Gem Scones
Submitted by: Suzie Hoban / Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Who passed this recipe down to you? My mum
Recipe origin: Australia
How old is this recipe? c. 1970, or earlier
The story behind the recipe:
My mum has made these for as long as I can remember, and still pulls out this book for the recipe. It’s The Presbyterian Women's Cookbook (my mum is Catholic so I have no idea how or where she got this book).
They smell incredible when they are cooking, and would always bring us kids into the kitchen where we were inevitably told "I'm taking them to tennis, don't touch," which of course meant sneaking gem scones off the cooling tray when she wasn't looking. She doesn't play tennis anymore so when she does bake them, we get to eat them.
She has an ancient cast iron gem scone mould specifically for this recipe. I have been looking for gem scone trays ever since, but never found one, so the only time I get to eat them is when Mum makes them.
I included the equivalent measures page from the back of the book because the measurements are ancient (like “1 gill of milk”).
Ingredients:
6 ounces (170 grams / approx. 1⅓ cups) self-rising flour*
Pinch salt
4 tablespoons (50 grams / ¼ cup) sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 gill (½ cup / 118ml) milk
How to make it:
1. Place the gem irons** into the oven, and preheat it to 350°F.
2. Sift flour and salt. Cream butter and sugar in a separate bowl, add the egg, then add in the flour mixture and milk alternatively (stirring in between each addition).
3. Remove gem irons from the preheated oven, grease them, and fill each hole halfway with the batter. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a tray and butter before serving.
*If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can make your own: for every cup of all-purpose flour, add 1½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. For this recipe specifically, to the 1⅓ cups of all-purpose flour, whisk in 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ⅓ teaspoon kosher salt.
**If you don’t have a cast iron gem scone pan (which is unlikely unless you live in Australia and are visiting your mum’s house), you can instead use a preheated muffin tin, cast iron Danish aebleskiver pan, or cast iron Dutch poffertjes pan.
