Not just Scones, we've got Fat Rascals in Yorkshire

Fabulous Fat Rascals

We like to think we know a thing or two about food in God’s own country Yorkshire and of course, top of the list is our own Yorkshire Pudding. 

But we don’t stop there. Where else could you find not just Scones but Fat Rascals, which have been around here in Yorkshire since Elizabethan times?  Fat Rascals are like Scones  but usually dome shaped with lots of variations with the dried fruit such as sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries, apricots – whatever you like best! Here’s Grandma Abson’s recipe.

Fat Rascals

8 oz/225g (or 8 heaped tbsps) self raising flour

4 oz/110g butter

2 oz/50g caster sugar

4 oz/110g of a combination of raisins, sultanas, currants and glace cherries

1 oz/25g flaked almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Zest of 1 lemon or orange

7 tbsps milk or milk/water

2 eggs

1 oz/25g demerara sugar

Sieve the flour and salt and rub in the butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon or orange zest and dried fruit/glace cherries. Beat the eggs and milk and add to the mixture to make a soft dough. Roll out to ½ - ¾ inch thick and cut into rounds with a pastry cutter. This makes around 10 to 12. Place on baking tray and sprinkle a little demerara sugar on the top of each one. Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes (425F, Mark 7, 220C).

Once you’ve baked Fat Rascals I'm sure you'll agree they deserve to be on the podium for a top prize! Tell me what you think of this recipe. 

Finding time to bake

Grandma's Fruit Scones

 Although there's a widespread revival of interest in baking now, people sometimes say to me ‘I don’t have time to bake’. I always reply that the best thing about many of Grandma Abson's recipes comes from mixing basic ingredients without too much fuss. In her early life, Grandma was a ‘below stairs cook’ for an Edwardian family called Hick, who frequently entertained prominent local citizens so she became an expert in producing something quickly for unexpected guests in a short time.

 

Ingredients for Fruit Scones

Scones fit the bill perfectly and can be made from store cupboard items. Grandma’s scones always come out light and airy and win many plaudits. I like to taste different varieties of scones but my favourites are Fruit Scones as the sultanas keep them moist.

SCONES

8 oz/225g self raising flour

½ tsp salt

2oz/50g butter

2oz/50g sugar

2oz/50g sultanas

2 eggs

Milk to mix

Add the salt to the flour. Rub in the butter. Add the sugar and sultanas. Beat the eggs and milk and add to make a dough. Roll out and cut into sections with a cutter. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the third runner from the top of the oven. (450F, Mark 8, 230C)

Meryl’s tips :

• If you want an egg free recipe, leave out the eggs and just add more milk (approx 150ml) to make the dough.
• This can be a sugar free recipe too. The dried fruit gives the scones a taste of sweetness.

Bake Scones in 20 minutes

Treat yourself to some home baking this week? Who can resist the joys of a plate of scones, warm, aromatic and straight out of the oven?