Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, Baker's Man...

My late Nana, Thelma Doris was forever making scones. I spent a lot of time at her place as a child and to commence each visit our ritual went something like this: Nana would say "Shall we make some scones dear?" and I'd nod, wide eyed in agreement and anticipation while following her toward the back of the house to a dark poky kitchen. There we'd huddle around the small formica topped table where she'd mix and knead lightly... I'm not sure I partook in much of the actual making part, however I vividly remember the result: a warm batch of lightly crusted scones wrapped in a clean tea towel.
It wasn't until recently that my love for scones really came about and I learned while on a trip back to my home land that Nana used to make her scones with lemonade. (My four-year-old was very impressed by this little factoid due to his current infatuation with the stuff.) So I've been very busy experimenting and investigating and made these over the weekend:

Lemonade Scones with Dates

The recipe is:
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup lemonade
Bake at 220 degrees for 10 mins

The things I love about scones (apart from their taste) is that they are super quick, extremely easy to make, can be very healthy - made with wholemeal flour sans lemonade! And you normally have all the ingredients on-hand (for a simple version anyway) to make a batch when needed... Which for me is most mornings!

Scone tips:
+cook close together to help rise
+don't over handle
+pat the dough lightly - instead of kneading
+wrap in tea towel when cooked to give thin soft crust
+although wholemeal is a healthy option I find that white flour seems to produce a lighter scone...


So Nana, where ever you may be, I hope you're watching... Because I know how thrilled you'd be to see that all that scone making finally rubbed off...

Linking up with Jodie The Haby Goddess