My husband Tim is a baking guru, writes Darina Allen,
but even he started with the basics and what could be simpler than scones?
My husband Tim always baked soda bread for our children when
they were growing up. In fact, it got to the point where they'd only eat
'Daddy's bread'. Encouraged by this, he soon began to experiment by baking all
sorts of things, scones included. These sweet treats are a great introduction
to baking for people who don't have much experience in the kitchen, and once a
novice cook has got the hang of scones, it's not long before they're baking
rolls, bread sticks, sourdoughs and ciabatta. In my experience, men are
particularly easily hooked on all aspects of cooking once they have discovered
how therapeutic mixing and kneading can be - and once they've tasted the
satisfaction of creating their own delicious baked goods.
For me, scones are wrapped up with childhood memories. Mummy
regularly had sugary-topped scones cooling on a wire rack when we ran in from
school, sometimes speckled with sultanas, sometimes with cherries. We'd split
them in half, spread them with butter and whatever jam Mummy had made, usually
blackcurrant or gooseberry - raspberry and strawberry jam were rarer treats
then.
Years later, whipped cream and jam became our favourite, but
it wasn't until I visited the US that I realised that you can take the basic
scone recipe and have lots of fun adding nuts, spices, chocolate chips... In
fact, Americans rarely eat scones with butter and jam. They prefer them cut
into triangles, drizzled with icing and eaten as they are.
Alternatively, filled with cream and sugared strawberries,
they are transformed into a version of one of America's favourite puds -
strawberry shortcake.
So, master the basics and soon you'll be making orange
scones by rolling out dough and slathering it with orange butter, before
rolling it up and cutting it into twirls that ooze orange butter when they're
cooked. Or you can try your hand at baking iced coffee and walnut scones, which
are inspired by American recipes. Scones studded with chocolate chips or chunks
of Mars bar are perfect for teenagers to make and younger children can make
'teeny weenies' as the fancy takes them.