MORNING TEA ON A MONDAY : Baking with Grandpa

When we were in Tamworth my dad made scones for a morning tea we had for my Nan on her 90th Birthday. I thought this was a great opportunity to snap a few pics of him baking with two of his grandchildren. Clémentine and my nephew, Sam were inseparable the whole time we were there. Sam would push her around on her trike every morning while we sipped cups of tea on the porch, played cars with her up and down the hallway and zipped her into her sleepy bag every night for bedtime. He is such a sweet boy and Clémentine misses him so. I'm so glad we got to spend this time together in Tamworth - with all of us under the same roof! And as usual my father did most of the cooking! Thanks Dad for keeping us all fed and cooking five different dishes for dinner each night to satisfy all the special diets we have.

Like most chefs when they cook there are no exact measurements, they go by feel and they go by the fact they've made that particular dish a million times. Flour is poured straight onto the bench top then fresh cream and soda water are added until the right consistency is reached, simple. (And here's me using a food processor for my fail safe scones -shhhhh!) These were big hearty country style scones brushed with milk for shiny golden tops, any CWA lady would give their nod of approval on these babies. I may have had...errrrr....three of these.....I should have stopped at two but I couldn't help it! With double cream, berry jam and a strong cuppa - Lordy! 

My super cute mom was my 'in house stylist' plating up the scones with a cute little vintage linen scone holder, freshly brewed tea and all the trimmings. Thanks Mom! Oh and Happy Birthday once again Nan.....you'll outlive us all. x

LIGHT AND FLUFFY COUNTRY STYLE SCONES

As mentioned, Dad did not use any specific measurements so I have compared a few recipes that use similar ingredients and have come up with the following. I do encourage you to use your 'inner chef' and go by feel when bringing the mixture together. Remember the key to a light and fluffly scone is DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH! For a sweeter scone you can use lemonade instead of soda water or add a couple of tablespoons of sugar.

Makes approx 12-16 scones depending on size of your cutter.

3 cups self -raising flour
1 cup soda water 
3/4 cup cream
2-3 tablespoons milk, for brushing tops
Jam and double cream to serve 

Preheat oven to 200ºC degrees.
Sift flour straight onto bench top. 
Make a well in the centre, add half the cream and half the soda water and with your hands bring the flour from the outside over the liquid centre and work gently to form a dough. Do not over mix. 
Add the rest of the cream and soda water and again gently mix till you form a soft and slightly sticky dough.
Gently pat the dough out to about 3 cm thickness. 
Cut with a scone cutter or a glass tumbler. 
Place the scones close together on a baking tray that is lightly greased with butter and sprinkled with flour or instead line tray with baking paper.
Brush tops with milk and bake for approx. 10 - 15 minutes or until golden on top. (If they sound hollow when tapped on the top you know they are done!) 
Serve with your favourite jam and double cream. Yum!