Date and Orange Buttermilk Scones
Warning — these are going to blow your scone-crazy little mind. With a sweet sugar-crunch topping and soft crumb scone loaded with tender orange-kissed dates, how could they not?
Dates and buttermilk keep these scones moist and light. They just may be the best date scones you have ever had. They’re mine!
Ingredients
- 1 large orange
- 225g (about 12) pitted dates
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- Large pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 30g (2 Tbsp) butter
- 1 cup buttermilk, beaten with a fork until smooth
- Raw or demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Finely grate zest from orange and set aside. Squeeze the juice. Put dates and orange juice (should be about ¼ cup of juice) in a dish and microwave for about 2 minutes (check after 1½ minutes) until dates are soft. Cool.
- 2.
Sift flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar together into a large bowl. Rub in butter with two knives or a pastry cutter. Add orange zest. Mix in buttermilk with a large fork. Add dates and all the juices and fork through, keeping dates in large pieces.
- 3.
Tip dough onto a floured surface, gently pat into a round cake – it will be very soft and sticky so add a little more flour where necessary – and cut into 12 triangles with a floured knife.
- 4.
Transfer scones to a cold baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with raw or demerara sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a cake rack to cool. Serve warmish with butter.
