" 'Thwaite,' said Mr. Thwaite. 'The same name as mine and the village. Thwaite House. All it means is a clearing in the forest. Exceptionally dull. There may be cinnamon. Come along.'
We left the trap and went through a door into a stone-slabbed passage with a hanging lantern in it and a smell of roses. 'Scones,' he said. 'Cinnamon scones,' and held another door and we walked over more stone slabs, passing statues and huge black furniture and crossed-swords and huge dark paintings and Chinese jars as big as men. Our feet made a very hollow noise and suddenly from far away there came an odd long note of somebody singing.
'For tea, if lucky,' said Mr. Thwaite and opened a door into a room where three windows looked out over lawns and cornland to some hills."
When the cinnamon scones eventually arrived, their warmth and fragrance must have helped young Polly Flint feel at home at Thwaite, where the food is described as "delicious but not robust".
I'm talking, of course, about Jane Gardam's novel Crusoe's Daughter
8 oz. self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
2 oz. butter
1 oz. caster sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
For the topping:
Approx. a third of an ounce of light soft brown sugar
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
Mix the dry ingredients, then add 3/4 of the beaten egg and form a dough. Press it out lightly on a floured board (I didn't roll it), and using a 2.5" cutter, cut 6 or 7 scones. Brush them with the remaining egg, then dip the tops in a mixture of light soft brown sugar (about a third of an ounce) and cinnamon (1/4 tsp.). Bake in a very hot oven for around 10 minutes.
I'm too late to join in this book group reading but I have just read Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat and loved both. And I shall certainly make these cinnamon scones, they sound lovely, just the thing for autumn.
Posted by: Margaret Powling | 28 September 2013 at 04:57 PM
Your never too late Margaret, I certainly read comments weeks/months later and would be very interested to hear your opinion.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 28 September 2013 at 05:02 PM
Crafty Green Boyfriend thinks this recipe sounds nice but would be even nicer with the addition of sultanas or raisins
Posted by: craftygreenpoet | 29 September 2013 at 11:49 AM
Go ahead!
Posted by: Cornflower | 29 September 2013 at 12:02 PM
I made another batch this morning, Margaret, and it took 30 minutes from start to finish including washing up - just the thing with a cup of coffee.
Posted by: Cornflower | 29 September 2013 at 12:03 PM
I have to try this, I love scones, cinnamon, and..... recipes in pounds and ounces!
Posted by: Carole | 29 September 2013 at 09:26 PM
I'd rather it was metric and my son (quite a keen cook) has absolutely no idea what pounds or ounces are!
Many thanks of course to Cornflower for providing it for us.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 30 September 2013 at 07:51 PM
Wow, how lovely and how fast! Of course if I had any means of cooking ...
Posted by: Dark Puss | 30 September 2013 at 07:51 PM
Bring back the drachm and the scruple.
Posted by: Mr Cornflower | 01 October 2013 at 07:58 PM
As I am sure you know I have no scruples.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 01 October 2013 at 09:14 PM
Despite a great fondness for both scones and cinnamon, I have never had cinnamon scones but I definitely plan to remedy that as soon as I get home!
Thank you for the recipe.
Posted by: Liz F | 02 October 2013 at 10:25 AM
I'd never had them before, either, nor even heard of them, as far as I can remember. Glad I tried them, though.
Posted by: Cornflower | 02 October 2013 at 04:40 PM
I hope they'll turn out well, Carole.
Posted by: Cornflower | 02 October 2013 at 04:41 PM