These are a scone version of Hot Cross Buns, very quick to make without needing to prove the dough, serve warm with butter
Ingredients: for 12 small scones
300g self raising flour plus extra for dusting
75g butter
pinch of salt
50g light muscovado sugar
75g mixed currants, sultanas and raisins
35g mixed peel
½ tsp ground mixed spice
2 large eggs
3 tbsp buttermilk plus a little milk for glazing
Ingredients: for the crosses:
50g plain flour
a little water
caster sugar for dusting
How to make Hot Cross Scones…WASH YOUR HANDS
- Preheat the oven to 220oC/gas 7/AGA roasting oven.
- Sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and salt and using your fingertips, break up the butter into small pieces then rub the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs
- Stir in the muscovado sugar, mixed fruit, peel and mixed spice. Crack the egg into a jug and add 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk, beat with a fork and add to the breadcrumb mix. Stir it into a soft dough with a table knife. Bring the dough together so it forms a ball adding the extra tablespoon of buttermilk if if’s too dry as the dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
- Sprinkle a little flour onto your hands and split the dough into 12 equal sized pieces. Gently roll each piece into a ball, flatten the top and bottom, making sure they are around 3cm thick and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- To make the crosses mix the flour with 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir until it becomes a thick paste, roll it out and cut into strips or make a it little thinner and pipe it onto the top of the scones in a ‘cross’ shape. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes. (AGA: roasting oven, shelf on middle set of runners and cook for 8-10 minutes). The scones should have risen and be a light golden colour. When they are cooked, remove the baking tray from the oven and using a palette knife transfer the scones onto a cooling rack.
- Serve warm with butter.