CURRANT SCONES & DEVONSHIRE CREAM

An afternoon tea wouldn't be a proper tea without scones. There are cream scones made with heavy cream, which are very rich. I prefer a more American biscuit type of scone with the addition of dried fruit such as currants or raisins. In fact, if you research scones you will find dozens of different of kinds, with apples, buttermilk or a savory type with cheese, just to name a few.

Scones were first started in Scotland in the early 1500's as a quick bread made from oats and griddle baked. The Scottish quick bread took it's name from the 'Stone of Destiny or Skone, where Scottish kings were crowned.

Scones became popular and an essential part of the fashionable ritual of taking tea in England when Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861), one late afternoon, ordered the servants to bring tea and some sweet breads, which included scones. She was so delighted by this, that she ordered it every afternoon and what now has become an English tradition is the "Afternoon Tea Time" (precisely at 4:00 p.m.). Scones are still served daily with the traditional clotted cream* topping in Britain. See below for a recipe for Devonshire Cream and Currant Scones.

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Devonshire Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Place heavy cream and confectioners sugar in chilled mixing bowl and beat on low speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in sour cream until well combined.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Keeps two days.

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Currant Scones

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3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup raisins soaked for 30 minutes in brandy or orange juice to plump

3 eggs, divided

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, divided

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Preheat oven to 450 degrees, I prefer a convection oven preheated to 425 degrees*. Spray or grease a baking sheet. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until pieces are pea size. Drain raisins and pat dry, add to flour mixture. In a medium bowl beat eggs lightly with 1 cup milk. Add to flour mixture, stir just until mixed.**

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently. Pat or roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2" to 3" shapes, circles, triangles. hearts or shape of your choice. Grease and dip cutter into flour before cutting each scone. Place one inch apart on baking sheet.***

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*If you use a convection oven, baking time may vary.

**The dough can be made in a food processor, either way, don't over process.

***One other method of baking is pat dough into 9"round cake pan, cut with knife into 8 wedges, the wedges will come apart after baked.

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In a small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk, brush onto scones. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm with strawberry jam*, butter and or clotted cream*.

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*Strawberry jam is just one choice, lemon curd or other types of jam or apple butter are also good.

ENGLISH AFTERNOON TEA~LEMON MELT AWAY COOKIES

These cookies may be my all time favorite. I make them about 1 inch wide, so they are a perfect bite of sweetness, with a lemon tang.

Tea parties are best if dishes can be made ahead, requiring as little last minute preparation as possible. These lemon cookies are perfect. The dough can be made up and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The cookies can be baked and frozen for a month or so. After icing them, they will keep in airtight tin for a day or two.
Actually they are very good iced for a week or so, but I recommend icing them no earlier than a day ahead for a special occasion.

Lemon Melt Away Cookies

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3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Lemon Frosting, (see recipe below)

In a large bowl at low speed, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and mix until fluffy. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, beat well. Add flour and cornstarch into butter mixture, mix well until blended.

Divide dough in half and shape each half into 8"x1" roll. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 to 2 hours. (I found that this dough will keep for a few days. I haven't tried this, but I think you could probably freeze these rolls. That way you could bake one roll and save the other one for another day.)

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a sharp knife, cut each roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place on cookies on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned, top should not brown. Remove from oven, carefully remove baking sheet and cool on wire racks. When cool spread top of cookies with Lemon Frosting.

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Lemon Frosting

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1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

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Combine butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and confectioner's sugar, stir until mixed.

Additional lemon juice may be needed to get frosting thin enough.

Yields 4 dozen cookies

ENGLISH AFTERNOON TEA/CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

The ladies that attended the tea are pictured below, hats and all.
It was a pleasure researching, testing and preparing the dishes for the tea. I included a picture of the blackboard that displayed the menu. Everyone followed along with the menu and even picked up on an item I failed to serve. I don't have a good handwriting, so I asked my friend Sally to do this for me.





The Menu is as follows:





May Wine


Tea


Vichyssoise


Cheese Biscuits


Chicken Salad


Olive Tea Sandwiches


Cucumber Sandwiches


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Current Scones


Lemon Curd


Strawberry Jam


Clotted Cream


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Strawberry Tarts


High Tea Lemon cookies


Black Forrest Cookies


Scottish Petticoat Tails


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My first experience with Cucumber Sandwiches was on a trip to London in the late 1960s, from our home in Bonn, Germany. We had a week in London and decided we had to see everything, since we might never get back. We toured everyday, many out of the city to places like Oxford and Strafford on Avon. At night we went to stage shows, arrived home around midnight and back on a tour early the next morning. On one of the tours we were starving, seems the tour didn't stop for lunch. My husband Dale darted into a tea room and bought two of the only kind of sandwiches they had, cucumber. They were like heaven, even though anything would of tasted great at that stage of our hunger, these sandwiches still are a favorite with Dale and me.

Cucumber Sandwiches



1/2 or desired amount of an English/hot house cucumber
1/2 cup of unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup coarsely chopped watercress if available, I used about 1/4 cup dill
1 loaf of white or whole wheat, or both, thinly sliced bread, Pepperidge Farm makes the thinnest sliced bread. The bread works best is frozen before making the sandwiches.
Salt to taste.

I prefer not to peel English cucumbers, but you may if you wish. Slice very thin.
spread the bread with butter, sprinkle with dill or watercress and salt if needed.

At this point you need to decide how you plan to cut the sandwiches. I used 2 inch biscuit cutter and placed the cucumber slices on a circle of bread. If you prefer to make sandwiches and slice in to triangles, remove the crust before spreading the bread with butter.

Sandwiches may be made several hours before serving. Place waxed paper between layers and cover and seal tightly with plastic wrap.

Makes about 8 whole sandwiches, 16 halves, 24 circles or 32 quarters.
If you are doing this for a party and have a bunch of stuff to do, invite a friend to help. I actually gave this job to my daughter Melissa and my friend Emily.