SOFT SCONES RECIPES

1. First and foremost, brilliant scones are about having the confidence to do as little as possible, so do what I say and they’ll be really great; and the second and third time you make them you'll get the dough into a solid mass even quicker, even better.
2. Put the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Ideally, leave it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
3. Put your butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and a good pinch of sea salt into a mixing bowl and use your thumbs and forefingers to break up the butter and rub it into the flour so you get little cornflake-sized pieces. Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and stir it up with a spatula.
4. Drain your soaked fruit and add that to the mixture. Add a tiny splash of milk if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough. Move it around as little as possible to get it looking like a scruffy mass – at this point, you’re done. Sprinkle over some flour, cover the bowl with clingfilm and pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 2 to 3cm thick. With a 6cm round cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles from the dough and place them upside down on a baking sheet – they will rise better that way (so they say). Re-roll any offcuts to use up the dough.
6. Brush the top of each scone with the extra milk or some melted butter and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until risen and golden. At that point, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool down a little.
7. Serve with clotted cream and a little jam or lemon curd.

1. First and foremost, brilliant scones are about having the confidence to do as little as possible, so do what I say and they’ll be really great; and the second and third time you make them you'll get the dough into a solid mass even quicker, even better.
2. Put the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Ideally, leave it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
3. Put your butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and a good pinch of sea salt into a mixing bowl and use your thumbs and forefingers to break up the butter and rub it into the flour so you get little cornflake-sized pieces. Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and stir it up with a spatula.
4. Drain your soaked fruit and add that to the mixture. Add a tiny splash of milk if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough. Move it around as little as possible to get it looking like a scruffy mass – at this point, you’re done. Sprinkle over some flour, cover the bowl with clingfilm and pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 2 to 3cm thick. With a 6cm round cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles from the dough and place them upside down on a baking sheet – they will rise better that way (so they say). Re-roll any offcuts to use up the dough.
6. Brush the top of each scone with the extra milk or some melted butter and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until risen and golden. At that point, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool down a little.
7. Serve with clotted cream and a little jam or lemon curd.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/gas 7.

Lightly grease two baking sheets.

Measure the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the dried fruit.

Break the egg into a measuring jug and beat, then make up to 150ml (¼ pint) with milk. Stir the egg and milk into the flour and mix to a soft but not sticky dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead lightly and roll out to a 1cm (½in) thickness. Cut into rounds with a fluted 5cm (2in) cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops with a little milk.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until pale golden brown. Lift the scones onto a wire rack to cool.

Eat as fresh as possible.