Spiced Fruit Scones

If you head down to Ayrshire, you’ll find the hospitals there don’t just boast about their excellent healthcare. If you’ve fallen and broken your ankle, they’re worth the trip simply for the quality of their scones. The selection and quality of this wee cake-like bread is unrivalled. You’ve got everything from plain to nibbed sugar to fruit to treacle to spiced and more. There truly is a scone for every palate, and the lovely ladies and gents of the WRVS will serve you with a smile. But for those of not fortunate enough to live nearby (or indeed be in need of medical assistance), I tried to emulate the features of the ‘Crosshouse Scone’ in this wee recipe. To many, this will be heresy. An egg? THAT high of an oven temperature? Oh yes. For it gives something of unmatched lightness. Fluffy as a cloud.

From this recipe, you can extrapolate every other variation. Want fruit scones? Leave the spice. Want plain? Leave the fruit as well. The only thing you might have to think about is treacle – just add a couple of tablespoons of treacle to your mix when you add the milk and egg.

Step 1

First, preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper (non-stick greaseproof paper).

 Step 2

Into a large bowl, weigh your flour, salt and baking powder. Add in your butter, and rub these all roughly together until everything is nice and combined – it doesn’t quite need to be breadcrumbs, but almost.

 Step 3

Add your sugar and mixed spice and stir these in. Then, add your egg, milk and raisins and bring the mixture together into a nice, wet dough. It will be wet – don’t worry.

 Step 4

Heavily flour a work surface and turn your wet dough out onto it. Flour your hands, then fold your dough in half (like closing a book) so there’s a floured side on both top and bottom. Move it around a bit, making sure the underside is not sticking.

Step 5

Press your dough down so that it is about an inch thick. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut scones of your desired size – I go for about 5cm diameter. Place these on your tray and leave them to rest for 10-15 minutes. This will give your baking powder a chance to do its magic.

 Step 6

Bake your scones for 20-25 minutes, or until a golden brown on top. Don’t go too far, or the crust will be unpleasant. Check them early to make sure they aren’t browning too fast. The sign of a good scone is a nice tear when they rise.

Top Tip:

I’m a fan of an unadorned scone, but if you want that extra flourish, you can top each with a brush of whisked-up-egg for a nice shine or you can sprinkle some nibbed sugar (Belgian waffle sugar) on top for that extra sweet crunch.