Gluten Free Scones

I first made these scones quite a few months ago. My lovely friend Antigoni and I were long overdue for a catch up. In the spirit of things, I decided a tea party was necessary, and as an integral part of a tea party – scones were also necessary. I faced a problem, however, I had never made gluten free scones before. Perfecting the classic scone is an art form in itself, let alone gluten free ones. So this was just a disaster waiting to happen. A rock-hard, dense, or under-cooked kind of disaster!

I did my research and decided to go with a tried and tested recipe. Although even tried and tested recipes can sometimes go wrong, they’re always a good place to start (along with buying some sneaky back-up chocolate in case of aforementioned kitchen disaster). Thankfully, the back-up chocolate was not necessary! It was still eaten, but only after we’d each polished off a couple (ok more like 4 or 5) of these amazingly light and fluffy scones.

This recipe comes almost exactly as is from the lowfodmap.com blog, and let me tell you, it’s perfect just the way it is! Just add a few staple tea party condiments and your fave tea and you’re well on your way to a successful tea party.

Because of such deliciousness, I’ve been hanging out for these scones ever since. Father’s Day yesterday posed the perfect opportunity. It was a beautiful first day of Spring, filled with plenty of sunshine, good food and company, and topped off with freshly baked scones.

Gluten Free Scones
Makes 10-12 scones

2 cups SR GF flour
2/3 cup (150mL) thickened cream, unbeaten (lactose-free zymil cream)
2/3 cup lemonade
Rice flour, for dusting
Milk of choice, for brushing

Cream
2/3 cup (150mL) thickened cream
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp caster sugar

Raspberry Sauce
1 cup frozen raspberries
Zest of 1/2 an orange
3 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat oven to 230°C and line a tray with baking paper. Place flour into mixing bowl, add cream and lemonade, and mix to a thick consistency. As the dough is quite sticky, be prepared with plenty of rice flour for your hands and the scone cutter. Empty dough on to a rice floured surface and pat gently to a thickness of about 2.5cm. Cut with a small scone cutter, dipping in rice flour after each cut. Place scones on the lined tray, and brush tops with milk. Bake on the middle shelf, or one above, for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Note, these don’t rise or require much browning, so be careful not to overcook.

While the scones bake, prepare your condiments. Place raspberries, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan on low-medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and stir until the sauce has cooked down and thickened. In a clean bowl, beat cream, vanilla and sugar to make whipped cream.

Enjoy.