Butternut Squash, Cheddar and Sage Scones
Cheese scones are a British tea room favourite, put an autumn spin on the classic with the addition of sweet butternut squash and sage.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 275 g butternut squash or pumpkin (peeled and deseeded)
- 225 g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 50 g butter (salted or unsalted) fridge cold and cut into small cubes
- 125 g mature Cheddar cheese coarsely grated
- 2-3 tablespoons milk plus extra for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C Fan / 425°F / Gas Mark 7. Chop the butternut squash/pumpkin into rough 2cm pieces and wrap the butternut squash/pumpkin pieces in tin foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender.
- Mash the pumpkin/squash until smooth and place in a sieve over a bowl to drain off any excess water and allow to cool slightly.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and dried sage into a mixing bowl and season. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in half of the cheese.
- Tip the butternut squash/pumpkin purée into the mixing bowl and use a table knife to start to blend it into the flour mixture. Add just enough milk to bring it together as a soft, but not sticky dough.
- Turn the scone dough out onto a floured surface and pat out until roughly 2.5cm in thickness. Use a 6cm cutter to stamp out scones and transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking paper. I got about 6 scones from this mixture, but you might make more depending on your cutter.Re-form the remaining dough to stamp out further rounds until all of it is used up. Top Tip: When cutting the scones from the dough, press down and, lift up, don't twist as this will cause an uneven rise.
- Brush each scone with a little milk and top with the remaining cheese. Bake the scones 12-15 minutes until risen and golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
- The scones will keep stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.