The morning fog hadn’t yet lifted from Kingscombe’s harbour when Nikki Trent unlocked the door to the Cream First Café. The bell over the door chimed softly, a sound that always made her smile.
On the counter, a folded note. It must have been left there last night. Someone had scrawled three words across the paper in looping script:
CARBON MELON MAULED
A riddle? A request? Or another little mystery brewing before the spring fête?
Nikki leaned on the counter, got out a pen and notepad and rearranged the letters.
Then she lit the ovens, and baked one of her special scone recipes… but how did she know which one to bake?
See if you can figure out why she chose this particular recipe for:
Cardamom, Blueberry & Lemon Scones
These scones are fragrant with cardamom, bright with lemon zest, and scattered with sun-blue berries.
They’re a Kingscombe town favourite.
Nikki made three batches that morning: one for the fête, one for the café, and one (she suspected) to butter the goodwill of a certain local detective.
Ingredients
Base mix
- 750 g self-raising flour
- 187 g butter or plant-based margarine
Scone flavour
- 120 g caster sugar
- 10 g ground cardamom (8 g if you prefer a gentler spice)
- Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
- 125 g frozen blueberries
- 160 ml lemonade or sparkling water
- 250 ml milk or plant-based milk of choice
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/gas mark 4). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. If you make this early, prepare for the morning air to fill with soft lemon perfume before the clock strikes nine.
- Rub the flour and butter together until fine as breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the caster sugar, cardamom, and lemon zest. The spice blooms as if whispering secrets.
- Fold in the frozen blueberries carefully. Each will burst like a tiny surprise once baked.
- Pour in the lemonade and three-quarters of the milk, just enough to bring the dough together. Add the rest if needed to keep it soft but not sticky.
- Shape by gently patting to 4 cm thick, then cut into 12 rounds with a 7 cm cutter. Brush with leftover milk.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes until risen and golden. If they smell like a summer garden dusted with sugar, they’re perfect.
Serve warm, with cream first (naturally — this is Devon) and a dollop of blueberry jam.
As Nikki lifted the last tray from the oven, the cat clock on the wall chimed nine. She glanced again at the scrap of paper by the lemons.
‘Carbon melon mauled,’ she murmured.
When the first customer stepped in, Detective Constable Shaun Weathers, he smiled at the lemony smell. ‘Did you get my note?’
She nodded, and pointed to the scones and a pot of tea brewing next to them. ‘I did, and I’ve baked your favourite morning treat.’
Answer: CARDAMON BLUE LEMON — or more precisely, Cardamom, Blueberry, and Lemon scones.
So the riddle hadn’t been a mystery after all. Just DC Weathers hinting (in his usual dramatic fashion) that it was time for his beloved fruity, spicy scones again!