If you’ve been here a while then you’ll know that October time is when I like to get creative in the kitchen with all thing’s pumpkin! If you’re new here… well, I hope you like pumpkin (& cake).
Fruit & vegetables are both fair game when it comes to baking in my kitchen & gourds are no exception! Over the years I’ve brought you everything from muffins, pie & spice cake to my infamous pumpkin guts cake (or leftover pumpkin cake to be proper).
In fact, not an October goes by without me creating a new pumpkin recipe to mark the season (there may be a few from me this year too!). My first offering of the season, are these sweet, lightly spiced, colourful scones!
Crisp on the outside with an added sugary demerara, crunchy top, these are light & gloriously orange on the inside. These are the perfect autumnal snack or even Halloween treat. They’re everything a good scone should be but a little bit extra (a bit of a boujee seasonal scone). Buttery, satisfying & not overly sweet these are quick & simple to make, meaning you’re only ever 20-25 minutes away from a fresh batch of perfectly pumpkin-spiced scones.
I’ve married these autumnal treats with a lightly sweetened maple cream, adding caramel & toffee notes which pair just perfectly together with the pumpkin & spice. What better way to spend a chilly autumn afternoon than with a fresh out of the oven treat to accompany a steaming cup of tea? (obviously rhetorical, there’s not much). . Plus, you can pop these in the feezer, unfilled, for a rainy day, because a life without scones doesn’t bare thinking about right now.
SPICED PUMPKIN SCONES (WITH MAPLE CREAM)
(makes 8-10)
Ingredients:
For the scones:
- 450g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves (ground)
- 115g butter, cubed
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 180g pumpkin puree
- 175ml milk (plus a little extra for brushing)
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
For the maple cream:
- 284ml double cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
Method:
- Sift together the flour, spices & baking powder into a large bowl
- Cube the butter & add this to the flour
- Using your fingertips, gently rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Add the caster sugar & salt to the bowl & stir through the breadcrumb mixture
- In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the milk & pumpkin puree until smooth
- Make a well in the centre of the bowl, pour in the wet ingredients & stir though to form a sticky dough (I always use a table knife as opposed to a spoon to do this, just to reduce handling)
- Gently bring the mixture together with your hands & empty onto a lightly floured surface
- Use your hands to flatten the dough to an approximately 3cm thick round
- Using a 7cm fluted pastry cutter cut out the scones & place on a parchment lined baking sheet, carefully bring together the remaining dough to flatten & cut out more scones until all of the mix has been used
- Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk before sprinkling over the demerara sugar
- Bake in the oven at 200°C for 12 – 15 minutes, until well risen & golden
- Remove from the scones from the baking sheet & place on a cooling rack to cool a little
- Whilst they cool, make the cream
- Place all of the double cream in a roomy bowl & use a whisk or a hand mixer to whip up the double cream until light & holding it’s shape (around 5 minutes)
- Add the maple syrup to the bowl & whisk until well incorporated
- Once the scones have cooled slightly, slice in half, dollop on a good spoonful of cream & drizzle over a little extra maple syrup before serving
