As Wimbledon has started this week, our thoughts have turned to the summer holy trinity of berries, clotted cream and scones! What better way to enjoy the game than with freshly baked scones.

This is my very secret recipe, that I’ve been using for decades (hence the quantities in pounds and ounces!) When you order an afternoon tea from us, this is my base scone recipe. It’s so easy to pull together and you get amazing scones every time.

Ingredients:

1lb 4oz plain flour

2oz baking powder

5oz cater sugar

5oz margarine

1tsp vanilla paste

9-10oz vanilla yoghurt

1 egg (for glazing)

Method:

• Mix all your sifted dry ingredients together in a bowl

• Add the margarine. Using your finger tips, incorporate the margarine, forming a breadcrumb consistency

• Add the vanilla paste and yoghurt. Depending on how thick the yoghurt is, this will determine how much you’ll need.

• You’ll be able to mix this together with your hands. You don’t want the mix too wet, otherwise the scones will spread, instead of rising.

• Once the dough has formed, transfer onto a floured surface and roll out to about an inch thick.

• Use a floured cutter to cut out the scones, or simply cut into squares or triangles with a knife.

• Transfer onto a lined baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg.

• Make sure you leave enough space between the scones to allow for growth. You don’t want them to stick to each other.

• Pop them in a pre-heated oven at 160C (fan) for 10-12 minutes, until well risen and golden brown

• Allow to cool before splitting. Why not fill with clotted cream and your homemade gooseberry jam?

This can be adapted to become vegan. Simply swap out the dairy based yoghurt and margarine for non-dairy alternatives. Instead of glazing the scones with egg, brush with non-dairy milk instead.

To make this gluten free, replace the plain flour with a good gluten free version. Ensure your baking powder is gluten free too. You’ll need to add 1/4tsp - 1/2tsp xanthan gum to the dry mix. This will give the dough the stretch and elasticity that’s missing from gluten free flour.

You can add 5oz dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries, sultanas, cherries etc to the mix (after you’ve added the margarine, before you add the yoghurt).

If you fancy some chocolate scones, you can replace part of the plain flour (no more then 70g) with good cocoa powder. Or you can add around 5oz of chocolate chips to the mix. Be careful with adding chocolate chips as this will change the fat content of the mix. You’d be better off using dark chocolate chips, rather than milk or white. Plus you’d get a more intense chocolatey flavour like that.

If you’ve had a go at making these scones, I’d love you to share pictures of your creations and let me know how you got on if you tried any of the variations. Happy Baking!