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Recipes

Cheddar and sweetcorn scones

A pinch of cayenne pepper, fresh thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice spice up this easy low-fat scone recipe.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients

2 large fresh cobs of sweetcorn
350g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp powdered English mustard
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper or paprika
a few sprigs thyme
50g cubed cold unsalted butter
175g grated mature cheddar cheese
175ml (plus extra for brushing) semi-skimmed milk
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Hold a corn cob at a right angle to the chopping board, then run a sharp knife down the length of the cob, as close to the core as you can get, slicing away the rows of corn. Boil the kernels for 4 mins or until just tender, then drain well. (Alternatively, you could use 250g sweetcorn kernels (drained weight) from a can.

Heat oven to 220C. Mix the flour, baking powder, mustard, cayenne, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp thyme leaves in a large bowl, then rub in the butter until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Tip in most of the cheese and all of the corn. Mix the milk with the lemon juice, then stir into the bowl to make a slightly sticky dough. Don’t over-work the dough.

Tip the dough onto the floured work surface, knead 2-3 times to smooth a little, then divide into 10 balls. Shape each roughly with your hands and put onto a floured baking sheet. Brush each with a little milk, then scatter with a little cheese, cayenne and a few thyme leaves. Bake for 10-12 mins or until the scones are risen, golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack.

©author BBC Good Food Magazine. Produced as part of the LOVE BAKING season on BBC Lifestyle channel 180 on DStv.

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