The perfect savoury scone – best eaten warm spread liberally with butter or with a dollop of tomato or onion chutney. They also make a perfect addition to a homemade soup.
These little melt in the mouth beauties are just divine, from their light centre to the crunchy melted cheese on top - heaven in every little cheesy bite!
When made in a processor they take just 15 minutes to come together, whether made this way, or by hand - you wont regret it!
Recipe
Makes 10 - 12 scones - depending on the size of your cutter
Difficulty : Medium
Ingredients
450 g self-raising flour, plus a bit extra for dusting
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (use 1/2 if you don't like the heat)
150 g unsalted butter, cubed
100 g extra mature cheddar
75 g red Leicester
25 g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternatives)
250 ml whole milk
1 medium egg, beaten - for glazing
1 tsp English mustard powder (optional)
1 tbsp fine chopped chives (optional)
Oven to 200*c. Baking trays lined
1 - In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cayenne and black pepper, plus the mustard powder if using then add the butter and rub in by hand until it has a breadcrumb texture - this is easiest and quickest to do in a food processor if you have one.
2 - Mix all but one handful of the cheeses into the flour.
3 - Pour in most of the milk (hold back about 50 ml) and mix in the liquid until it’s just coming together as a fairly soft but firm dough. Do not pour in all the milk at once as you may not need it all to get the right consistency. if it needs more then add it.
4 - Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to about 3-4 cm thick.
Cut out the scones using a floured cutter, re using the cast off trimmings as you go.
5 - Place on your lined baking tray and . Brush with the beaten egg and scatter over the reserved cheese.
5 - Bake for 15-18 minutes until well-risen and crisp.
6 - Split them open and enjoy them with salted butter, chutney, or (my personal favourite) bacon.
Best eaten warm - slathered in salted butter, alongside a nice cup of tea
These will keep for about 2 days in an airtight container and can easily be softened in warming through - they're best eaten the day they're made though.
They also freeze well, cover them well with cling film and freeze and when you're ready to eat them just defrost and pop in the oven for a few minutes and you're good to go!
You can use any mix of cheese, i like to add the grated red Leicester as it gives lovely orange flecks through the scones, but if you wanted to use all mature cheddar, are another hard cheese such as Cheshire works well - as does adding a little smoked cheese such as apple-wood smoked.
Enjoy!