HONEY SCONES WITH RHUBARB COMPOTE

Honey Scones with Rhubarb Compote image

This is a simple scone with a bit of a makeover: glazed with sticky honey and generously smothered in clotted cream and tart rhubarb compote.

Provided by Martha Collison

Categories HarperCollins HarperCollins Bake Breakfast Bread Biscuit Honey Rhubarb Vegetarian

Yield Makes about 9 scones

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

Rhubarb compote:
200g (7 ounces) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small pieces
50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
100ml (1/3 cup plus 5 tsp.) orange juice
Honey scones:
300g (2 1/3 cups) self-rising flour, plus extra for dusting
75g (about 5 1/4 tbsp) cold butter, cubed
25g (2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
2 tbsp honey, plus extra for glazing
125ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
Clotted cream, to serve
Special Equipment
6cm (2 1/3-inch) round pastry cutter

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with the sugar and orange juice. Simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb pieces have completely broken down and the mixture is thick and sticky. Spoon into a small jar or ramekin and leave to cool.
To make the scones, place the flour in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter. Quickly rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.
Pour the honey into the centre of the well, then gradually add the milk, stirring it into the mixture using a round-ended knife. A soft, rough dough will form. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured worktop and knead very briefly to smooth out the dough. Over-handling the dough will make your scones tough and flat, so knead as little as possible.
Gently roll the dough out to a thickness of around 3cm (1 inch). Cut into rounds using a 6cm (2 1/3-inch) pastry cutter, cutting straight down and not twisting, as twisting prevents the scones from rising properly. Very gently re-roll the remaining dough, taking care not to handle it too much, and punch out more scones-you should get 9 in total. Arrange the scones on the lined baking tray and brush the tops with a little extra honey.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Serve warm from the oven, split in half, with big dollops of clotted cream and rhubarb compote.