The Model Bakery is in the Napa Valley (this recipe is a version of the one in their book) and they serve, hands down, my favourite scone ever. They refer to them as British but we don’t usually make scones that are this rich. They’re luscious – all that cream in the dough – and, unusually for a scone, still pretty good the day after baking. But do yourself a favour and have them straight from the oven.

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes

MAKES

8 large wedges

INGREDIENTS

• 500g plain flour
• 65g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 130g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 420ml double cream, plus a little more for brushing on scones
• 1 large egg

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Flour a 23cm cake tin and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly with little pea-sized bits of flour-coated butter.
3. Lightly beat the cream and egg together in a small jug.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and gradually add the cream, mixing it in with a butter knife. Mix just until everything comes together – don’t over mix. The dough will be quite sticky.
5. Put this into the floured cake tin and carefully pat the dough evenly into place. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and cut the round into eight equal wedges. Put these on the baking sheet. Brush with the extra double cream.
6. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. The scones should be golden brown.
7. Leave to cool for five minutes then serve warm. These are actually still good two days later (well, not quite as good, but they don’t deteriorate the way other scones do – just keep them in an airtight container).