Nigella Lawson's scone recipe uses one unusual ingredient and is cooked in minutes
Fresh-baked scones straight from the oven are simply irresistible, thanks to their mouth-watering aroma and incredible taste.
Slathered with jam and clotted cream, these teatime treats are absolutely divine alongside a proper brew, and making them from scratch couldn't be simpler.
Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has shared her distinctive twist on the traditional recipe, featuring a method that includes two secret ingredients. This recipe comes after news of ' Brit abroad slams all-inclusive hotel food asking 'what on earth is this?'
Revealing the recipe from her cookbook, 'How to be a Domestic Goddess', Nigella declared: "These are the best scones I've ever eaten, which is quite how it should be since they emanate from one of those old-fashioned cooks who starts a batch the minute the door-bell rings at teatime".
The TV chef credits the wonderfully light texture to one key ingredient - cream of tartar - which delivers their "dreamy lightness", reports the Express. Here's how to make them exactly like Nigella:
Ingredients
500 grams of plain flour
One teaspoon salt
Two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
Four and a half teaspoons of cream of tartar
50g cold unsalted butter (diced)
25g Trex vegetable shortening in teaspoon lumps (or use another 25g/two tablespoons butter)
300ml milk
One large egg (beaten, for egg wash)
Method
To achieve beautifully shaped scones, you'll need a 6.5 cm crinkle-edge round cutter and a lightly greased baking tray. Start by heating your oven to 220C/200C Fan/gas mark, then grab a large mixing bowl and sieve the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar together.
Add the butter and Trex vegetable shortening (if using), and rub between your fingers to combine with the dry ingredients. Continue to rub the mixture until it resembles damp sand, then add in the milk all at once.
Mix everything together briefly then turn out the dough onto a clean, floured surface. Then knead the dough lightly before rolling it out to a thickness of about 3cm.
Now dip the cutter in some flour then stamp out about 10 scones - you can get 12 from the dough but it may need to be re-rolled for the final two.
When re-rolled and cut out, place the scone circles onto the baking tray "very close together", Nigella instructed. She said: "The idea is that they bulge and stick together on cooking - then brush the tops with the egg-wash. Put in the oven and cook for 10 minutes or until risen and golden".
Nigella says the scones should "always" be eaten freshly baked, preferably still warm from the oven, with clotted cream and jam.
Alternatively, try her "favourite" toppings: black treacle and clotted cream - a combination known as "thunder and lightning".
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