How to make your own Buttermilk Scones

I love scones!  Scones are what I look forward to when having afternoon tea and you saw that when I wrote about our afternoon tea experience at the Manila Peninsula, New World Hotel and TWG Tea Salon and Boutique.

So it really gives me great joy to be able to finally make them (mostly with AJ’s help!) this morning, following this easy video recipe from The Joy of Baking. The recipe is called Coffeehouse Scones because “they are similar to what coffee shops and bakeries sell.  But a better name may be Buttermilk Scones as buttermilk is used to bind all the ingredients together. This is a really nice tasting scone with a crisp outer crust and a soft, almost bread-like texture.  They are delicious plain, or you can serve them with butter jam, clotted cream and jam, or even lemon curd and clotted cream or whipped cream.”   

“This is a really nice tasting scone with a crisp outer crust and a soft, almost bread-like texture” – I totally agree!  We all loved it!  And my number 1 food critic (my mom) gave this ultimate thumbs-up feedback that almost made me cry:  “You hit it!  Sooooo goooood.  Kulang! (Not enough for me!)  I think I can finish 4 with coffee.  Yummmmyyy!”

I will be quoting parts of the recipe here with our pictures, to guide you in making your own buttermilk scones  =)

But first, here are the ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter (we used President Unsalted Butter), cold and cut into pieces
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup (160-180 ml) buttermilk (we made our own buttermilk by mixing together 3/4 cup Anchor full milk + 3/4 teaspoon vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

“Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.”  In our case, since our slices are much bigger, it took longer for the scones to turn into golden brown.  When the initial 20 minutes was up,   the scones were still bit pale on the top, but already baked nicely at the bottom.

So we let it bake for another 5 minutes.  The golden brown finish was finally achieved.

Hmmmm…. the scones smell of fresh milk and butter!   And yes, it’s really crunchy on the outside, and soft inside  =)

We paired our scones with fried Purefoods Cheesy German Franks.  Not bad for breakfast!  But of course for tea time it should be with strawberry jam and clotted cream!

We were so happy to get it perfectly on our first try  =)

You too can make your own buttermilk scones using this recipe from The Joy of Baking.   I have already bookmarked this website because of its comprehensive baking recipes that are detailed, well-written and easy to follow  =)    Enjoy baking!