Baking Brunch

Blueberry and Buttermilk Scones with Honeycomb Butter

"Serve these scones warm from the oven with a dollop of honeycomb butter melting over the top – the perfect treat for a lazy weekend morning or leisurely tea" - Will Torrent

15 minutes prep, 12-14 minutes cook

Serves 16

Ingredients

350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

3 tsps baking powder

A pinch of salt

125g butter, chilled and diced

75g caster sugar

175–200 ml buttermilk

150g fresh or frozen blueberries

2 tbsp whole milk

2 tbsp demerara sugar

For the honeycomb butter

100g honeycomb or 2 chocolate-covered honeycomb bars

175g butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

A pinch of salt

Method

Start by making the honeycomb butter. Tip the honeycomb into a freezer bag, twist the end to prevent any escaping and crush the honeycomb using a rolling pin. Cream the butter and vanilla bean paste in a stand mixer until really soft.

Add the crushed honeycomb and mix again until combined.

Lay a piece of cling film or baking parchment on the work surface and spoon the butter down the middle to form a rough sausage shape. Wrap up the butter tightly to make a smooth log, twist the ends to seal and put in the fridge to harden until needed.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Fan 180°C/ Gas 6. Sift the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chilled, diced butter and rub into the dry ingredients using your hands.

When the mixture resembles sand and there are only very small pieces of butter remaining, add the caster sugar and mix to combine.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture, add the buttermilk and blueberries and stir to combine using a rubber spatula. Once the dough starts to come together, use your hands to form a rough ball.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Very lightly knead for about 30 seconds to bring the dough into an almost smooth ball but do not overwork the dough.

Cut in half and flatten each half into a round disc each about 16 cm in diameter. Using a long, sharp knife cut each disc into 8 triangular wedge shapes.

Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheets and brush the tops with a little milk, scatter with demerara sugar and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until well-risen and golden.

Cool on a wire rack and serve slightly warm with slices of the honeycomb butter ready to spread on top.