If celebrating St. Valentine's day falls into the afternoon in your time schedule, then why not sit and relax with good old fashioned hot scones, clotted cream and jam. They're wonderful with your favourite cup of your favourite tea (mine's Earl Grey ) and hopefully served outside under a shady tree or a on quiet verandah!

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• a good pinch of salt
• 50 grams butter
• ¼ cup each sultanas and chopped apricots
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons natural yoghurt, optional
• milk, to glaze
• jam and thickened cream to serve

Method

1. Sift the flour and the salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine. Stir in the fruit and half the caster sugar and make a well in the centre.
2. Beat the milk, egg and yoghurt together (if you're not using yoghurt, add extra milk) and pour into the well. Mix with a knife until you have a soft dough.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently. Roll or press out with your knuckles to 2cm thickness. Using a floured cutter, cut straight down through the dough.
4. Place the scones on a lightly floured or greased baking tray. Brush with milk to glaze and sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar.
5. Bake at 230ºC for about 12 minutes until golden and cooked through. The scones are cooked when, if you lift one from the middle of the tray and break it in half, the centre is tender and cooked through and showing no signs of moisture or uncooked dough. Transfer to a cake rack and allow to cool, covered with a clean tea-towel, for a few minutes. Serve hot with jam and butter or cream.

Cooks Tips

- If you don't have self-raising flour, use 2 cups of plain flour and three teaspoons of baking powder.