This week I had intended to put together a selection of Primal teatime treats as an afternoon tea party menu in honour of Mothering Sunday, but unfortunately I’ve run out of time!
Quintessentially British (it was Anna, Duchess of Bedford that first got too hungry for dinner at eight!), the elegant ritual of ‘taking tea’ (at 4pm precisely) soon became a popular English tradition.
Sadly for me (because I’d really love more opportunities to wear a hat!), the glamorous social gathering of ladies meeting for tea has all been but lost, except perhaps as provided by a small number of sophisticated and stylish hotels that do still offer Afternoon Tea service, including the fine china, silver tea sets and pretty table linen.
However, with the advent of grain-free sandwiches, cakes and scones, which means no longer poisoning ourselves by consuming grains and excess sugar, there’s now a very good reason for women everywhere to embrace the opportunity for some ‘at home’ teatime indulgence (gossip not obligatory!) I propose that teatime as it used to be, is reintroduced into society for all ladylike and special occasion afternoon gatherings - albeit I’m sure my two daughters would like to update the tradition with a glass of Champagne rather than tea!
Mother’s day particularly is a time to show your love and appreciation, so what better way to make her day than with these luscious Grain-Free Scones? Fresh from the oven, spread with sugar-free jam, topped with a generous dollop of clotted cream and served with proper loose-leafed tea such as Darjeeling, Earl Grey or Silver Tips (namby-pamby herbal concoctions and tea bags are not suitable for this occasion!) the moment may prove so pleasurable that it could be the start of a newly revised and delightfully feminine tradition.
Grain-Free Scones (Makes 10 scones)
Ingredients
250g (9oz) ground almonds
75g (2½oz) arrowroot powder
25g (1oz) coconut flour
1 tsp salt
2½ tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp organic maple syrup
1 egg
125g (4½oz) plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 350°F / Gas mark 4.
Prepare 3 large pieces of non-stick baking parchment, 2 for rolling out the dough and the third to line a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, baking powder and sea salt together.
Using a fork, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it is fully integrated and resembles fine breadcrumbs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt and maple syrup.
Using a spatula, stir the wet and dry ingredients together, until combined - do not over-mix because this will release the oil from the almonds, which can make the dough too soft and sticky to handle.
Transfer the dough onto the non-stick baking parchment, put the second piece of parchment paper on top, flatten the dough with your hand, then roll out to 2 cm thickness (i.e. whilst sandwiched between the two sheets of parchment paper).
Using a 5 cm (2 inch) flat-edged pastry cutter, cut out 9 or 10 rounds. To avoid handling the dough, sharply shake each cut scone directly out of the cutter onto the lined baking sheet. After the first 3 or 4 scones you will need to gently re-form and roll the dough back to the same thickness before cutting out more. To stop the dough sticking, dip the edge of the cutter into coconut flour between scones.
Bake for 20 minutes until browned, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time.
Set the scones on a wire rack and allow to cool before filling with no-sugar strawberry fruit spread and clotted cream. Alternatively, eat warm from the oven with lashings of best quality butter.
Notes:
These scones are best eaten the same day.
Store leftovers in an airtight container. They can be revived almost to their former glory by reheating for 5-6 minutes in a pre-set oven at 180℃.
If you have a food processor, it will make lighter work of these scones. Using the double-sided blade, put all the dry ingredients into the processing bowl. Whizz together to mix, then add the pieces of butter to the rest of the ingredients. Process for about 5 seconds until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then with the machine operating, pour the pre-whisked egg, yogurt and maple syrup through the feed tube and whizz for a further 10 seconds until a soft dough is formed.
Carbohydrate 12g Protein 7g - per scone (with butter)
Carbohydrate 5g Protein 0g - per 10g serving of St Dalfour Strawberry Fruit Spread
Carbohydrate 1g Protein 0g - per 30g serving of Rodda’s Classic Cornish Clotted Cream
