CORNISH SPLITS WITH RASPBERRY JAM AND CORNISH CLOTTED CREAM

High days and holidays, and early morning walks to the bakery with my dad for the best teatime treats. Nothing evokes more Cornish childhood memories for me than the quintessential cream tea. I love baking, and splits and scones are so worth making yourself. I think a revival of the split is required - which are more of a bread roll-style bake. Of course, it almost goes without saying… jam first before the clotted cream. These are delicious with raspberry, but also strawberry or damson jam.

MAKES 12

● 28g fresh yeast

● 2 tsp caster sugar

● 275ml milk, warmed

● 450g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting

● 115g plain flour

● 85g salted butter

TO SERVE

● Raspberry jam

● Cornish clotted cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan /350°F/gas 4

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 dish 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 dish towel and leave to prove for an hour until doubled in size.

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a damp dish towel for about 15 minutes so that they do not develop a crust. You can keep these little buns for up to four days in an airtight container.

5. Serve warm, with homemade, good-quality raspberry jam and Cornish clotted cream. Add the jam first. If you do not get cream on your nose when you eat them, you do not have enough cream on the split!