Review: The SconeWitch, Ottawa, Ontario

Of all the things you can eat with a warm cup of tea, one of the most iconic accompaniments is the scone. Pronounced as either 'skōn' (sounds like skone) or ˈskän' (sounds like skawn), scones are a key component of a cream tea service. These flaky and yummy baked goods are great because they come in both sweet and savoury varieties. For example, one of our favourite spots to get fresh scones  is a shop in Ottawa, Ontario called The SconeWitch. The folks at SconeWitch don't make cookies and they don't make cakes, nor do they make pastries - this shop specializes in scones and only scones.

Very tasty vanilla cream scones from The SconeWitch 

The scones from The SconeWitch are great for a number of reasons, chief among them is that unlike some other scones which can have a sort of 'gummy' or dry texture, their scones are always soft and flaky which gives you a nice soft crunch to accompany your 'cuppa'. They've also got a very impressive menu with lots of flavours to choose from. Here's what's currently on offer:

Sweet Scones

• Vanilla Cream (our personal pick!)
• Orange Cranberry
• Lemon Poppyseed
• Oatmeal
• Currant Ginger
• Low-Gluten Raspberry Sour Cream

Savoury Scones

• Cheddar
• Herb and Onion (we really like this!)
• Feta (we also like this too!)
• Low-Gluten Jalapeno and Green Onion

So, our personal pick at The SconeWitch was the vanilla cream scone and we decided to pair it with some lovely Moss Berry Farm Raspberry Jam from Stratford, Ontario and Coombe Castle's English Double Cream (both are available for purchase at The SconeWitch which is super convenient).

The best pairings for a scone when you don't have clotted cream.

The Cornish approach or the Devon approach? We chose the Devon approach. 

They also sell frozen scones that you can bake at home. They taste just as good and as always are light and fluffy.

The home baked vanilla cream scones from The SconeWitch turned out pretty good in our opinion.

Overall, we really enjoyed the vanilla cream scones, and pairing them with the raspberry jam and double cream really topped them off. So, if you're ever in Ottawa be sure to check out The SconeWitch. You can find them at one of their 4 locations:

• 35 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa, ON, Canada, tel: 613-741-4141
• 150 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON, Canada, tel: 613-232-2173
• 1638 Cyrville Road, Gloucester, ON, Canada, tel: 613-744-2585
• 393 Winston Avenue, Ottawa, ON, Canada, tel: 613-729-0002

Bonus: Fun Facts about Scones

• Merriam-Webster dictionary notes that the first use of the word 'scone' was in 1513, apparently by a Scottish poet.
• The pronounciation for 'scone' varies regionally. Scotland and Northern England tend to say it as 'skone', while Southern England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland tend to pronounce it as 'skawn'.
• The origin of the word 'scone' could come from the Dutch word schoonbrood which means 'fine, white bread'. This comes from combining schoon which means 'pure, clean' and brood which means 'bread'.