Cheese and Marmite scones

When it comes to Marmite, Im a rather late comer to the party, I only dared try it a couple of months ago for brekfast on my toast and I was instantly converted, and left wondering what took me so long to actually try the stuff.


This now meant that I began wondering instantly what else I could use it for, I began trawling through pinterest for ideas. The first thing that caught my eye was a recipe for cheese scones with marmite added into the dough along with a drizzle on top once baked, so cheese and marmite scones it was.

I didn't even need to go out and buy any of the ingredients, luckily i had just about enough to make one batch and so I did and they did not disappoint


To make 12-14 scones you will need

250g plain flour
250g strong bread flour
5 tsp baking powder
100g grated cheese
2 tsp marmite
1 medium egg whisked
80g butter
250ml milk
3tsp marmite to drizzle (optional)

• Preheat your oven to 180c (fan) Place both flours and the baking powder into a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour to make a breadcrumb like consistency.
• Add in the cheese, stir through. Then add in the marmite to the whisked egg and add this to the bow, of flour, along with the milk, a little at a time, mix together to form a soft , slightly sticky dough. You may not need all the milk 
• Flour your work surface and turn out the dough onto your work surface. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes till soft. Flatten the dough out using your hands to 1 - 1 1/2 inch thick.
• Use the fluted edge of a round cookie cutter to cut out the scones, place the cut out rounds onto a baking tray and brush the tops with beaten egg. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until double in size and golden on top
• Melt the 3 tsp of marmite for a few seconds in your microwave then liberally drizzle all over the tops of the still hot scones and tuck in. You can also eat them the next day toasted, with butter for brakfast

Well it is national cream tea day

I never knew that national cream tea day was such a thing, (please tell me I am not the only one) until I saw a Facebook post just a couple of days before the said day.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect as I was just sat pondering what to bake for my weekly treat for the troops at work - I try and take something in on a Friday for work colleagues at the end of the week- and it just so happened that last Friday fell on national cream tea day so I knew straight away it would have to be some lemon and blueberry scones.

I have been wanting to make them for a while but never got round to them, so this really was the perfect chance.

I made mine with a slight twist. These scones are made with buttermilk, rather than just regular milk and they are filled with a mix of light mascarpone cream & low fat Greek yogurt and then finished with  drizzle of lemon curd. 

You can of course stick with the traditional clotted cream, but do give the mascarpone filling a go - it works a treat with the sharp lemon curd. I promise you won't be dissapointed. 

To make 12-15 scones you will need

250g bread flour

250g plain flour

Zest of a whole lemon

5 tsp baking powder

80g caster sugar

80g soft butter 

2 medium eggs

100g blueberries

240- 250 ml buttermilk*

150g low fat marscapone

4 tbsp low fat Greek yogurt

1 tbsp icing sugar

12-15 tsp lemon curd

• Preheat your oven to 200c, ( fan ) line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and set aside

• Place both flours in a bowl, along with the sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and stir together. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the bluberries

• Whisk the eggs, add them to the flour, slowly incorporate the buttermilk and mix together carefully until you get a soft dough.

• Lighty dust your work surface with a little flour and use your hands to flatter out the dough to about 1-2 cm thick. Cut out your scones with a 5cm cutter.

• Transfer the cut out scones to the tray and brush with beaten egg over the tops. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to completely cool.

• Whilst the scones are cooling, make the filing by mixing together the marscapone, yogurt and icing sugar. Split the scones and fill with this mixture, top eachwith a teaspoon  of lemon  curd, dust the scones  with icing sugar on top just before serving

* buttermilk is readily available from most of the branded supermarkets. You can easily make your own by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to every 100ml of milk and leave it to sit for about 20 mins - then just use as above.

fruit scones

Scones are probably one of the first things I ever learned to bake and even now i love the simplicity of them and how they still taste delicious everytime.

The recipe i use now has slightly changed from what i used growing up, but definitely this recipe gives me the best tasting and textured scones to date.

These are the classic sultana scones, but you can swap them for glace cherries, rasins or chocolate chips or even leave them plain if you prefer

To make 12-15 scones you will need 

250g strong bread flour
250g plain flour
5 level tsp baking powder
80g unsalted butter
80g caster sugar
250ml milk
2 medium eggs
100g sultanas/choc chips/glace cherries 

• Preheat your oven to 200c (fan) and line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper
• Place your flour, butter, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and rub the mixture together with your fingers till you get a breadcrumb like consistency. Add in your chosen fillings at this point, mix them through
• Add in eggs and half the milk and mix together to combine everything. Add the rest of the milk a little at a time combining the mixture until you get a soft (but not wet) dough. You may not need all the milk
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes till you have a smooth dough.
• Roll out your dough to about 2 and a half cm thick and use a 5and a half cm cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Re roll any remaining dough and cut out more rounds.
• Brush the tops with beaten egg and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.
• Bake in the  oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and they have risen. 
• Serve toasted with butter or with jam and cream