Date & Orange Buttermilk Scones

Makes 12

Warning — these are going to blow your scone-crazy little mind. How could they not? A sweet sugar-crunch topping and soft crumb scone loaded with tender orange-kissed dates. 

Photo: Supplied

Ingredients

• 1 large orange
• 225g (about 12) pitted dates
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• Large pinch of salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 30g (2 Tbsp) butter
• 1 cup buttermilk, beaten with a fork until smooth
• Raw or demerara sugar for sprinkling

Method

1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Finely grate zest from orange and set aside. Squeeze the juice. Put dates and orange juice (should be about ¼ cup of juice) in a dish and microwave for about 2 minutes (check after 1½ minutes) until dates are soft. Cool.

2 Sift flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar together into a large bowl. Rub in butter with two knives or a pastry cutter. Add orange zest. Mix in buttermilk with a large fork. Add dates and all the juices and fork through, keeping dates in large pieces.

3 Tip dough onto a floured surface, gently pat into a round cake – it will be very soft and sticky so add a little more flour where necessary – and cut into 12 triangles with a floured knife.

4 Transfer scones to a cold baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with raw or demerara sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a cake rack to cool. Serve warmish with butter.

Dates and buttermilk keep these scones moist and light.

These just may be the best date scones you have ever had. They’re mine!