USA Features
Armchair Travel: English Scones Recipe
Food plays a prominent part in plenty of detective stories, so much so that we asked Bookish Steph to chronicle the best foodie mentions in Christie, see Delicious Death: Food in Christie for that delight!
So, as part of our armchair travel series, designed to help entertain you at home, we've created our own recipe card. As tempted as we were to devise a "how-to" for sardine sandwiches, or encourage the indulgent eating of plum pudding, we settled on a baking task which typifies Great Britain, and which Christie and her characters were used to seeing on everyday tables, as well as ones laden with goods for celebrations: scones!
Jane's own scale of hospitality was terribly expensive for the household; every day of the week, seven or eight of her friends were wont to arrive for tea, and eat pastries, buns, scones, rock cakes and jam tarts.
This simple cream tea recipe requires very little baking equipment, and can also be adapted for dairy-free or vegan diets too. The recipe card can be viewed online or printed, and we've left space for you to fill out your name, and location too. So why not whip up a batch of scones, served with butter, cream and jam - naturally - and settle down with a good book at teatime? Scroll to the bottom of this article to download the recipe.
Don't forget to share photos of your British bakes, books and armchair travel adventures! Share your creations with us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, so we can see how you're celebrating Agatha Christie from home.
In the kitchen at Little Paddocks, Miss Blacklock was giving instructions to Mitzi.‘Sardine sandwiches as well as the tomato ones. And some of those little scones you make so nicely. And I’d like you to make that special cake of yours.’
The big debate - Devon vs Cornwall
Cornish and Devonshire cream teas are principally the same – a scone with jam and cream. However, there is a subtle difference – the order of the ingredients. In Devon, the cream sits on top of the scone, then the jam on top of that. A Cornish cream tea, on the other hand, has the jam spread on the scone first, followed by the cream.
