Who can say no to freshly baked scones with a nice cup of tea? Not me, not Chris and certainly not our kids! We delighted the kids when they came back from a trip to Wales with their grandparents with a gorgeous tea party, overflowing with finger sandwiches (yep, we went there with cucumber sandwiches, egg & cress and cheese & beetroot), cheesecake, macarons, and these homemade scones. The feast was all served on tableware from Portmeirion - who sponsored this post, and I LOVE how it all turned out. Portmeirion are currently running a #GetTogether campaign - all about getting families to eat together. I think it’s so important to get the family around the table to eat together and catch-up on the day (in fact, I’ve had that message in my ‘about me’ page for the last 5 years!). It’s such a great way to reconnect without all of the distractions that can so often get in the way, and to bond over some really delicious food. I got to peruse the new collections on the Portmeirion website and choose my favourite pieces, which let’s be honest, was enough to make me a little giddy. I basically wanted everything. I went with the beautiful Sophie Conran white collection because I love the simple elegance of it. There are so many pieces to choose from, so it’s one of those collections you can continue to build upon over time. Knowing that it would be Afternoon tea week (12th-18th August) when I posted this, I felt the perfect addition to the large cake plate would be a big batch of fruit scones. I’ve been experimenting with sourdough recipes recently, so I thought I’d share my sourdough scones recipe - which is a great way to use up the sourdough discard when it comes to feeding your sourdough starter. Starting with the scones - first we add chunks of cold unsalted butter to self raising flour and a pinch of salt. Rub the butter an flour together until combined (or use a nifty little pastry blender like I did), then stir in raisins and sugar.
How to make a sourdough starter A quick and easy rhubarb and strawberry compote - if you fancy something a little bit special How to make a non-sourdough version of these scones
Mix 250g of sourdough starter with warm milk and vanilla extract, then cut this wet mixture into the dry mixture using a knife, until just combined. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and flatten, using your hands to about 3cm thick. Then cut out circles from the dough. You will have to reshape the dough a couple of times, but you should get 8 larger scones, or 10 slightly smaller scones.
Place the scones on a lined baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk or egg wash (I used egg-wash for a more golden finish). Then bake in the oven for about 13-15 minutes until risen and golden. Take out of the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, place chopped up rhubarb, strawberries and sugar in a pan with a splash of water. Place a lid on the pan and cook gently over a medium heat for about 30 minutes, until the rhubarb breaks down. Add more more strawberries for the last five minutes of cooking. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
Slice open the cooled scones and fill with clotted cream, the rhubarb and strawberry compote and a few slices of fresh strawberry.
Here’s that cheesecake on the small footed cake plate - which is smaller in diameter, but a little taller than the larger cake plate I used for the scones. Sooo pretty!
To celebrate Afternoon Tea Week in style, Portmeirion are giving you the opportunity to win a fantastic selection of tableware of your choice! Click here to go to the Portmeririon site to enter the competition and for full terms and conditions.
How to make Sourdough Scones with Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote:
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