Today, let’s imagine being at a tea party and tasting these scones with Jane Austen.
It’s my way of celebrating 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen, the well-known English writer.
I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Devon and Cornwall (I will tell you about it soon).
Moors, cliffs, King Arthur, history, enchanted villages, tea, and scones. Certainly, a trip that will remain in my heart.
Back home, I couldn’t resist rereading Jane Austen, rewatching films and series with the landscapes of Cornwall, bringing out floral dishes and teapots, and proposing English pastries…and not just pastries, follow me.
In Bradford on Avon, we even attended a tea party and tasted the real scones with strawberry jam and the famous clotted cream. I must say that these traditional English buns are not at all diet-friendly, but if you prefer the light version, I refer you to my recipe for goji berry scones.
Completely absorbed by this Regency atmosphere, I wanted to know if even Jane Austen served scones at afternoon tea, as she didn’t mention them in her books.
I came across an article by an English writer Lillian Marek who rightly points out that baking powder did not exist before 1843, when Alfred Bird of Birmingham invented it. It was only 15 years later that phosphate baking powder, still known today, was marketed.
Unfortunately, Jane Austen died at just 41 years old in 1817 from an illness whose causes are not well known. She didn’t have the chance to taste the buns with baking powder, but perhaps cakes, cookies, and other biscuits with bread yeast.
For the first time, scones were served at tea time around the year 1840, when Anna Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford, asked her servants for sweet breads for the afternoon tea. Among the pastries served were the scones, which were so well-received that they became common.
This year marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, this great writer, an acute observer of the society of that time, who knew how to humorously write down the most hidden human emotions.
So today, I’m trying the traditional scones too, imagining having her at an afternoon tea, sitting with us to talk about her six novels. Which one did you like the most? Besides Pride and Prejudice, if you haven’t read them, I also recommend Persuasion, Emma, which is very nice, and also Sense and Sensibility. I haven’t read Northanger Abbey nor Mansfield Park, but I will. We know that even though there are some doubts, romantic adventures, and uncertainties, they always have a happy ending. I would ask her, for example, what she thinks of this amusing article that I read these days.
Shall we get to the recipe, or should I continue talking about books? Here are the butter scones.
Any other English recipes for tea?
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 15 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: English
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for scones with Jane Austen
These scones are very simple; in the UK, they often use self-raising flour, which is not as common here. Therefore, I recommend mixing one packet of baking powder with the flour, and perhaps also a teaspoon of baking soda.
You can brush them with egg yolk, but I preferred to substitute it with a brush of milk.
In Cornwall, scones are served with clotted cream, practically a skimmed cream of boiled milk whipped. I filled them with Greek yogurt and currant jam, but if you want to get closer to that taste and texture, mix cream with mascarpone, it is the filling version that most resembles the traditional clotted cream.
- 2 cups type 2 flour
- 1 packet baking powder
- 3.5 oz butter (cold)
- 0.55 cups milk
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 5.3 oz 0% fat Greek yogurt
- 3.5 oz currant jam
Tools
- 1 Round Cutter
Steps for scones with Jane Austen
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, a pinch of salt, and optionally a teaspoon of baking soda. Mix well.
Add the cold butter in small pieces, crumbling it into the dough with your hands, then pour in the milk, mix everything and knead again until you have a soft, malleable dough ball that you will wrap in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for half an hour to cool.
Take the dough, flour the work surface, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1 inch.
Cut with a round cutter of 2 inches in diameter and place the buns on a lined baking sheet.
Brush with milk and bake at 392°F for about 15-20 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and serve warm, whole, allowing each guest to fill them.
Naturally, present them with a good English tea accompanied by milk.
Pour the milk into the cup first, then the tea.
Tips for scones and alternatives
The first tip I can give is to serve the scones warm, you can also store them for a couple of days tightly closed in tin boxes and in the refrigerator, but remember to warm them when serving. Do not store them already filled.
If you don’t add sugar to the dough but a pinch of salt, you can serve your English buns stuffed with spreadable cheese and gherkins, or salmon, yogurt and dill, or again with hummus or many other flavors you would put in a small soft bun.
Light alternative? Replace butter with high oleic sunflower oil or grapeseed oil, and remove the sugar, adding raisins or cranberries.
Remember that English scones are served whole, and it will be the guest, pulling them apart by hand, who will fill them personally as they please.
