SCONE MARATHON

I've had a bit of a scone making marathon recently - don't really know why, but once I started, I kept thinking of other recipes I wanted to try!!

If I'm apportioning blame (it's always good to blame someone else!!) ... I think we'll have to take a look at this post over at Tea and Wheatenbread, scones have been to the forefront of my mind since I read that  (can you blame me?).  As always RhyleysGranny was on the money - really easy and incredible taste, with that perfect ever so slightly crumbly texture.

When I had the processor out, I thought I'd continue with the theme - as had become my habit recently, I turned to "Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache" as I had spotted a recipe for Honey and Sunflower Ginger Scones.  Ms Eastwood has stipulated that the veggies should be hand grated for her recipes, but I thought I would test that (bit of a rebel here!!) - and I have to say that for this recipe, processor grated carrot was just fine. (That said I imagine that softer vegetables would need the gentler handling of a hand grater).

These scones are simply wonderful, I will have to admit that I am a bit of a ginger fiend - love the stuff, but the ginger here is a gentle back note to the more savoury than sweet scone.  I ate my scone with some Dubliner cheese (sharpish Cheddar type cheese) and it was a marriage made in heaven.  I have hidden some of the scones in the freezer to have later in the week with soup - I'm thinking carrot and ginger, or would that be too much?

Honey and Sunflower Ginger Scones

220g           white spelt flour
1 tsp            ground ginger (heaped)

2 tsp            baking powder

1/2 tsp         salt
1/2 tsp         bread (bicarbonate of) soda

200g            peeled carrot - very finely grated

30g              butter, cold and cut into cubes

25g              raw ginger, finely grated

2 tbsp          honey

3 tbsp          sunflower seeds (I'll use more next time)

flour to dust the work surface.

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Grate the carrots in the food processor.

Add the flour, ginger, baking powder, salt, bread soda, and pulse.

Add the butter, raw ginger and honey and pulse until the mixture starts coming together.

Add the sunflower seeds and pulse a couple more times.

Remove this mixture to a floured surface, and pat out to about 4cm thickness.

Treat the dough very gently - it's the difference between light and tough scones.

Using a pastry cutter (6cm) and a single pressing down action (don't twist) cut out your scones. I got 9.

Place on the baking sheet and brush with a little milk, and sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over them.

Bake for 17 - 19 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

I am nominating these scones for the July edition of  No Croutons Required to be served with this salad.

At a coffee morning recently, I asked a neighbour for her scone recipe - her scones are always incredibly light, they could nearly fly off the plate they are so light.  I felt more than a little shamefaced to realise that she uses the same recipe as me, hers are so much nicer than mine!!!  I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this.  I know she uses unsalted butter - but that couldn't make them lighter.  Anyway, as a first step in my "improve my scones" project, I thought I'd try making them in the food processor (it worked with the wholemeal ones above, so why not my usual ones).  I was wrong, these came out flatter than normal, they tasted fine but not quite as light as I want them to be.

I'm going to carry on with this project and report back with the recipe and method when I get them just right!!