Saturday afternoon after we returned from a morning of wondering around charity shops I was feeling a little bored and when there's nothing to do. I bake. I had some left over Parmesan in the fridge and after coming third in the Maille cullinary challenge I had a lovely range of goodies to use. I decided that it would be cheese scones. My mum makes the best ones (of course, she's good that mum of mine!) and we both agree that the addition on mustard or mustard seeds makes all the difference.
I used a fig and coriander mustard and it worked so nicely with the two cheeses in the scone. However you could use any mustard you like. When I got the scones out of the oven I decided that I would leave the crispy melted cheese bits around the scone. Although it doesn't look that pretty it was too yummy to leave off!
Fig and coriander mustard scones.
You will need:
250g plain flour, plus extra for flouring
generous pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp of mustard
35g unsalted butter, plus extra for serving
200g strong cheddar
2 tbsp fresh snipped chives
150ml milk
Parmesan for sprinkling
a little milk for glazing
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly flour a baking tray.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Grate half of the cheese very finely, and roughly chop the other half. Stir into the flour mixture with the chopped chives.
Gradually add milk to make a soft but not sticky dough (you may not need all the milk).
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly, then roll the dough out into a thickness of just less than 2.5cm/1in. Use a 6cm/2½in cutter to cut the scones, re-rolling the off-cuts as necessary. Handle the dough as little as possible to keep it light.
Put the scones onto the floured baking tray, allowing at least 2.5cm/1in between them and glaze with the milk mixture and sprinkle over a good handful of parmesan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until risen and golden brown.
Serve with butter. Best eaten warm.
