Poppy seed scones with lemon curd and clotted cream

35 MINUTES | MAKES 6 | EASY

whole milk 150ml, plus extra for brushing

lemon ½, juiced

self-raising flour 350g, plus extra for dusting

baking powder 1 tsp

butter 70g, cold and cubed

caster sugar 3 tbsp

poppy seeds 2 tbsp, plus extra for sprinkling

egg 1 large

lemon curd to serve

clotted cream to serve (optional)

1 Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Mix the milk with the lemon juice and set aside.

2 Put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and poppy seeds.

3 Crack the egg into the milk mixture and whisk together with a fork. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until the mixture comes together into a dough.

4 Dust a worksurface with flour and tip out the dough. Dust the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then lightly knead the dough and pat into a 3cm-deep circle. Stamp out six scones using a 6cm round cutter (you may need to pat the off-cuts into a circle again to stamp out six scones). Try to handle the dough as little as possible – this is the key to the light scones.

5 Put the scones on the tray and brush the tops with a little milk. Sprinkle over a few poppy seeds and bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and lightly golden. Serve warm or cold with lemon curd and clotted cream, if you like.

PER SERVING 377 kcals | fat 12.9G | saturates 7.3G | carbs 55.8G sugars 11.6G | fibre 2.3G | protein 8.2G | salt 1.2G