Pumpkin Scones

Is there anything nicer than pumkin scones at tea time.  The crunchy exterior greeted by the soft flavorful texture of the scone, topped with strawberry jam and a dollup of cream.

Ingredients

- 4 cups of all purpose flour
- 800g of pumpkin
- 2/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 250g of unsalted butter (chopped into small cubes and kept cold even in the freezer)
- 2/3 cup of golden raisins
- 1 cup of evaporated milk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 3 eggs

Directions



Gorgeous pureed pumpkin



Slice and peel the pumpkin, removing all the seeds and stringy bits.  Put into a pot and boil for about 20 minutes.  This will soften the pumpkin for puree-ing.  Drain the pumpkin and allow to cool and then blend until nicely pureed.  800g of pumpkin should give you about 1 cup of pureed pumkin.

Dry ingredients with butter cut in

Transfer the pumpkin to a mixing bowl and add 2 eggs, 2/3 cup of evaporated milk and the vanilla extract and whisk.

In a separate large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and then cut in the cold butter using 2 knives until it forms coarse grains.  The cold butter is the secret to the flakiness of the scones.  Work quickly so that the butter doesn't melt.

Add the raisins to the mixing bowl and combine well.  Gradully add the pumking mixture and stir paying attention as the wet and dry ingredients combine.  You want the mixture to be sticky but not too moist.  If you see that the flour can take no more pumpkin mixture than stop adding.  If you add all the mixture and when you knead the dough it is too moist, fol in more flour.     

 

 





Pat out to 8" circle



Pour the combined mixture onto a floured surface and knead severl times.  Cut the dough in half and pad out into 2 x 8" circles about 1.5 inches thick.  Carefully cut into evenly shaped wedges and separate out onto a lined baking tray.  With your remaining egg and milk beat with a fork to make an egg wash to brush the exterior of the scones.  If you want you can brush some icing sugar or ground cinnamon atop the egg wash or leave as is.

16 cruchy scones!!

To get a crunchy exterior the scones have to be baked at a high temperature 210C for a short amount of time, 20 minutes should be enough to give a golden brown exterior.

The baking powder and baking soda will enable the scones to expand as they cook giving them a sensational volume.  Check the doneness of the scones by inserting a toothpick into the centre.  If the toothpick comes out clean then the scones are ready.

 

My choice of strawberry jam and cream



Serve warm or allow to cool and freeze for another day.  Strawberry jam, a dollup of cream and watch the tennis on TV.

Enjoy!