Two eggs go into Hairy Bikers fruit scones, which is what separates them from a plain teatime batch. British Classics builds them on 400g of self-raising flour, 125g of butter and 100g of sultanas, and makes 8 to 12 at about 300 calories each.
They open the recipe by counting up what they have baked over the years, from maple syrup and pecan to white chocolate and cranberry, then call this the classic for teatime perfection. On the old argument they are clear: both of them are jam-first people.
One tablespoon of the beaten egg gets held back before the rest goes into the bowl. That spoonful is the glaze, brushed over the tops just before baking, and it is the only reason these come out golden instead of pale.
Hairy Bikers Fruit Scones
Description
The dough is rolled to 2cm and cut with either a 7.5cm or a 6cm cutter, which is what decides whether you get eight scones or twelve. Flour, butter, sugar and sultanas are bound with egg and milk. These Hairy Bikers fruit scones bake in 10 to 12 minutes.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Preheat to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7.
- Rub in the butter: Put the flour, baking powder and caster sugar in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like very fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the fruit: Stir in the sultanas or raisins.
- Bind the dough: Reserve a tablespoon of the beaten eggs for later, then add the rest to the bowl along with the milk. Mix until it comes together into a dough. If it is too crumbly, add a little more milk.
- Roll it out: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead very gently until smooth. Roll it out to about 2cm thick.
- Cut the rounds: Use a 7.5cm cutter for large scones or 6cm for smaller ones. Press firmly straight down and lift without twisting. Re-roll the trimmings and keep cutting until the dough is used up.
- Glaze and bake: Place them on a large baking tray, spaced well apart, and brush with the reserved egg. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until well risen and light golden brown.
- Cool: Move them to a wire rack.
FAQs
Jam first or cream first?
Both of them are jam-first, and they say so in the book. That puts them with Cornwall, where the jam goes on before the cream, against Devon, where the cream goes down first.
There is a practical case for jam first, since spreading jam over soft cream is awkward and spreading cream over jam is easy. Nobody has ever settled this, so pick a side and commit.
Will I get 8 scones or 12?
That depends on the cutter, and the recipe gives you both options. A 7.5cm cutter makes eight large scones and a 6cm one makes about twelve smaller ones.
Roll to 2cm either way, since that thickness is what the two eggs and 100ml of milk are calibrated for. Their cheese and Marmite scones are patted by hand to 3cm instead, which gives you taller, craggier scones and fewer of them.
Sultanas or raisins?
The recipe says either, and 100g of whichever you have in. Sultanas are sweeter and softer, raisins darker and chewier.
Soak them in a little warm water or tea for ten minutes if they have hardened in the cupboard, then drain them properly. Dry fruit pulls moisture out of the dough as it bakes and leaves the crumb tight.
Why did mine not rise?
Almost always the cutter. Press it straight down and lift it straight up, because twisting seals the cut edge and stops the sides climbing in the oven.
Overworking is the other cause, so knead only until smooth and no further. Their rock cakes sidestep the whole problem by being spooned into rough mounds with no cutting at all.
Can I make them ahead?
Bake them on the day, because scones go dry by the second day rather than stale. They freeze well once baked and completely cool.
Freezing them raw works better still. Cut the rounds, freeze them on a tray, bag them, then bake from frozen with two or three extra minutes. Their bara brith is the one to make ahead instead, since it actually improves wrapped up for a day or two.
