Easy Scones in Just 5 Minutes

One bowl.

Five minutes.

And you’ll have superb, soft, crumbly and flavoursome scones that melt in your mouth. Awesome, yes?

These scones have a slight zing with the addition of lemon zest, which is balanced beautifully with sweet dried dates. Serve these babies hot, slathered with spoonfuls of rich cream and dollops of strawberry jam. Pure heaven and perfect for an afternoon tea with your favourite ladies.

You can easily bake scones a thousand times better than the Masterchef contestants. Seriously, did you see last night’s CWA afternoon tea challenge? In sum: trainwreck! There were some undercooked cakes, misshapen lamingtons and rock hard scones. Scones! Mon dieu, they’re so easy!

Especially when chef Gary Mehigan did a Masterclass on the world’s easiest scones with the 2009 Masterchef contestants. Lucky for us, the episode is still up on the Masterchef website. You can watch it here, just scroll to Part 6 in the video menu.

It really is easy to bake scones. The tip is to barely work the dough. Just mix all ingredients until combined. They should rise beautifully in the oven, and are ready when the bottom of the scone makes a hollow noise when tapped. That’s it!

This scone recipe is going into my “One-bowl Wonder” hall of fame. Enjoy!

YOU WILL NEED

150ml Full Cream Milk

150ml Pure Cream (45% Fat)

1 Egg

3 cups Self Raising Flour

2 tablespoons Caster Sugar

1 cup Dried Dates, chopped (or you can use any dried fruit)

Zest of one Lemon, finely grated

Cream and Jam to serve

Makes 12

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, hand whisk the milk, cream and egg until well combined. Add the flour, sugar, dates and lemon zest and gently stir together with a spoon until mixed. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until a soft dough forms.

Press the dough flat until 2cm thick. Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut round scones from the dough and place onto the baking tray. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with a littel extra caster sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and risen.

Serve warm with your favourite jam and cream.