There’s Sprite in my scones!

Lazy, broke, and k@k at baking? I have discovered a recipe that is easy to make, is extremely friendly on the wallet, and does not come with technical and arcane baking instructions. Well, the last part is not completely true as in any baking, ingredient proportions matter and could either make or break a recipe. 

Lately, I have been obsessed with scones and can only satisfy my craving by going to a restaurant to order traditional British baked goods. 

I never used to understand the obsession and appeal of scones. Many scones are bland and dense. Nobody wants that.

The obsession and appeal with scones grew recently when I took a bite of a great one offered at my local café in Johannesburg. However, I don’t have the time and patience to make traditional scones, which is laborious and involves many steps.

A good friend of mine, Sanet van Rensburg, pointed me to an unusual scones recipe that is easy and quick to make. Perfect for my k@k cook series! It’s a five-ingredient scone recipe — wheat flour, baking powder, cream, salt and Sprite. Yes, the secret ingredient is Sprite (Lemonade also works) – but the scones don’t taste like the soft drink at all. The Sprite helps in producing incredibly fluffy and moist scones. Van Rensburg’s father, Pieter, swears by the recipe and the scones have been a hit in the family. It’s not hard to see why this is the case. 

The recipe takes many shortcuts, a step away from the traditional way of making scones. The traditional way requires butter to be rubbed into the flour using your fingers — or a food processor. More laborious if the recipe calls for fridge-cold butter to be diced into cubes.

Where fingers are required in the Sprite scone recipe is mixing the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) with the cream and Sprite. Sanet offered her fingers to mix the ingredients as I currently have long acrylic nails. Fingers are optional as using a spatula suffices.

Suffice it to say that this is not a traditional scones recipe from Cornwall in England, the home of cornish pie. Whoever dreamt up the Sprite scone recipe is a genius. You can also use soda water if you want to make a savoury batch of scones with cheese. 

Ray’s Spritely Scones

Tray greased, scones shaped and ready to go into the oven. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cream, and Sprite/Lemonade in a bowl and mix until flour is mostly combined. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

Roll the dough on the surface and using a cup or drinking glass, cut into circles that are 2cm thick. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)