A Brilliant Day to be British!

Although I'm British by birth and family, I moved to the States when I was 4 and Malaysia when I was 9 - I moved back to the UK aged 11 but thought of myself as American. I could recite the Pledge of Allegiance word for word and sang the Star-Spangled Banner but knew none of the words to the British National Anthem. Safe to say, I was proud to think of myself as American (despite my British passport).

Over the past 11 years, however, that has gradually changed. My accent has long since softened from the Southern drawl it was in my former years (though now it simply causes confusion as to where I'm from as I sound neither American or English) I've forgotten about 50% of the words for the Star-Spangled Banner and I drink about 5 cups of tea a day. But today, more than any other, I am proud to be British.
Today is of course, the long awaited, much anticipated, Royal Wedding.

Up until the last few days, I have actually been of the opinion that the future King and Queen should have had a more personal, private ceremony with a balcony appearance. However, I am prepared to hold up my hands and say that the ceremony really was amazing and, though it may be selfish, I am really glad Kate & Wills were forced into the public display of matrimony! I was a bit disappointed with the kiss though - I thought, seeing as Wills is the new generation of Royals, he might have taken Kate in his arms and given her a proper kiss for the crowds - no tongue mind, that certainly wouldn't be proper! What's more, I find myself disappointed she didn't throw her bouquet!

*Girlie comment alert* : Kate Middleton's dress was gorgeous, though, being a girl less about lace, puff and fuss, I think I preferred her Maid of Honour's dress, which really was stunning.

My housemates and I took a few hours off from coursework writing and revision for our upcoming finals to watch the wedding unfold with a British tea party breakfast of tea and scones. (By the way, did anyone watch it on ITV!? Didn't seem right to watch it on anything but BBC!) The scones were pulled out of the oven just as Kate reached the aisle - perfect timing and piping hot to enjoy through the ceremony with strawberry jam and clotted cream, kindly whipped by my boyfriend George's fair hand... not without complaint mind!

Although this isn't a dessert, I couldn't resist. The wedding was on early (for us students it was early anyway!) so cakes and such like weren't really appropriate for breakfast!

These scones are actually dairy free (not including the clotted cream) as I'm dairy intolerant, made with soy butter and lactofree milk. I thought they tasted just as good - I didn't hear any complaints from my housemates either!

makes 8-10 scones
oven needed

You will need: 

• scales, large bowl, wooden spoon, circular pastry cutter, a baking tray - and some fingers prepared to get messy!
• 225g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100g sultanas (optional - to be honest, put as many as you like!) 
• 60g butter
• 65g butter
• 30g sugar
• 150ml milk
• 1 beaten egg

• strawberry jam (or jam of some variety) and double cream, whipped to perfection (or just buy some clotted cream!) - or whatever you prefer on your scones!

What to do:

preheat oven 220C (425F/Gas 7)

Sift the flour and salt together - add the sultanas now if you're using them. 

Get messy - rub in the butter with your finger tips until the mixture looks a bit like bread crumbs.

(TIP: If you're using a stick of butter (rather than butter from a tub, say) make sure you cut it into cubes first; this will make it easier to deal with.)

Add sugar.

Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add the milk and stir in with a wooden spoon to make a sticky dough. Make sure you get all the flour from the sides of the bowl. 

Sprinkle a decent (but not too thick) layer of flour on a clean work surface and knead the dough until smooth.

(TIP: Feel free to add a little bit extra flour if it's still too sticky.)

Shape the dough into a flat circle approx 2.5cm thick and cut your scones from the dough using the cutter. 

(TIP: dip your cutter in flour first so it doesn't stick to the dough. Also, don't twist the cutter as you pull it from the dough to make sure you get a nice shape.)

Place the cut scones on a baking tray and brush them lightly with the beaten egg. Pop them in the oven, near the top, for about 10 minutes or until golden and risen. 

Don't forget to whip the cream in advance; it takes about 15 minutes by hand. Cream test: if you lift a spoon out of the cream and it can stand on its own (rather than drooping back into the bowl) then you're good to go!

I actually made some plain scones as well as I don't like sultanas - if, like me, you need to make both at once, omit the sultanas in step 2. Split the sticky dough in half and only using 50g of sultanas, add them to half the dough.