Is there a better way to start the day than the aroma of freshly baked scones wafting though out your home?

Scones

By Amara Yamamoto

Makes 6 large scones

Ingredients

2.5 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2.5 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

⅔ cup cold butter, chopped into small cubes

¾ cup buttermilk

1 egg

Optional topping

Heavy cream to brush on top

Demerara sugar

Instructions

Place the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix together well.

Add in the butter and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in until it becomes the texture of a crumble topping. There should still be some pieces of butter. Alternatively this can be done in a mixer or by hand using a pinching like motion.

Place the buttermilk and the egg in a bowl and mix together well.

If you are wanting to make a flavoured scone, such as a cheese and herb scone or a fruit flavoured scone with frozen fruit, add in the flavours into the dry ingredients. Toss well until everything is coated.

Once the butter has been incorporated, add in the wet ingredients and mix by hand until just combined. You do not want to over mix the dough as it will become a dense scone instead of something light in texture.

Shape the dough into a disc that is about two inches thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight.

This will allow for the butter to be able to cool and the gluten in the flour to relax. This also allows any potential dry flour time to absorb some of the liquid. If you want to speed it up a bit, you can let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes and then place in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

Preheat your oven to 400ºf and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper

Cut the disc into 6 equal wedges. Place them onto the prepared baking sheet. To ensure a nice shiny top, you can brush on heavy cream onto the scones. If you have a fruit filling, you can also top the cream with some demerara sugar to add an extra crunch.

Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom.

Let cool slightly and then enjoy!