I just spent the last month in England. My mother-in-law deserves a medal for putting up with us for such a long time. We all had a wonderful holiday. We saw some magnificent shows in London and had a wonderful time in the English countryside. A few days were spent in Cornwall, at a beautiful seaside quaint hotel along the coast called Trevalsa Hotel.

Most days were spent collecting shells and stones along the beach.  We spent one day at the Eden Project, which was inspiring and impressive.   We made it back in time for afternoon scones dotted with plump sultanas and served with thick clotted cream and raspberry jam.  The chef did such a wonderful job catering to our specific vegetarian diet with no onion or garlic. One particular delicious meal was asparagus, lightly steamed to bring out its vibrant green colour but leaving it still slightly crunchy, drizzled with an aioli sauce, green baby leaves and shaved parmesan.  Delicious.

We also spent a few days in Devon, meeting with our dear friends, Anna and Leon.  On a particularly memorable day, we met up with Lulu who was spending a few days there.  She invited us for homemade scones and tea at her friend Rusha’s place.  The table they set out was so beautiful, with three pots of teas and a mix and match-of colourful china cups and saucers.  The scones were magically created in her tiny kitchen on her Aga.  They were delicious date and nectarine scones.

Rusha lives in a beautiful fairy-tale cottage with a little creek running through her charming house. The children spent the whole afternoon swimming in its cold waters. Her place is still with me: the light, the colours, the cosiness of her kitchen, and Rusha’s artistic richness in every nook and cranny.

Our next adventure was hiring a barge for four days and driving it through the canals up to Oxford with Anna, Leon, and their son Lev.

What a wonderful experience! It was like being in another world, stopping anywhere along the banks to sleep. There were no shops, just us and the water lapping against the barge. We did have a few funny experiences, as it is not easy to direct a 70-foot canal barge, beginners as we were.

We made our way back to London and then onto Lulu’s place, which sits on the border of Scotland on 55 acres of incredible lush, peaceful beauty.  Beautiful walks, more stones collected and delicious meals shared.  Lu-Lu kept surprising us with freshly baked bread in the morning,  a lovely zucchini cake, homemade blackcurrant jelly, and marmalade jam.

Now that I am back, I am obsessed with scones and jam. Lu-Lu also gifted me a jar of her blackcurrant jelly, and I bought a few jams while I was there.  Raspberry, blackberry, ginger marmalade…   And so I had to make some scones with all that jam.  

This is an old recipe coming from my leather-bound recipe book.  It was inspired by the days I lived in Brisbane and would travel up to Mount Glorious, enjoying the cool, crisp air and sitting in the little cafe cradled by the rainforest trees and feeding the left-over crumbs to the Rainbow Lorikeets that would bravely swoop down to eat the crumbs. They served the most glorious pumpkin scones, rich in orange colour, moist, and tasty.  It didn’t matter how cold it was; we always sat outside, sipping hot tea and munching on warm pumpkin scones with jam and cream.

pumpkin scones

preparation 50 minutes

makes 12 -14 scones

ingredients 

⅓ cup walnuts

1½ cups pumpkin, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp flax meal (soaked in 3 Tbsp water for 15 minutes)

50ml full-fat cream

400g plain all-purpose flour

50g whole-wheat/spelt flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp fine rock salt

¼ cup/fine brown sugar

180g cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 tsp vinegar

preparation 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with parchment.
  2. Place the walnuts on a tray and toast for approximately 8 minutes.  Allow to cool, roughly chop and set aside.
  3. Steam the pumpkin for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain well and cool. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Then add the maple syrup, soaked flax, and cream, stirring until well combined. Set aside.
  4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a separate bowl. Using your fingertips, lightly work the butter until the mixture resembles dry breadcrumbs. Mix in the toasted nuts.
  5. Drizzle the vinegar into the wet pumpkin mixture and stir it into the dough using a spoon or your hands. It will be on the moist side, but if you are having trouble handling it, dip your hands into flour.
  6. Gather the dough into a ball, turn it onto a floured work surface, and knead until it roughly comes together. Make sure not to overwork the dough, using about three kneads. Use your hands to pat the dough until it’s one-inch thick.
  7. Using a glass or round cutter, press straight through the dough and lift it up. Flour the glass each time you cut a scone. Don’t twist the glass; otherwise, it seals the dough, and less air gets inside. Transfer to a tray, leaving a 2-inch space between each scone. Continue to cut out circles, gathering the scraps and pressing them together to make more scones.
  8. Bake in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through until the scones are golden brown.

Serve with your favourite tea, a dollop of fresh cream, and your jam of choice.

Goodness shared from Stacey