Vanilla Custard Scones

I have been meaning to share this scone recipe for some time now but never got around to it. I am sharing this recipe because everybody deserves to indulge their senses in the sweet aroma and delicate flavour of these classic South African vanilla custard scones.

In this blog post, I will guide you through crafting these delicate treats that strike the perfect balance between simplicity and sophistication.

The secret to getting flaky and light scones is to use cold ingredients and to refold your dough to create those air pockets inside the scones (similar to how you’d handle puff pastry) Without wasting more time, let’s get right into it.

Recipe

Yield: Approximately 15 medium scones

Preparation time: 20min

Baking time: 12-15min

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups of flour (Each cup is about 240ml)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 125 grams cold butter (cut into cubes or grated)
• 1/2 cup vanilla custard (Ultra Mel)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or amasi
• 2 Eggs (+1 for the egg wash)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease or line a baking pan with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, mix together the custard, buttermilk and eggs. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix together until well combined.
4. Using your finger tips, rub the cold cubed butter in to the flour mixture until it resembles the texture of wet beach sand.
5. Add the custard mixture into the flour mixture and combine to form a soft dough. Do not over mix.
6. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to about 2cm thick. Fold the dough in half and re-roll it to about 3cm thick. (This step is what creates those flakey layers in the scones)
7. Using a cookie cutter, cut dough out and place onto prepared baking tray. Brush the top of the cut out dough with beaten egg.
8. Bake for 15-20min or until the edges are golden brown.
9. Allow the scones to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.

Tips:

For an extra touch, brush the baked scone with a simple vanilla glaze made of icing sugar, vanilla extract and a splash of milk. Customise the scones by adding your favourite mix-ins such as lemon zest, raisins or chocolate chips.