Cherry and vanilla scones

Chef: Niall Murphy

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 15 mins

A tea time essential!

450g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

100g butter (cut into cubes)

50g caster sugar

100ml yoghurt

120g cherries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Egg (for glaze)

Preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan/Gas 8.

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until you have a fine breadcrumb texture. Add the cherries whole.

Make a well in the centre. Stirring gently with a fork, add enough of the yogurt into the dry ingredients to create a soft dough, adding more yogurt if necessary. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently shape into a rectangle that’s 4–5cm thick. Cut the dough into eight even rectangles and place on a baking tray. Brush the top of the scones with the beaten egg.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 10–15 minutes, until golden-brown on top. Cool on a wire rack. Serve split in half and spread with butter.

Serves
8

Preparation Time
20 minutes

Cooking Time
15 minutes

Main ingredients
Dairy, Flour, Fruit

Recipe Type
Bread, Cakes & Baking, Easy Recipes, Side Dish, Snacks, Cookies & Biscuits, Classics

Cuisine
Irish

Special Info
Vegetarian

Level of Difficulty
Easy

I use yogurt for this recipe instead of the traditional buttermilk. This gives a much softer texture to the scone. To create a savoury scone, replace the vanilla yogurt with plain yogurt and the cherries with coarsely grated Cheddar and some chopped fresh chives.