Treacle scones

Our summer weather has improved; we have had some rain-free, wind-free warmish days but not the lovely glorious brilliant sunshine and blue skies which we all enjoy. I know cream teas can be eaten at any time of the year, but they do seem a particularly summery thing with fresh Cheddar strawberries to go with the scones and clotted cream.

So looking at different recipes for scones, I came across some black treacle scones – now they would be good with clotted cream and maybe ginger jam on a not so red-hot day!

Treacle scones:

• 8 oz plain flour (I don’t like baking powder so I would use self-raising flour, and then cut out the next two ingredients)
• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda (see above – or if I had no self-raising flour I’d use t level tsps baking powder)
• 1 level tsp cream of tartar
• 1 level tsp ground ginger (I would whack in a bit more as I like really gingery things!)
• ½ level tsp mixed spice (I would up that as well, spicier the better!)
• (I would add drained and chopped stem ginger or chopped crystallised ginger as well – as you might add dried fruit to other scone mixes!)
• 2 oz butter
• 1 level tbsp black treacle
• 1 beaten egg
• milk

1. sieve all the dry ingredients together
2. rub in butter
3. beat egg and treacle together and stir into the other ingredients – add milk if needed to make a fairly stiff dough
4. add chopped ginger
5. cut into rounds and brush with  milk or  beaten egg
6. bake at 220° C, 425° F, gas mark 7 – this is a hot oven so check they aren’t catching on the tops before they bake right through
7. serve with butter and ginger jam, clotted cream  – and of course a pot of tea