Well-worn cookbooks, lists of ingredients and recipe ideas, potential menus, all leading up to whatever is going to be for dinner that night. And not only does this go on during major holidays, it also happens on run-of-the-mill Wednesdays as well. She approaches dinner as an art form, and it was not unusual for us to come home from school and hear that frog legs were on the menu…or stuffed grape leaves made with grape leaves picked from the back yard, or homemade lo mein with scallion pancakes, or turkey vegetable barley soup that had simmered on the stove all day. Our sandwiches were made on her homemade bread made from the sourdough starter that was always on her counter. And on the best days of all, her cream scones would be cooling on a rack, with the aroma of currants and sugar in the air.
Now I’m not saying that we didn’t have our fair share of burgers (one of her favorite approaches was to spread seasoned ground beef on a slice of that bread, broil it until the meat was cooked into the bread, and serve it up for dinner under the exotic name of Greek Hamburgers) and macaroni and cheese with peas on the side (and there was one suppertime involving peas and forks with the peas being used as projectiles and the forks being used as launchers that I think resulted in all four of us losing dessert for a week), but even those suppers had my mom’s magic touch. But through all of it, there’s nothing I loved with the devotion that I loved her scones.
So with thanks to my mama, and a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you, here’s the best Irish recipe I know…
My mama’s one in a million recipe for Cream Scones. Make them with extra love!
Ingredients
Directions
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Having eaten these over the years, I can attest to their greatness, I will make them today to bring to my family for an afternoon snack.
That is a lucky family! Enjoy.
Happy St Pat’s Day to you, thank you for sharing, now we know your talent is a generational thing…. you can’t help being such a great cook.
The photos are excellent!
Debby! This made me smile a big Irish smile – thank you!
The Irish husband (and half Irish teenagers) were very pleased with these. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Hurray!! Now you need to make them all year round and they will be even happier!
I love scones, but was wondering if the Irish really used cream in their scones, because the English don’t. Milk is used, it could be creamy milk, as in gold top milk, where the cream rises to the top of the milk presented in bottles, but still milk. Cream seems to be an American ingredient. In England, as you probably know, thick cream, whipped, or clotted cream, is used on the scones, along with jam. Jam is usually strawberry. But, usually, those scones don’t have currants or sultanas in them. Serving scones that way would be called having a cream tea. In summer, when fresh strawberries are available, they would quite often be included. Scones in the UK are cut into rounds, not wedges.
Wonder what these would be like with yogurt instead of cream.
All good questions and ideas! I do love clotted cream and raspberry jam (and lemon curd too!) with my scones. Not sure about the yogurt – if you try it will you let us know?
I can almost taste these from your description and pictures! They look amazing…as I’m certain they are! Like you, I love the recipes my Mama shared with me. Lovely!! !xoxo
Mama’s recipes are the best – for so many reasons! xoxo back.
I wish I had this yesterday! I hosted a tea party (I even made a Fascinator for my head!). I love scones, I made the Berry ones from Alice’s Tea cup (love that place). I will try these the next time. The girls love their scones!
A Fascinator?? I love it!
I aspire to have my table/kitchen constantly be like your mom’s! I want my kids to have such awesome food memories of me.
These cream scones sound like an absolute delight!
Joanne, knowing you as I do, I know your kitchen table is going to look and feel EXACTLY like this!
Kate,
After one look at your fabulous photos, I don’t know how anyone could resist trying these scones. The timing is perfect for me. I’ll be making scones with my students in a couple of weeks. Cream scones are my favorite too. Can’t wait to give them a try.
I’m so glad – and what lucky students! Hope you all love them as much as I do.
Thank you for sharing this family treasure. I am not a huge fan of scones. They remind me of my childhood image of bread and water prison food. HOWEVER these look amazing. Maybe the heavy cream is a welcome french inspired change… you and your mom rock no matter the historical or geographical accuracy. Good food is good food.
You’re also a great storyteller, I enjoy visiting your site.
You know, I was just chatting with someone today about the fact that some scones can be so dry and dense…but not these! Thanks for your sweet words.
I did not mean to imply these aren’t historically/geographically accurate. This is a FAMILY TREASURE and I’m grateful you shared it.
No worries at all! You reminded me how much I adore clotted cream and jam…I will have to make more scones and have some! Have a great week!
Yes, wouldn’t you rather have your cream on top of the scones instead of inside?
And, imagine clotted cream ice cream, with clotted cream on top of that. I have had that very dish, and very nice it is too!
I vote for having cream both ways at the same time! And that ice cream sounds crazy good.
These scones looks so beautiful, I’m sure they taste even better
They are the best thing in the whole wide world. The best.
Love these, Kate, and the story. And I adore the picture of the cake stand against the window.
There’s nothing like photographing in natural light, right?
I made these today, and used thick cream, as I had some leftover from a bread and butter pudding I had made. I didn’t have any currants or raisins, so grated some lemon rind into them. Really delicious. I ate them plain, without butter or jam but would have put lemon curd on them if I had any! I might try some dried blueberries next time, to go with the lemon. Or even fresh, when they are in season.
Lemon (and blueberries) sounds marvelous!
I meant to say that these remind me of rock cakes, which are a type of rough scone, with vine fruit and lemon rind. It’s the sort of little cake most British schoolchildren used to learn to make. Very uncommon to find them now.
I’ve never heard of rock cakes! Must look that one up.
Not all rock cake recipes have the lemon rind in them, but the Dan Lepard (famous baker here) recipe does. Yesterday I heated up the leftover scones and had them with butter and raspberry jam which went perfectly with the lemon flavor.