Blackberry and almond buttermilk scones

A lovely sunny Sunday morning baking session today, listening to good music and making some simple free-form scones.  The buttermilk in these makes the batter quite moist (hence deciding to dollop the mixture onto the baking trays rather than roll out and cut with a pastry cutter) and the fresh blackberries give them a fantastic juicy sweetness that means you don’t need to serve them with jam (unless you’re a sugar fiend like me and just can’t resist) – just stick to lashings of clotted cream!  (The healthy eating is clearly going great guns…)

Ingredients

1 lb self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 oz butter, cubed

3 oz caster sugar

3 oz ground almonds

2 large eggs, beaten

1 × 284ml carton buttermilk

6 oz blackberries, halved

3 tbsp demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Measure the flour, baking powder and butter into a bowl and rub with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the sugar and ground almonds.
4. In a jug, lightly beat the eggs and buttermilk together with a fork.
5. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and gradually add the liquid, using a palette knife to cut the mixture together.
6. Lightly sprinkle the worktop with flour and gently knead the dough until smooth and soft.
7. Add the blackberries and knead until well combined.
8. Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheet, spaced well apart.
9. Brush the tops with the reserved egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes until risen and lightly golden.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.