Date and Orange Scones

Having grown up in the Middle East, dates are a staple in my pantry but I must admit I’m not a fan of eating them on their own.. but chopped up and paired with the zesty freshness of orange peel and baked into butter flakey scones? Yes please!! If you like scones, you’ll love these, they are easy to make ahead and perfect for high-tea at home or a picnic in the park. Enjoy with cream & berry preserve for the traditional version or spread some warm marmalade on for a more exotic indulgence!!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for work surface)

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 and a 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 115 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream 

  • 1 and a 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

  • 3/4 cup chopped dates (soak in 2 tablespoons of orange juice to rehydrate)

  • Zest of one orange 

DIRECTION

  1. Set Oven at 180℃ and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

  2. Blitz flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, this usually only takes a couple of quick rounds.

  3. Add butter and pulse until fully incorporated and mixture looks like very fine crumbs with no visible butter. 

  4. Whisk cream and egg with vanilla together in second bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons cream mixture.

  5. Slowly add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and the dates using rubber spatula, fold together until almost no dry bits of flour remain. It should be a sticky, wet dough. 

  6. Transfer dough to well-floured counter and gather into ball. With floured hands, knead gently until surface is smooth and free of cracks, 20-25 times. Press gently to form disk, wrap and refrigerate overnight. This will enable dough to rise nicely when you bake it.

  7. Using a floured rolling pin, roll disk into 9-inch round that is about 1 inch thick. Using floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds, re coating cutter with flour if it begins to stick.

  8. Arrange scones on prepared sheet. Gather dough scraps, form into ball, and briefly knead gently until surface is smooth. Roll dough to 1-inch thickness and repeat steps.

  9. Brush TOPS of scones with reserved milk mixture (getting sides wet will stop scones from rising). Sprinkle granulated sugar on top, if desired.

  10. Bake scones until risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

  11. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar if you did not add sugar on top before baking. Serve scones warm or at room temperature with clotted cream and berry preserve.

Recipe by Renuka George

Renuka is married to Sparkie and they have two beautiful children, Tobias and Selah. She is on team at Kingdomcity.

Kingdomcity Team