Date scones
People travel far and wide for Lydia's date scones at Seashore Cabaret, named after the baker who created them.
Reader Jenny Ngan Kee visits the cafe weekly with friends and says the highlight of the trip is the date scones, which are "absolutely delicious".
"They've got my vote for the best in Wellington! They're a little bit different from your usual date scone with layers of date striated through the scone."
Ngan Kee says she would love the recipe to get her fix more than once a week.
We contacted the beach-side cafe on her behalf, who happily supplied the recipe.
Makes: 12
Ingredients:
- 450gm flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons citrus sugar (see recipe below)
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 260gm grated butter (grate then chill)
- 180gm crème fraiche
- 4 eggs
- Date paste (see recipe below)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, citrus sugar and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk the crème fraiche, vanilla and eggs.
2. Add the chilled grated butter to the flour mixture and combine by rubbing in with hands, then gently fold in creamy egg mix until a rough dough is formed. Turn out the dough onto a floured bench, gather into a ball and roll to 1.5cm thick square, fold in thirds, then fold in opposite thirds and press down.
3. Chill in freezer for five minutes. Roll the dough into a rectangle 1.5cm high and spread date paste all over, right to the edges. Then roll the dough into a log, sit the seam side face down. Press down gently.
4. Cut the log into 12 even sized triangles and place on a baking tray. Egg wash each scone and sprinkle generously with citrus sugar.
5. Bake at 200C for about 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Date paste:
- 2 cups dates
Place dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Wait 10 minutes, remove from water and add to food processor. Save the water. Pulse dates into small bits and add small amounts of water until a paste is formed. Add a pinch of salt and process again briefly.
Citrus sugar:
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 300gm raw sugar
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Then keep refrigerated.
First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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