The Winner Is ..

The thing i didn't mention in my last post is that R (my husband Rich) has this really rather annoying ability to be generally good at everything ( it pains me to admit it ). For all of the 17 years that i have know him he has always been able to successfully turn his hand to anything and believes he knows best and is always right what ever the subject matter ( which also pains me to admit that most of the time he usually is ) . I carelessly forgot this when i suggested the scone challenge thinking that all of the hours i had spent reading about oven temperature's, different methods of rubbing in and rolling out and even  techniques used for cutting the scones out, surely i had this one in the bag. From the moment i suggested this battle R's competitive streak kicked in as he happily liked to sing at me every chance he got - ' My - scones - are - going - to -  kick - your - scones - arse'. Over the years i have gotten use to this kind of behaviour and i have learnt not to let his cock sure confidence get the better of me, that was until i realised he was actually doing his homework. As i walked through the door after work R was burrowing on his laptop keeping the screen sheepishly away from my view, a moment of terror sent me into a blind panic. I casually walked into the next room threw my lap top in front of me and started re reading all of the precious tips i had so keenly learnt.
As R was making his scones i sat on my hands and with my legs crossed so i was tempted to go into the kitchen and spy on his methods,what could he possibly do that i hadn't already thought of? When his floured covered face peered around the door-way i was slightly relieved, by the slightly stressed expression on his usually calm and sure of himself exterior he had obviously been trying harder than i thought to gain victory. When it came to my turn he fortunately kept out of my way ( this could of been down to the fact that Manchester united were playing in the semi final of the champions league or the matter that when he pronounced that he was finished in the kitchen i walked into what looked like he had just spent half an hour trying to decorate our kitchen with flour) I began to replay the different techniques and my own strategy in my head:

1. Always put our oven down 20 degrees or so as our oven tends to be hotter than most
2. Making sure the butter was just slightly cooler than room temp to make it easiest to rub in
3. Sifting my flour twice to ensure extra lightness
4. Gently and lightly rubbing the butter into the flour, as if i am handling rose petals
5. Using one hand to bring the slightly sticky dough together making sure it gathers all of the bits from the side of the bowl
6. Shaping the dough carefully into a round before placing it in between two sheets of cling film to roll out to no less than an inch tall. ( the clingfilm is so you don't have to coat the dough in any more four which may result in a heavier dough)
7. Firmly tapping down on a floured 5cm round cutter being careful not to twist it to release the round (twisting can cause uneven rising)

The results are as follows:

R's Scones

Amy's scones

I have to admit, when R first pulled his scones out of the oven i was a little anxious- they looked like they could of graced the cover of good food magazine. Richly browned tinged with a sight golden hue on top they did look delicious. On opening they had a slightly dense cakey texture which stayed neatly together within the first bite, they were extremely tasty with an enjoyable but not heavy richness about them. As anyone who knows R can imagine the songs he had been singing got more exuberant , I thought he was about to make a little dance to go along with it.

That was until my beauties came out of the oven - they were just what i was aiming for,  perfectly sized golden pillows that looked like they had been tenderly and lovingly pumped up with air. Inside did not disappoint,slightly crumbly in texture but oh so light and soft in the taste. Upon seeing my triumph R was quick to defend his batch only after about an hour and taste testing two scones each did he declare that my scones were equally as good as his just on different levels.

 It was concluded that if you want a man sized bronze god of a scone you need to follow R's recipe ,  but if you want something more light, delicate and lady - like one  follow my recipe.

We jointly decided that when looking for the perfect scone it is all about personal preference as we all have different tastes and as neither scone turned out an inedible disaster we settled on a draw. With that, all the singing , dancing and general taunting stopped the house was restored to its peaceful self and we both went to bed extremely content (although a little full ) with our findings.

Until next time....

Ps Recipe's will follow tomorrow.