You may remember the controversial 3-ingredient scones that have been a huge success here on Foodiful. They have also passed the test at our small country village morning tea (but not yet at the our local annual country show where I suspect they will never be accepted). The success of this recipe is due to its simplicity and versatility and, for me, the time factor. I can have a hankering for them and be pulling them out of a hot oven less than 30 minutes later. This makes me AND the kids happy.
Recently, I was told of a variation on these: add in some dates and replace the lemonade with ginger beer – they are an absolute must-try. Any kind of recipe where you can adapt and change to suit whether you want sweet or savoury, and add in some fruit depending on the season (or your mood) is okay by me.
These scones are still as simple as ever: just 4 ingredients and they take about 25 mins from start to finish. The dates and ginger beer add an extra twist that scone lovers will adore. Just add lashings of butter or jam and cream and you will have people coming back for more. Trust me!
4-ingredient date scones
Makes 12
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Total time 25 minutes
Ingredients
• 4 cups self-raising flour
• 300ml thickened cream
• 250g pitted dates, finely chopped (see tip)
• 300ml ginger beer
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Place the self raising flour, the cream, the dates and the ginger beer into a large mixing bowl.
- Mix roughly by hand before tipping out onto a well-floured bench (it will be quite sticky, so I added another handful of flour to dry out the mixture a little if needed).
- Flatten down until the dough is about an inch thick. Use a scone cutter to cut out until you have used up all your dough (I don't always have a scone cutter but most definitely always have a champagne glass on hand, I dipped a champers flute in the flour and made that the cutter), then roll back together and flatten out until all the dough has been used.
- Place onto a baking tray or sheet close together so when they bake they all stick together on the sides and bake upwards, supporting each other.
- Bake for 12-15 mins or until golden brown.
Tip:
To chop dates, I throw them in the food processor (because I am lazy and always looking for a shortcut) but you can chop by hand if you like.
Beth of Baby Mac has been blogging since 2006 and made the move from the city to the country in 2010. On Baby Mac she writes about her family, life in the country, entertaining and recipes, interiors – with a good dose of humour on the side.Instagram: @babymacbeth
Visit: www.baby-mac.com
