Blackberry, saffron & honey drop scones

Autumn

I didn’t have my first drop scone until I was in my early twenties. I was having tea with some friends who own an organic dairy farm in Dorset. The biscuit tin was empty, but within minutes a generous plateful of freshly cooked drop scones landed on the table. Made with milk from my friends’ own herd of cows and with fresh eggs from the hens outside, they were cooked straight on the hot plate of the Aga and were amazing. I’ve made a million drop scones since then, in every which way you would care to think, but this recipe – with saffron and honey – is one I really love whenever I have a handful of blackberries to use up.

Makes 8-10

Ingredients

175g (6oz) plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
40g (1½oz) golden caster sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
1 egg
1 small pinch of saffron strands
about 100ml (3½fl oz) milk
a few drops of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon runny honey, plus extra for serving
1 or 2 handfuls of ripe blackberries
1 large knob of butter, plus extra for serving

Method

To make the pancake batter, place the flour into a large mixing bowl with the baking powder, sugar and salt. Crack in the egg, then add the saffron, milk, vanilla and honey. Use a whisk to combine fully. Lightly crush the blackberries and add them to the bowl, then stir through.

Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Pour most of the bubbling butter into the pancake batter and stir it through to combine thoroughly. Then, one by one, add 4 generous tablespoons of batter to the pan, to make four individual pools of batter. Cook them for 1–2 minutes, until the undersides are golden, then use a small spatula to flip each drop scone over and cook the other side for 1–2 minutes until that side is golden, too. Remove the cooked drop scones to a plate or board while you repeat with the remaining batter, until it is completely used up. Serve the scones warm spread with butter and plenty more honey.

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