Fairy Tea and Raspberry-Lemon Scone Recipe by Hetty

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

  Just like hers!  I can't believe I found a picture of one so similar.

My grandma used this recipe. I am not sure of its origin.   When I was little, I would sit outside in my grandma's garden by the grape arbor and have high fairy tea.   I would sit at the pretty table with the lace napkins.  Wooley, my throw-back German Shepard always joined me.  Sometimes, if someone was lucky, and a fairy believer, I would invite them to join.  A fancy outfit, or at least clean hands and a smile, were required as dress code.  I would use her silver tea set and the cups from Prussia (with the tiniest, prettiest flowers on them) and have Lady Grey or Darjeeling tea.  I had a tiny tea set for the fairies. 

I could smell the flowers and feel the summer breeze play with my hair while the sun warmed my skin.  I could always hear the tinkling of the little bells on the wind chime we put on the trellis by the arbor.    It was magickal. 

 I carried on the tradition with my kids.  We still have high tea sometimes and talk about the fairies and what great guests they were. 

 The only problem with fairies is they eat all of the scones.  Or maybe that was us.

 

It makes 8 scones.   Any fruit can be substituted here:  blueberries, cranberries (I always add walnuts with cranberries), etc.

 

Yummy!  Lady Grey and I enjoy these together once in a while!

Ingredients

Raspberry Scones:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Lemon Glaze:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or store-bought, but fresh is better)
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 lemon, zest finely grated
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. 

[AZureGray]

Thank you, can't wait to try this.