Cheese, Chive and Mustard Scones
The weather in London is bloody awful at the moment. Barely a day goes by when I don’t get caught in a rainstorm and, as a result, my motivation to go out in the evening has somewhat diminished. After being caught in a torrential downpour on Saturday I managed to drag myself out for a few drinks in Peckham. After a couple of delicious Kir Royales at the Peckham Refreshment Rooms and some late-night cocktails and hilarious people-watching at Peckham Springs, I was very glad I did. Since then, however, I have been coming straight home from work, changing into my pyjamas and hibernating. Today is the most dismal day of all – the rain has not stopped all day and a slightly regrettable trip out on to the soggy streets of Fitzrovia has left me with damp jeans. A most unpleasant feeling.
Tonight is the first Band of Bakers event of 2013, which means leaving the warm bosom of my couch yet again. I am lucky to live so close to the venue and am looking forward to seeing everybody as it has been a while since our last event, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to force myself out. The theme for this evening’s event is ‘Inherited Bakes’, meaning a recipe that has either been passed down through the family, or given to you by somebody else. I was fortunate enough to have a grandmother who taught me to bake, so I have many items in my repertoire that were handed down to me. Her tea loaf, for example, is something I truly treasure. I toyed with the idea of making the bread pudding that was handed down from her own mother, but as the recipe was never written down, it will take me a while to figure it out completely. Instead, I decided to make scones, which we would often bake together when I visited her house. My job was always to rub the butter into the flour, never to add the liquid as I always seemed to add too much and ruin the batch. Most often she would make savoury scones with cheese and sweet scones with currants which would always be spread with some amazing salted butter bought from the farm shop down the road that, sadly, no longer exists. For my ‘Inherited Bake’, I have updated these two recipes and have created a savoury cheese, chive and mustard scone and a sweet currant and fennel seed scone. The recipe for the former is below.
Cheese, Chive and Mustard Scones
- 250g low-fat plain yoghurt
- 25ml whole milk
- 15g caster sugar
- 400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1½ tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 50g salted butter
- 300g strong cheddar, grated
- 3 tbsp snipped chives
- 1 egg, beaten
- Twist of black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220ºc / 425ºf / gas 7. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the yoghurt, milk and sugar and set aside.
Sift the flour, salt, mustard powder, cream of tartare and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese and chives.
Using a palette knife, stir in the yoghurt mixture until a sticky dough is formed. Use the moisture in the dough to pick up any loose bits of flour from the bottom of the bowl. Turn out on to a floured work surface and pat into a round approximately 4cm thick – try not to knead the mixture as this will create a tough texture. Cut the scones out using a metal cutter and place them on the baking tray. This mixture should yield about nine scones, but it will depend on the size of the cutter you use. Brush with the beaten egg and grind a little black pepper on the top and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and risen.
The Boozy Rouge 