fingertips to rub them in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 2 Add the tea leaves to the boiling water and leave to brew for 4 minutes, then stir in the cold milk. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice and set aside for 5 minutes.
3 Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, then use a spoon to mix roughly. Use your hands to combine into a slightly sticky ball of dough, working the dough as minimally as possible.
4 Dust a work surface with flour, then place the dough on top and pat it out to around 2.5cm thick. Use a 5.5cm round cutter to stamp out circles (though you can vary it and create different sizes too), aiming to push the cutter straight down without twisting. You will need to press what’s left of the dough back together, then stamp out more.
5 Place on a plate and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes.
6 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C and place a large baking sheet in the oven to heat up.
7 Brush the tops of the scones with beaten egg (or vegan substitute), then place a sheet of baking paper on the hot baking sheet and quickly but carefully arrange the scones on top.
8 Bake for 10-15 minutes or until risen and golden on top. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
9 Insert almonds for the cat ears. Put some royal icing into a piping bag, and colour a separate 1 tsp of the icing with pink food dye and put in a different piping bag. Then colour some more icing using black food dye and put this in a third piping bag. Cut small tips on all of these and use to pipe on the face.