This is the february contribution to my new years resolution and definitely one of my new favourites. Special Thanks to my boyfriend for picking this recipe to try it!

I love scones. Everyone who has been to England or Ireland sure tried some for afternoon tea. But making perfect scones with the right consistency and taste is an art itself. I’ve learned some things about scones the hard way of trial and error. It is crucial to not overknead the dough and you should do that by hand in order to keep small butter pockets in it that make the scones soft and fluffy. I’ll pick up that point later in the description. AndYou need patience, space and your finger tips to make a good scone. So let’s get dirrrty!

Makes ca. 16 rolls (or more):

• 800 g (+50) Flour (I added 50 more gramms after kneading the dough because it was too moist you may not need it)
• 100 g Sugar
• 15 g Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 10 g Cream of Tatar (if you can get any, if not use Baking Powder)
• 350 g cold Butter (straight out of the fridge, cut into pieces)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 350 ml Buttermilk

Sift the flour in a bowl and mix with sugar, baking powder/cream of tatar and salt. Then add the butter and use your finger tips to work it in to a crumbly dough. In another bowl mix the buttermilk with the eggs. Add the liquids to the flour mixture and knead it to a combined dough. I prefer to do it with the hands, because when using an electric mixer you destroy the butter pockets. Even though I have to clean the whole kitchen afterwards because of the flour dust everywhere 🙂
Make sure the dough is not to moist and add some more flour and let it rest in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

• 30 g of Vanilla Sugar
• 4 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Glass of canned cherries (720 ml)
• 1 pack Vanilla Pudding Powder (for 500 ml milk)
• 200 g Cherry Jam
• 200 g Marzipan
• 50 g melted Butter for brushing
• Caster sugar for dusting

Drain the cherries and catch the juice. Use 6 tbsp of the juice to mix with the vanilla pudding powder. Boil the rest of the juice,  remove from the cooker, stir in the pudding powder mixture and let simmer for another minute. Add the jam and cherries and let cool.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 175°C (with fan). Roll the Marzipan to a 20cm long roll and cut into thin slices. Set asside. Get the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to a rectangle (ca. 50 x 70 cm) on a floured surface. Spread the Filling but leave a 2 cm margin on all sides and scatter the marzipan slices all over. Then roll up the dough from the broader side and cut the complete roll into 2 cm wide pieces. I cut and transferred every piece right away into a baking dish or a brownie pan lined with parchment paper with a little distance. Put into the oven for 30 minutes. Melt the butter and brush the surface of the rolls with it, then bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle with caster sugar before serving these fantastic treats!

Let me sum up:

Scone secret No1: Sift the Flour

Scone secret No2: Butter must be cold

Scone secret No3: You must be ready do get dirty, really dirty!

Scone secret No4: Do not use a machine, just use the tips of your fingers to work in the butter

Scone secret No5: Make sure you leave some butter pockets in you dough, so don’t overknead