Cream Tea

On our way home from a tour of Warwick Castle on my first trip to England, we stopped at a little dessert shop in Henley. It was just warm enough so we could sit at an outdoor table right outside the shop. And there is where I had my first Cream Tea! We were served a plate with a scone split in half horizontally and from there I had a lesson in how to create the Cream Tea. First, you cover the cut surface with butter; then slather on the Clotted Cream, followed by a liberal amount of strawberry jam. Without hesitation, you pick up your fork and enjoy! Especially good with a cup of hot tea.
So what is Clotted Cream? Clotted cream is a thick yellow cream made by heating unpasteurized cow's milk and then leaving it in shallow pans for several hours. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms clots.
I found this quote -- "Sadly all this clotted cream is not good for the waistline, however a little now and then is good for the soul."
A scone may be described as half way between cake and biscuit - harder than a cake but softer than a biscuit.
I found this English recipe for scones –
Scones
2 cups [8 oz] of self-raising flour [If you don’t have self-raising then use plain flour but add 2 teaspoons of baking powder]
2 ounces of margarine or lard
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda [If you use baking powder leave out the bi-carb]
½ cup [¼ pint] of milk [if the milk is just turning sour it works better but fresh is OK too]
Pinch of salt
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and rub together to a sort of breadcrumb mix.
Add all the milk at once and mix lightly to a spongy dough.
Knead lightly to make the dough smooth and roll it out to about ½ to ¾ inch thick.
Cut out with a 2" round cutter. Brush lightly with milk and bake in a hot oven (220 - 230 degrees C, 425 - 450 degrees F or gas mark 7 - 8] for about 10 minutes.
Cool the scones on a wire rack so that the outside stays crispy.
This quantity makes about 12 - 15 scones.
The most important things to remember are to add all the liquid at once and cook them quickly.