Traditional Devon Cream. Homemade Buttermilk Scones. A little bit of heaven on Earth

Whilst some of you know, many do not, I temporarily lived in England before my oldest was born. I had visited several times in my teens as well. Everytime I step off the plane in London I feel like I'm home. I feel so connected to Wales courtesy of stories from my beloved Grandfather of his youth.

One of my most favorite things in the world is teatime. Wafer thin cucumber sandwiches, tea and scones with cream and jam. Oh be still my heart.

The last time I had a traditional tea time snack was one evening staying at the Four Seasons hotel. I pampered myself, ordered traditional teatime fair, and a fabulous bottle of french wine. I indulged in the luxury of the room and savoured the flavours of my memories. I have yet to have found imported devon cream anywhere except one shop very very far away.

Saturday???? I FOUND IT!!! Our local grocer has started to import it. Bless his heart. Here I was calculating how much I could save if I bought no name vs brand name, penny pinching my normal modus operandi in the grocery store and there it was!!!! SCREW the budget...I was getting my real, Devon Double Cream....:heart: I have been making "mock" devon cream for several years now...it just doesn't compare.

Today I made some scrumptous buttermilk scones, put a little dollop of cream on and some strawberry jam. I went out to my backyard in the shining sun and pretended I was in my favorite park in Bath and just enjoyed both the flavours and the memories as they came through me. Silly sometimes what makes us feel good. It's been 6 years since I've been back to England and am now yearning to return.

I have an excellent Scone Recipe that I will share. They are fabulous. I am indulging in my lovely Devon Double Cream at the moment but there is also a recipe for Mock Devonshire Cream included. (although it pales in comparison to the real thing it's not bad)

BUTTERMILK SCONES

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbl sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbl cold butter (3/4 of a stick) cut into small pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl sweet milk

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add butter pieces to dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or two dinner knives, cut butter into flour until the mixture takes on the size of small peas. Make a well in the center of mixture. Pour buttermilk into the well. Using a fork, pull the mixture into the buttermilk to form a soft dough. Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Knead gently. Cut into shapes using biscuit cutter or heart-shaped cookie cutter. Brush tops with sweet milk and bake at 425 for 12 min or until lightly browned. Yield: 8 scones, approx. 2 1/2" in diameter Recipe can be doubled.

Variations:
1) Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar after brusing with milk
2) Add 1/2 tsp grated orange peel to dry ingredients.
3) Add 6 Tbl currants to dry ingredients.

I like my Mock Devonshire Cream made with less granulated sugar for the same reason. I also make my Mock Devonshire Cream with less cream so it will have more of a spreading consistency rather than being so much like plain ol' whipped cream. I have also found that making it this way eliminates the need to whip the cream again just before serving.

Here's my recipe for Mock Devonshire Cream:
1 3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 Tbl sugar
dash salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup whipping cream

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese on high speed of an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and salt. Gradually add the whipping cream and continue beating until mixture is stiff. Store in refrigerator.You could also try adding 1/4 tsp vanilla extract to that recipe for Mock Devonshire Cream.