Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well, as I am writing this the UK along with most of the world is still in lock down due to a pandemic, my boyfriend and I have been isolating together for around two months now and we are quickly running out of fun things to do to pass the time. I have had to slow down on the baking as we were ending up eating way too many baked goods for two people spending most of the day sat on the sofa, however this week I decided It was time to get out the mixer and get developing a new recipe to share with you all. Hopefully this might inspire you to develop some of your own favourite recipes and share with your loved ones. I am a strong believer in bringing people together through food, so I really hope my blog can bring some joy to your day during these uncertain times.

So this week I got to making some scones. These however are not your ordinary scones, these are yoghurt scones. I have had a long journey with baking these classic pastry products, from a few for family and friends to mass producing hundreds for afternoon-tea in hotels and restaurants, I have seen them all. I am sick of the sight of them. But my boyfriend Billy is still a huge fan so that’s how we got to this recipe. I wanted to develop the scone to make it something I would enjoy, and would excite me to bake. I often find them far too dry and crumbly with a very short shelf life, the baking powder leaving a bad taste and a bit too sweet (I am aware I am incredibly fussy) I noted down what I was looking for from a scone; Moist, depth of flavour, longer shelf life, and tender.

I settled on the addition of yoghurt to give me everything I was looking for, less baking powder and a few more adjustments throughout. This landed me with something I am very happy with, just bare in mind these are different to your classic afternoon tea scone. They are notably less risen than the classic but I don’t really see this as an issue as the flavour and texture make up for it, but I though I would mention if you were looking for a tall puffy scone, maybe look elsewhere. That’s enough of me waffling on, lets get to the recipe…

Freshly baked scones

Ingredients (makes 12-14)

  • 500g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1tsp salt
  • 180g cold butter
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 200g natural plain yoghurt
  • 1tsp vanilla
  • 100g of your choice (chocolate chunks, dried fruit, nuts) or omit for citrus zest of flavourings.
  • 1 egg + 50ml milk for egg wash

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

  • Sift into a large bowl of a stand mixer the flour, baking powder and salt. whisk to disperse evenly.

  • Add the cold butter in small cubes and using a paddle attachment (or your finger tips) mix or rub together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

  • Add the sugar and mix to combine.

  • In a separate jug mix together the eggs, yoghurt and vanilla.

  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry and pulse slowly until mostly combined.

  • At this point add your flavourings, I went with dark chocolate chunks, and mix for a few more seconds until evenly dispersed.

  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured worktop and kneed gently for a few seconds until a smooth dough is formed and no dry areas are left. Pat into a disk gently and leave to rest, making sure the counter is still floured, for around 5 minutes.

  • Return to the dough and roll out to around 1 inch thickness all over.

  • Using a cookie cutter of your desired size (note that larger scones may take a few more minutes to bake) cut out into rounds and lay onto your prepared baking trays. Form the left over dough into a ball, making sure not to work in too much added flour, and roll and cut until you have used up the majority of your dough.

  • In a small container whisk together the egg and milk, using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

  • Place the trays into the center of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes.

  • Remove from the oven, they should look golden brown and have risen and spread out slightly.

  • I enjoy to eat them fresh from the oven spread with a little butter, but you can leave them to cool and store them in a tightly sealed container where they will stay fresh for 3⁄4 , or freeze and defrost to enjoy whenever you like. Just pop them in a warm over for a minute or two and they will taste fresh again.

Enjoy!