STORE OFFERS TASTE OF MERRY OLD ENGLAND

A tasty bit of merry old England has arrived in downtown Cape Girardeau.

My Daddy's Cheesecake, 111 N. Main, has added scones to its line of gourmet sweet treats.

"Scones are an integral part of the British ritual of tea time, as well as a frequent breakfast item," says My Daddy's founder and dessert mastermind, Tom Harte.

He is a faculty member at Southeast Missouri State University who spent one semester living and teaching in London.

Scones, which originated in Scotland, Wales and parts of northern England, have no counterpart in American cuisine, said Harte. "They're a bit of a rarity on this side of the Atlantic.

"Scones are richer than a biscuit," he said. "They're heavier than a muffin and thicker than a flat bread."

Scones bear the same name as the famous stone on which all Scottish kings were crowned and which now is a part of the royal coronation chair housed in Westminister Abbey, noted Harte.

"I became addicted to them," admitted the chief chef for My Daddy's Cheesecake.

Harte, who has stalked the perfect scone in visits to Wales, Scotland and Ireland, has put his own characteristic stamp on the scones served at his gourmet dessert shop.

"First of all, we bake a layer of sweetened cream cheese right into the scone," he says. "And, we offer as our primary flavor a version that many Brits would find heretical: chocolate chip scones."

A raisin/cream cheese scone is also available.

"If I do say so myself," he said, "our scones are better than anything I found in England. Anyone who has never tried one has really missed one of the great culinary inventions of all times."

Harte's cream cheese-filled scones are made fresh and served while they last each Saturday.

My Daddy's Cheesecake was founded in 1987 by Tom Harte and his wife, Jane Harte, and Joe Low and his wife, Lauchette Low, as a part-time, mostly wholesale, business. The bakery opened its retail operation this year.