These tart, plump ruby-coloured berries grow wild on shrubs in North America and in northern Europe; here in South Africa they are commercially available in only dried and frozen forms. Cranberries lend a clean and sour taste to sweet and savoury dishes, as well as drinks, but what we love most about them is the festive pop of colour they inject. This cranberry scone loaf with butter, raspberry jam and whipped cream is the perfect mid-morning treat.
Words, recipe and styling by Claire Ferrandi
Photograph by Dylan Swart
Cranberry scone loaf with butter, raspberry jam and whipped cream
Ingredients
- 600g self-raising flour + extra, to dust
- 80g castor sugar
- 150g butter, chilled and cubed
- 375ml (1½ cups) milk
- 150g frozen cranberries, defrosted
- soft butter, to serve
- raspberry jam, to serve
- 250ml (1 cup) fresh cream combined with
- 45ml (3 tbsp) sifted icing sugar and whipped to soft peaks, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200˚C and grease a large loaf tin of approximately 1,5L capacity. Sift the self-raising flour into a large bowl and stir in the castor sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the chilled butter cubes into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the milk to the butter-flour mixture and gently mix to form a lumpy dough (do not overmix – the milk should only just be incorporated). Drain any excess liquid from the defrosted cranberries by tossing them in a paper towel “parcel”, then dust the cranberries in the extra flour. Add the flour-dusted cranberries to the dough and mix through to distribute evenly.
Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven, 30 – 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
Allow the scone loaf to cool in the tin, about 30 minutes, before carefully removing it from the tin. Slice and serve with lashings soft butter, raspberry jam and dollops whipped Chantilly cream.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
