BLUEBERRY & BUTTERMILK SCONES WITH HONEYCOMB BUTTER
Savour these warm from the oven with a dollop of the chocolate and honeycomb butter melting over the top – the perfect indulgence for a lazy weekend breakfast or leisurely afternoon tea.
350g flour, plus extra for rolling out
3 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter, chilled and diced
75g caster sugar
About 200ml buttermilk
150g (1¼ cups) blueberries (fresh or frozen unthawed)
About 2 tablespoons milk
About 2 tablespoons demerara sugar Honeycomb butter:
100g chocolate-coated honeycomb bars, eg Crunchies
175g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Heat oven to 200°C. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add butter and rub in until there are only very small pieces of butter remaining. Add sugar and mix to combine. (This can all be done in a food processor if preferred.)
Make a well in the middle of the mixture, add buttermilk (enough to make a soft dough) and blueberries and stir to combine. Once the dough starts to come together, use your hands to form it into a rough ball.
Tip dough out onto a lightly floured board and very lightly knead for about 30 seconds to bring the dough into an almost smooth ball (do not overwork).
Cut in half and flatten each half into a round disc each about 16cm in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut each disc into 8 triangular wedges. Arrange wedges on lined baking trays. Brush tops with a little milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake on the middle shelf until well-risen and golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve slightly warm with honeycomb butter if desired. Makes 16
Honeycomb butter: Place chocolate bar in a plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin. Cream butter and vanilla until very soft then mix in crushed honeycomb.