What’s Cooking Uncle Sam?

Hi there,

As your special envoy on the USA at present, I felt bound to record Queen Elizabeth IIs scone recipe that she shared with President Eisenhower in 1960. It was part of the What’s Cooking Uncle Sam exhibition at the Archives of the USA in Washington, DC. Here it is…

DROP SCONES (Pancakes)                   4 teacups of flour                                                                                                                           4 tablespoons caster sugar                                                                                                             2 teacups milk                                                                                                                                  2 whole eggs                                                                                                                                      2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda                                                                                                      3 teaspoons cream of tartar                                                                                                        2 tablespoons melted butter

Beat eggs, sugar and about half the milk together.                                                                       Add flour and mix well together adding remainder of the milk as required, also bicarbonate and cream of tartar.                                                                                                 Fold in the melted butter.

Enough to feed 16 people (this latter is written as an extra note and underlined).

The recipe accompanied a charming letter to Eisenhower dated 21 January 1960′ and signed Elizabeth R. The letter suggests that Eisenhower rather enjoyed these scones when he visited Balmoral and had asked for the recipe. It seems the humble scone is also appreciated in the best houses.

What is also interesting to me is that there are no cooking instructions included in the recipe (unless there is a page missing from the exhibition). I presume that everyone is presumed to know how to cook drop scones so it was considered unnecessary. Might need some research to find out the correct way. (Here’s some more instructions)

The letter and recipe were on display as part of the exhibition at the National Archives in Washington DC. There is a book associated with the exhibition but this recipe seemed to be the best part so I stood leaning on the display case in the exhibition and scrawled the recipe down on my hotel notebook – word for word based on the Queen’s own letter. That’s the closest to her that I’ll get. She did have a lovely warm, polite manner in her letter and flowing handwriting.

There you go. You never know what you will find when you go hunting in the archives 🙂

Enjoy.

Chantilly VA.   Follow our travels:  www.bothertohover.wordpress.com