烤司康餅和奶油下午茶 Scones and Cream Tea

我很喜歡為家人或到訪的親友烘蛋糕甜餅作下午茶。多年來，我做過的茶點也不少；有些簡單容易，有些則是頗為複雜和費時。

I love baking different types of cakes for my family and friends whenever we have our afternoon tea. I've made many different types of cake over the years - some simple and straightforward, and some quite complex and time-consuming.

但綜合來說；無論你端出來的是甚麼糕點，只要是自己親手做的，都會特別受歡迎！

But I have come to a conclusion: it doesn't matter what cakes you bake and serve; as long as they're homemade they always go down a treat!

而其中我最愛做來作下午茶點之一的，便是烤司康餅。所需要的材料很簡單，方法又非常容易；完全不費吹灰之力便可完成。每次你只要捧出一盤新鮮出爐的司康餅，和一壺熱茶；充滿幸福的感覺便在每人的臉上呈現。

Scones are one of my favourite afternoon treats to make. The list of ingredients required is short, and the method is easy - you need hardly sweat over the stove to produce them. Yet it never fails to fill people with happiness when you bring out a tray of warm scones and a pot of steaming hot tea.

在英國，以烤司康餅作為下午茶套餐的稱為奶油茶。一份奶油茶 (亦即是著名的 Devonshire 茶點和 Cornish 奶油茶點) ，通常包括两個烤餅，凝脂奶油和草莓果醬。假如沒有凝脂奶油的話，可以用生奶油 whipped cream 代替，牛油 ( butter) 則很少用著；茶需要鮮奶同上。

凝脂奶油始源於英國的西南部，是一種淡黃、軟滑而濃郁的鮮奶油。它的製法是以蒸汽或水浴法間接加熱全脂牛奶，再置於淺盤等待它慢慢冷卻。此時，生乳中的乳脂會浮到表層，凝結成塊。

Having scones for afternoon tea in this country is called cream tea. A cream tea (also known as a Devonshire tea, or Cornish cream tea) consist of two scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and a pot of tea. Where clotted cream is not available, whipped cream is sometimes used as a substitute. Butter is rarely used, and the tea should be served with milk.

Clotted cream originated in the south west of England and is a silky, yellow cream with a distinctive crust on the surface. It is made by heating unpasteurized cow's milk, which then is left in a shallow pan for many hours. This causes the cream to rise to the surface and 'clot'.

怎樣享用這份美味的奶油下午茶一直以來都有不同的爭論，Devonshire 的方法是把烤餅切開，每邊塗一層奶油，再抹上果醬。而 Cornish 的方法是先抹果醬，然後才把厚厚的一層奶油加上。

這麼多年以來，我還决定不了那個方法比較好吃，或誰勝誰負。於是每次我都索性縱容一下自己，两個烤餅之中，一個用 Devon 口味，另一個則是 Cornish 方法 。

There have long been debates as to how a cream tea should preferably be taken. The Devonshire method is to split the the scone in two, cover each half with clotted cream, and then spread the jam on top. However the Cornish way is the opposite: they say you should spread the scone with jam first, then top it off with a lavish helping of cream.

I still can't decide which version is the winner after all these years, so normally I'll indulge in having one half of my scone the Devon way and one the Cornish way.

做烤司康餅的方法有很多。我不喜歡吃太蓬鬆、太乾或太黏的。我更加不愛吃有加了小蘇打的口感和味道。累積了多次的經驗後，我已做成了一個簡單、對我來說是完美的食譜！

There are many ways to make scones. I don't like mine too crumbly, too dry, or too sticky. I also don't like it when the taste of bicarbonate of soda is too distinctive. So after many tried and tested experiences, I've finally come up with a simple and, to me, the perfect recipe!

烤司康餅和奶油下午茶 
Scones and Cream Tea 

材料：
( 做 6 個)

• 自發粉 self-raising flour 250 g 
• 鹽 1/3 茶匙
• 黃砂糖 golden caster sugar 40 g
• 無鹽牛油 unsalted butter 40 g 切粒
• 蛋1 隻，加奶混至 120 ml
• 萄葡乾 1 小碗

工具：6 ½ cm 圓徑的司康餅 / 麵皮切割模具

Ingredients:
( makes 6 )

• 250 g self -raising flour
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 40 g golden caster sugar
• 40 g unsalted butter diced
• 1 egg beaten, mix up with milk to 120 ml
• 1 small bowl sultanas

Tool: 1 x 6 ½ cm round scone / pastry cutter

做法：

1.  預熱烤箱至220C / 425F / gas7。自發粉篩進碗內，然後和鹽、糖一起倒進攪拌機內稍為
     拌勻。
2.  放進切粒的牛油，拌在一起打至如幼沙般。
3.  把蛋和奶混好，要在攪拌機轉動時徐徐流入。

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 220 C / 425 F / Gas 7.  Sieve flour into a bowl; add sugar and salt to mix well
     then put in the processor and blend to combine.
2.  Add diced butter, blend to mix well and appear to be fine sand like crumbs.
3.  Add the egg and milk mixture slowly to the machine while the motor is running.

4.  要留意看著，一當攪成軟麵糰時便把機器關停。

5.  把麵糰取出放在洒了粉的桌上，如看上去太乾的話可加點奶。太黏的話可加少許粉。均

     勻地混進葡萄乾，搓至軟硬適中。

4.  Watch out when the flour mixture turned into a soft dough, then you can turn the machine off.

5.  Take the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, if it's too dry you can add a little milk, 

     too sticky then add a little flour. Mix in the sultanas evenly and knead to a soft dough.

6.  用手把麵團按平至約 2 cm 厚度，用圓切器切開成小圓塊。

6.  Use your hand to press the dough down gently to a 2 cm thick disc, use the cutter to cut out as 

     many as you can.  

7.  把旁邊剩餘的搓在一起按平再切。把所有小圓塊放在已塗油的烤盤上，保持適當距離

     以免澎脹時會黏在一起。每個掃上些牛奶，會令其焗起時添上光澤。放進烤箱烘15 - 20

     分鐘，看著不要過久，澎脹後很快整個呈金黃便可取出。排在鐵網架上待涼，蓋上潔淨

     的乾廚巾以保持軟潤。

7.  Knead the remaining dough together and repeat. Place all the small round dough onto a buttered

     baking tray with good distance apart to avoid sticking together when risen. Brush each dough

     with milk to add a lovely glaze when the scones are baked. Put in oven to bake for 15 - 20 

     minutes, watch them as soon as they've risen and turn golden all over, you can take them out.

     Place on a wire rack to cool, cover with a clean and dry tea towel to keep the scones soft and 

     moist. 

小訣竅 ：

自發粉 ( self-raising / self-rising flour )

在英國，我們做蛋糕很常用一種叫「自發粉」( self - raising  flour ) 的，這是在中筋麵粉加了適當比例的蛋糕發粉  (Baking powder) 和鹽。麵粉和這些媒介被均勻的混合再經過精密的過篩步驟後做的烘焙糕點都能保持預期中全面鬆軟的水準。這種預先混合了再出售的麵粉是一位叫 Henry Jones 的英國人在 1845年發明的，並已獲得了發明專利權。

我們在家也可以自己配搭這種「自發粉」( self - raising  flour ) ，雖然粉質可能不會同樣幼滑。比例如下：

• 中筋麵粉 all-purpose flour 125g
• 蛋糕發粉 baking powder 1茶匙 3g
• 鹽 ½ 茶匙或 1 g
• 把上述材料拌勻再過篩兩次進大碗中，便成為可以應用的自發粉 ( self - raising flour )

Tips:

Self-raising (or self-rising) flour

In the UK, we often use a type of flour called self - raising flour to make cakes. It is sold premixed with baking powder and salt. The added ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the flour which aids a consistent rise in baked goods. This flour is generally used for preparing scones, biscuits, muffins, etc. It was invented by Henry Jones and patented in 1845. Plain flour can be used to make a type of self-raising flour although the flour will be coarser.

Self-raising flour is typically composed of the following ratio:

• 1 cup (125 g) flour
• 1 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
• a pinch to ½ teaspoon (1 g or less) salt
• Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl and sieve twice to become your homemade self-raising flour

看到了嗎，是不是只需很基本的材料和半小時左右的時間；你便可安在家中，也可端出一盤新鮮出爐、香軟美味的烤司康餅，與你的家人或訪客分享 －  這著名的英式奶油下午茶了。

So you see, all you need is some very basic ingredients and half an hour of your time. You can serve these freshly baked, soft, warm and delicious scones to your family or visitors. －  The famous English afternoon cream tea, all in the comfort of your own home.