Roasted Pumpkin & Cheese Scones
Cheese scones are a real Kiwi cafe institution. In this recipe, I mix things up a bit (as I like to do) by adding mashed roasted pumpkin. The pumpkin essentially becomes part of the moisture content and adds a warming sweet flavour to the scone base. If you have ever added mashed pumpkin or potato to bread dough you will know what a difference it makes. The bonus is that the scones won’t dry out quite as fast so can be toasted and served the next day.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300g) plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne or chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 100 g cold butter
- 1 cup grated cheese - well-flavoured such as cheddar or tasty
- ⅔ cup (about 150g) mashed roasted pumpkin
- 1 small free-range egg
- ½ cup (120ml) natural yoghurt or buttermilk
- about ¼ cup (60ml) milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C). Lightly grease an oven tray.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- Grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients, followed by half of the grated cheese and toss to combine (don’t rub in the butter). Tip, chilling the grater first will stop the butter from sticking so much and following with grated cheese helps too.
- In a mixing jug combine the mashed pumpkin, egg, yoghurt and ¼ cup milk. Add to the dry ingredients and use a butter knife to mix until just combined (the dough will feel quite sticky). Add 1-2 tablespoons of extra milk if the dough feels dry, again this will be dictated by the amount of moisture in the pumpkin used.
- Tip the dough onto a well-floured bench, knead briefly to bring it together, then shape into a 4cm thick rectangle (about 18 x 22cm). Cut into 8 pieces. Carefully transfer the scones to the prepared tray allowing space between each as they will spread as they cook.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 15 minutes until the scones are puffy and golden.
- Cool on the tray for 10 minutes then serve warm with butter. Best eaten the day they are made, or they can be reheated in a 150C oven for 10 minutes the next day, or halved and lightly toasted.