Tuesday 12 April 2011

Buttermilk Scones, well... sort of...

The original recipe calls for buttermilk, but I'm sure I've mentioned this before, buttermilk is nowhere to be found where I live. But luckily, Nigella provides two options for buttermilk substitutions. One, to make your own by adding lemon juice to semi-skimmed milk and letting it stand for five minutes; or two, by using runny natural yogurt and a bit of milk to loosen the mixture. I tried both options before and they worked! (Why would't they?! It's Nigella recommended. Silly me)

Today, I used the 'yogurt and a bit of milk' option to make these scones... and they're very easy to make. I finished another assignment earlier and these scones were my treat. They take less than 10 minutes to mix and cut out, and then 12 minutes in hot oven, and it was time for afternoon tea.


It's only right I think to serve the scones with clotted cream (Cornish clotted cream if you must know) and jam of your choice. My preference, however, and I believe Nigella approves of this, is generous spread of clotted cream, top with luscious golden syrup. To say 'yum' is perhaps an understatement as I had three scones. They're tiny scones though, so I don't feel that much guilty, plus, I did go to the gym afterwards.

Scones, clotted cream, jam, golden syrup and tea... feeling very British indeed...


Buttermilk Scones
Recipe by Nigella Lawson
For list of ingredients and instructions, click here.

13 comments:

  1. Ok...I'm moving in next door to you Michael. Don't be scared, I promise all I will ask for is a taste of all you create in your kitchen :)
    The scones look wonderful and I LOVED how you topped them....delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow they look fabulous... as you know i'm on a mission to find the perfect scone, so i should add this to the list... i'm often using yoghurt instead of buttermilk, which works really well. x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, good ol' nigella lawson! I really do need to check one of her books out, you really seem to love them. I think I would too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well see there! As long as you went to the gym right?!?!? I would love those with plain ol' butter and jam! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  5. They look fantastic, and you mention clotted cream so I must come visit now :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yum...these scones do look inviting! May I invite myself over for tea? Lol.
    I miss clotted cream and so envious that you could get that where you live and not buttermilk!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nom, Nom, Nom... So good.I wanna feel very British too. Any leftovers buddy? Im coming over. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely! I use the yoghurt method too!
    (Works great in her 'buttermilk chicken' recipe)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every once in a while I buy buttermilk for a favorite recipe. Then I spend the next week making everything I can think of with buttermilk so I don't waste it! :)
    But in an emergency, I've done exactly what you did...and it works.
    Your biscuits look marvelous, Michael!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you everyone for the lovely comments. Much appreciated as always :). The scones were lovely. I had another one (two, actually) today.

    @Jenn: as soon as I know any of my neighbours moving out, I'll let you know!

    @Maya: do come over, just let me know and I'll put the kettle on.

    @Anna: if you're hurry, I'll save you two pieces because I am nice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Okay, 3 scones at one go...that alone says all. :-) The last picture with syrup looks really great.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love scones! I sometimes use heavy cream instead of buttermilk. Much more fattening, but really offers up a nice rich, soft crumb. Decadence is delicious :)

    ReplyDelete