Date & Wheaten Scones

Without mentioning any names, I was put under a lot of undue pressure by Julie Lordan to post this recipe.

Makes 6 scones

Ingredients

• 125g wholemeal flour
• 125g self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 50g butter, chilled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 75g finely chopped dates
• 100ml buttermilk
• 1 egg

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar together in a large bowl.
3. Add the butter and rub through with your hands to achieve a breadcrumb-like texture.
4. Add the dates and rube through, ensuring they are separated and evenly distributed through the mixture.
5. Break the egg into the buttermilk and whisk lightly. Add to the mixture, but leave about 50ml to glaze the scones.
6. Mix well and combine to form a sticky dough.
7. Knead briefly on a well-floured surface and flatten to about an inch thick (from the tip of your finger to the first crease!)
8. Cut with a 3″ cutter and place at least 2″ apart on a well-floured baking tray. (Dipping the cutter into flour between cuts will reduce sticking.)
9. Glaze the scones with the remaining buttermilk/egg mixture and bake in the centre of the oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown and risen.

I’m not a fan of fruit cakes in general, but if you finely chop the dates, you’d hardly know they were there – apart from the delicious flavour they provide. These scones freeze really well, too.