Sweet potato, cheddar and spring onion scones

It’s been a busy old few weeks round here, especially the weekends which have been full of sanding and varnishing floorboards and a day-long haul to Ikea where we finally ordered a shiny new kitchen! We’ve been working like the clappers to get everything ready before the cabinets arrive on Friday (Ikea’s lead time is ridiculously quick). Doors have been hung, skirting board painted and worktop samples ordered; my kitchen is finally starting to come together but rather than feeling excited I’ve been immersed in a sense of blind panic. Foreboding questions are doing laps round my mind. What if it turns out I’ve chosen the wrong combination of cabinets? Is the worktop really going to be too low? Where is all the food going to live? How will I ever find a sink I actually like and can afford? Or a tap? When I find it’s all getting a bit too much I head into my temporary kitchen 1) to remind myself that even if the final product’s not perfect, it’s better than what I’ve got at the moment and 2) to get stuck into some baking which, in the most part, is my favourite way to relax.

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Cranberry and orange scones with cinnamon buter

Have you decided what to have for breakfast on Christmas morning? (Or am I weird for planning this sort of thing in advance?) Let me make a suggestion; something special but not too heavy, freshly baked but easy and quick to make leaving you free to sip on Buck’s Fizz and open presents. This year we’ll be tucking into warm spiced scones, studded with juicy cranberries and orange zest spread with sweet cinnamon butter. Sounds like a lot of work? Not at all! Just sneak them out of the freezer into the oven and let them bake while you make coffee.

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Chocolate scones and a warm welcome

Welcome to T and Cake!

Having been a long-time reader of lots of lovely food blogs I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and create my own. This being my welcome post it only seems right to offer you a little cake to go with a nice cup of tea.

Living in Devon I’ve had my fair share of cream teas. I’m pretty sure that every town and every village boasts its own tea shop serving up warm scones crowned with a slick of thick clotted cream and fruity jam. Heaven! Admittedly lashings of cream are not going to do my thighs any favours but after a long walk across the wilds of Dartmoor a little indulgence is just what I need. And, while the traditional cream tea is a thing of beauty, I can’t think of many things that wouldn’t benefit from the addition of chocolate.

I’m a big fan of the chocolate/orange combination and thoroughly recommend serving these with a zesty marmalade. If you can’t find clotted cream try them with extra thick Jersey cream, whipped cream or even a scraping of butter. They are best eaten fresh, warm from the oven but they freeze well too.

Chocolate Scones

Makes 8 scones

• 225g  self-raising flour*
• 25g cocoa
• 40g butter, at room temperature
• 25g sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 50g dark chocolate, chopped**/chocolate chips
• 125ml milk, plus a little extra if needed

Heat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl then rub in the butter with your fingertips. Stir in the sugar, salt and chopped chocolate.

Stir in the milk and bring the mix together into a soft dough. Add a splash more milk if it seems a bit dry.

Roll out the dough to about 2.5 cm (1″) thick and with a 4-5cm (2″) round cutter cut out as many circles as fit. Try to press the cutter straight down without twisting it as this will help the scones rise. Knead the remaining dough back into a ball, roll out and repeat until all the dough is used up.

Place the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone or just oiled. Try to dust off any loose flour.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 12-15 minutes.

*If you only have plain flour (all-purpose)  add 3 tsp of baking powder when you sift the flour and cocoa.

**I find the easiest way to chop chocolate is to cut diagonally from the corner.

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