BROWN SCONES
WHITE SCONES
DROP SCONES
NUTTY BROWN SCONES
OAT CAKES
BOXTY PANCAKES
POTATO CAKES
When unexpected guests came, the cook had to work quickly. No one was allowed to leave even the most modest house without being given a cup of tea and some freshly-baked morsels to eat. This is where scones came into their own.
If the oven was already hot (the range was always going, winter or summer), a mixture could be put together in five minutes and baked in ten more. The scones in these recipes were popular for this and were split and filled with melting butter.
If there was no hot oven, a griddle would be greased and heated over the open fire. When the griddle was hot, in would go spoonfuls of a pancake mixture for drop scones, or flat potato patties for potato cakes. Boxty pancakes, a strange mixture of cooked and raw potato, flour and egg, required a special skill. They were baked on the griddle on All Saints’ Day.
A heavy frying pan is a good substitute for a griddle. As with the oven-baked scones, the griddle cakes should be eaten immediately with fresh butter.
125 g/4 oz/1 cup wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
125 g/4 oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
¾ tsp/generous ¾ US tsp bread (baking) soda
1 dsp/1½ US tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
115 ml/4 oz/½ cup buttermilk
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the buttermilk. Knead slightly until the dough is elastic. Roll the dough out to 1 cm/½” thick on a floured board. Cut into rounds about 5 cm/2” in diameter. Bake at 230°C/425°F/gas 7 for 15 minutes.
My friend Nora has baked these melting scones for many years. They are light and should be small in diameter, just big enough for one or two mouthfuls. They are delicious eaten on the day they are baked, served with butter and homemade jam.
225 g/8 oz/2 cups self-raising white flour
pinch of salt
50 g/2 oz/½ stick margarine
2 tbsp/2½ US tbsp white sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp/3¾ US tbsp milk
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut the margarine in small pieces and rub into the flour. Add the sugar. Add the beaten egg gradually, then the milk. The mixture should become a soft dough. Knead it quickly on a floured board. Roll out to 1½ cm/½” thick. Cut out 5 cm/2” rounds. Place the scones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 220°C/425°F/gas 7 for 12–15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet and then put them on a wire rack.
These well-known favourites have several names. Some people call them buttermilk pancakes, others crumpets. In Scotland, they are called girdle cakes. Delicious for tea in winter, they can be cooked in a heavy frying pan. Drop scones can also be made with fresh milk.
Mix the flour, bread/baking soda and cream of tartar in a bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, then the buttermilk. Mix everything well. Grease a griddle or heavy frying pan. Heat it very well, then reduce the heat a little. Drop spoonfuls of the scone mixture onto the hot griddle. When bubbles appear on the surface, turn them over. When the scones are golden brown on both sides, they are cooked. At this stage, put them into a clean tea towel/dish cloth to keep them warm and steamy. Serve hot with softened butter or with a sprinkling of sugar and lemon juice.
275 g/10 oz/2½ cups white (all-purpose) flour
150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
1 tbsp/1¼ US tbsp pinhead oatmeal*
1 tsp bread (baking) soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
50 g/2 oz/½ stick butter
225 g/8 oz/1 cup buttermilk
Mix all the dry ingredients. Rub in the butter. Add the buttermilk and knead the dough well. Roll out to 1 cm/½” thick. Brush with milk. Cut into rounds and bake at 220°C/425°F/gas 7 for 15–20 minutes.
*Sometimes called Irish or Scottish oatmeal, these steel-cut oats have a nutty texture.
Hearty, sustaining and crunchy. Oat cakes baked in the oven taste better than those done on a greased griddle.
125 g/4 oz/1 cup oatmeal
125 g/4 oz/1 cup white (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp/1¼ US tsp baking powder
125 g/4 oz/1 stick butter or margarine
50 ml/2 oz/¼ cup hot water
Mix the oatmeal, flour, salt and baking powder. Melt the butter in the hot water and add it to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough a little on a floured board. Roll thinly. Cut into ‘farls’ or quarters or stamp into rounds with a cutter. Either cook on both sides on a greased griddle, or bake in oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 25 minutes. Eat the same day with farm butter and honey.
These are traditional potato pancakes. In the past, with shops so far away, they were well known as welcoming food for unexpected visitors. They were more popular in northern counties. A griddle or a heavy frying pan should be used to produce the authentic flavour and texture.
450 g/1 lb potatoes, peeled
175 g/6 oz/1½ cups white (all-purpose) flour
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
125 ml/4 oz/½ cup milk
(more may be needed to make a dropping consistency)
a little butter for the frying pan
Sieve/sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Boil and mash half of the potatoes. Grate remaining potatoes. Wring the grated potato in a clean towel to squeeze out excess water. Add all potatoes to the dry ingredients. Mix in the beaten egg and milk gradually, adding more milk if necessary. The mixture should be the consistency of batter. Drop dessertspoons/tablespoons of this onto the hot, greased griddle. Cook the pancakes for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are brown. Serve immediately with butter and salt. They taste good with fried rashers/slices of bacon too.
An age-old and much-loved Irish food. Potato cakes can be eaten hot with a knob of butter melting over them for tea. They are also delicious with fried bacon and eggs for breakfast or lunch. Children love them!
175 g/6 oz/1 cup mashed potato
125 g/4 oz/1 cup self-raising white flour
50 g/2 oz/½ stick butter
extra butter for cooking
Steam or boil the potatoes. Mash them without using milk. Rub the butter into the flour. Mix this well with the mashed potato and knead it into a flexible dough. Either roll the dough on a pastry board and cut it into rounds, or less wastefully, form it into several flat cakes with your hands. Melt a little butter in a hot frying pan or a griddle and put in the potato cakes. Cook them on both sides until they are dry and golden brown. Serve at once with softened butter.