Scones by Cathryn Dresser

My children are really learning their way around the kitchen having helped me on numerous cooking and baking tasks.  They both love to help out especially with the baking.  Sometimes it is hard to think what to bake with them that needs minimal adult supervision.  So whenever there is a review for a children’s cookbook, I am always keen to try it.

Cathryn Dresser was a star in BBC’s 2012 Great British Bake Off, and is a busy mum of two wrote her book – Let’s Bake.  It will be available on 22 May 2014. We were so lucky to get her book for review.  I could not wait to try it and quickly went out to buy the ingredients to bake scones.  I always love to eat scones and I was eager to check if her recipe is any good.

Let’s Bake has a recipe for every occasion, from picnics to parties, Halloween to Christmas and everything in between.  It is packed full of tasty and fool-proof recipes with colour photographs and all the tricky bits explained.  This fun collection of delicious family recipes is perfect for adults and children to bake together!  There are 52 easy recipes that is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.  So there is one to bake for every week of the year.

After flipping through the book, I find noticed that the contents page didn’t list the 52 recipes, so I had to flip through each page to find a suitable recipe for my children.  It is a shame that this has been missed out from the book.

Overall the family orientated recipes are excellent as they are all suitable to bake with children.  With easy follow step-by-step instructions and colour photographs.

Ingredients for 16 scones

• 450g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 100g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 75g caster sugar (only if making a sweet version)
• 260ml full-fat milk
• 1 medium free-range egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 C/200°C fan/gas mark 7.  Lightly flour a baking tray.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into your bowl, then add the salt and stir. Add the butter and use your fingertips to break up and rub in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. If you’re making sweet scones, add the sugar now too.
3. In a measuring jug, combine the milk and egg and beat with a fork. Now in your bowl, make a well in the middle of the flour and pour three-quarters of the egg and milk mixture into the well.
4. Use a metal butter or palette knife to cut through the mixture. You want to cut through the liquid and drag the flour down into it, stirring a little as you go. Continue until the mixture starts to form a dough. Add a tiny bit more milk if it feels dry. Then use your hands to bring the dough together completely.
5. Lightly dust the worktop with flour and tip out your dough. Gently flatten it with the palms of your hands until it is a nice round disc about 3 – 4cm thick.
6. Now it’s time to cut out your scones. Dip your cutter into the flour to stop it sticking then cut as many shapes as you can and put them on the dusted baking tray.
7. Gather the remaining dough and gently press together to cut more scones. Repeat until all the dough has been used up.
8. Brush the tops of your scones with the leftover egg and milk mixture. Ask an adult to put the tray in the preheated oven and bake the scones for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden and well-risen.

I am very impressed with this recipe and will definitely cook it again!  It is very soft and tasty!  My whole family totally loved it!  Thanks to Cathryn’s Let’s Bake book for her recipe!  We have also made pitta pockets using her recipe, do check them out!

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for free. However, they have not paid me for this review, and they do not exercise any editorial control over my review or anything else on this site.