Hebrides Cruises is a proper family business. Rob Barlow is Owner and Skipper; daughter Emma is Sales, Marketing and Shore Manager, her husband Peter works on the cruises in a variety of roles, including Skipper and Engineer. Not to be forgotten is Granny Mary, a vital person in the business, providing the scones for the guests arriving on the boat for their cruise which are always much appreciated! Here is the recipe - with a few extra tips. There is definitely a knack to getting the lightest of scones and guests agree that Granny Mary has that touch! If you want to try one for yourself, come aboard our Open Day on April 22nd at Dunstaffnage Marina - from noon till 4pm.
Granny Mary Scone Recipe: Makes 12 Scones
Ingredients
1Ib Self Raising Flour
4oz Granulated Sugar
4oz Soft Margarine
2 Level teaspoon Baking Powder
8-10oz Milk
Method
Preheat your oven to 220oc or 210fan.
Add all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar & baking powder) together in a bowl. Add the soft margarine to this and mix all together with your hands (Wee Tip: Make sure you have cold hands!) Whilst mixing make sure you lift the mixture high to allow the air through it.
Once the mixture resembles a crumbly consistency you can add the milk, small amounts at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon until mixture has blended. Keep the mixture as dry as possible making sure its still bonds.
Transfer the mixture onto a floured board. Shape the mixture into a circle about 1” thick with your hands, handling as little as possible.
Cut out mixture with scone cutter. Then place on a floured scone tray then dust lightly with flour before popping in the oven to bake.
After 20mins, take out of the oven, leave to cool on a wire tray.
Take a scone, cut in half and fill it with yummy jam and/or cream and have with a nice wee cup of tea!
x
Just returned from our second successful trip to St Kilda on the Elizabeth G. It was lovely to be greeted by the familiar faces of Rob and Craig from our previous trip along with naturalist Zoe and chef Sian. Rob’s experienced weather-eye meant he paced our journey to St Kilda so that we made the best of the beautiful weather so that we had the full day ashore on the sunniest day, even better than the previous trip in 2019. As before, Craig attended to our every needs and sumptuous meals were served up by Sian, maintaining the high standard of cuisine we have come to expect on the Elizabeth G. As an experienced whale-watcher Zoe was indefatigable in keeping a lookout for whales and dolphins and her enthusiasm was very infectious. She was also careful to make sure everyone was alerted when any were sighted. All in all it was a fantastic trip and I can’t wait till the next one.
Helen Mainwood: 5 July 2021St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides