Kathleen Read

This afternoon I made the most delicious cherry drop scones. I had a bag of cherries in the fridge that needed to be used up so I decided to try out a new-ish recipe. For the scones I used a recipe that my mom and I make all the time from The Best of South African Cooking by Lynn Bedford Hall. The cookbook is a staple in my family’s kitchen and I am thinking I might need to get myself a copy! These scones are originally savoury cheese scones, the recipe for which you can find below. However, the savoury version didn’t go very well with the cherries so I made a few changes!

Quick Cheese Scones (The Best of South African Cooking) 

• 2 cups cake flour (all-purpose works just as well)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1 egg
• 100 ml water
• 100 ml milk
• 50 ml oil
• paprika

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all dry ingredients and cheese together in large bowl. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Use a dessert or soup spoon to drop spoonfuls on to a greased or parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle a bit of paprika on top of each scone. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cherry Scones 

• 2 cups cake flour (all-purpose works just as well)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 100 ml water
• 100 ml milk
• 50 ml oil
• 1 cup of cherries, pitted and halved or quartered**

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Fold in cherries. Use a dessert or soup spoon to drop spoonfuls on to a greased or parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

** You can really use any fruit you would like, just make sure it’s not too drippy