My great aunt Ruby was a terrific cook, and she always had yummy homemade goodies on the table when visitors arrived. She lived into her nineties and was still baking in her tiny kitchen, producing the best pumpkin scones and cream horns in town. I was lucky enough to be given her recipe for the scones, so here is my thermie adaption of her recipe.
Preheat oven to 220-250C
Ingredients:
60g butter
60g caster sugar
1/2 tspn lemon zest
1 egg
275g (1cup) cold, cooked pumpkin chopped roughly or mashed
125ml milk
1/4 tspn nutmeg
1/4 tspn allspice
Pinch salt
400g Self Raising Flour, plus extra for kneading
Method:
1. Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest on speed 3 for 3 minutes, scraping down halfway through.
2. Add pumpkin, egg and milk and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds.
3. Add spices and flour and knead for 30 seconds.
4. Turn out onto a floured mat and knead lightly until it comes together. It is a soft dough, so pat out until it is 4-5 cm high and stamp out scones with a cutter and place on a floured or lined tray
5. Place in oven and cook for 12-15 minutes
Notes:
This recipe makes about 1 1/2 dozen scones, depending on the size of your cutter.
I baked my pumpkin in the oven as I was doing a roast and popped the leftover pumpkin into the freezer, but the pumpkin can be steamed in the varoma, cooked on the stovetop or in the microwave. I tend to use butternut pumpkin, but any variety will do.
The scones freeze well, and I usually keep a batch in the freezer for school lunchboxes or visitors.
They're delicious with jam and cream, or simply buttered and eaten warm.
