Sunday 19 November 2017

50 National Trust Scone Recipes - Tried and Tested!

Two things happened in 2017: firstly, the illness that beset the Scone Blogger's household last year continued, which meant that a measly 13 scone missions were completed; Clumber ParkBodnant GardenThe Needles Old BatteryWicken Fen, Castle Ward, Mount Stewart, Rowallane Garden, Chedworth Roman Villa, Greyfriars House, Snowshill Manor, Berrington Hall, Croome, and Peckover.

The second thing that happened was the publication of the National Trust Book of Scones, featuring recipes from NT properties across the land. It still amazes me to this day, as has all the support from the Sconepals that have joined this mission either by reading the blog or buying the book or sending in pictures of scones they have spotted on their travels. You're all marvellous people.

So I combined the two things: being a bit housebound gave me the chance to create a mini mission and bake all 50 scones from the book. You'll have to excuse the photography, as it's not my strong point, but here are 49 of the 50 scones (the beetroot one eluded me):

1. The Ginger and Treacle Scone
2. The Earl Grey Scone
3. The Singing Hinnies
4. The Walnut and Maple Scone
5. The Apple and Salted Caramel Scone
6. The Chocolate Orange Scone
7. The Wet Nelly Scone
8. The Rhubard and Stem Ginger Scone
9. The Ulster Scone 
10. The Raspberry and White Chocolate Scone
11. The Cherry and Almond Scone
12. The Triple Chocolate Scone
13. The Honey, Sunflower Seed, and Ginger Scone
14. The Chocolate and Hazlenut Scone
15. The Chocolate and Marshmallow Scone
16. The Lemon and Coconut Scone
17. The Cherry and Vanilla Scone
18. The Apple and Cinnamon Scone
19. The Zesty Lemon Scone
20. The Orange and Cranberry Scone
21. The Stollen Scone
22. The Lemon and Cranberry Scone
23. The Apple and Raisin Scone
24. The Peach, Poppyseed and Vanilla Scone
25. The Blackberry and Apple Scone
26. The Fig, Orange and Walnut Scone
27. The Hot Cross Scone
28. The Apricot Scone
29. The Blueberry and Lemon Scone
30. The Mulled Wine Scone
31. The Welsh Cheese and Herb Scone
32. The Hazelnut and Stilton Scone
33. The Walnut, Goat's Cheese, and Pear Scone
34. The Ploughman's Scone
35. The Pumpkin Pie Scone
36. The  Bacon, Cheese, and Spring Onion Breakfast Scone
37. The Leek and Onion Scone
38. The Carrot and Coriander Scone
39. The Shropshire Blue and Fig Scone
40. The Honey Scone
41. The Christmas Pudding Scone
42. The Stilton and Cranberry Scone
43. The Wholemeal Fruit Scone
44. The Horseradish Scone
45. The Roasted Shallot, Gruyere, and Thyme Scone
46. The Red Pepper, Onion, and Cheese Scone
47. The Cheese Scone
48. The Plain Scone
49. The Fruit Scone
50. The Beetroot Scone 

Tweet or Instagram me your pictures and keep sconeing!

The Book of Scones - The Final Countdown!

MY MINI-MISSION IS COMPLETE! I have baked all 50 of the scone recipes from the National Trust Book of Scones - well, to be very honest, I couldn't find any beetroot so I've actually baked 49 of the 50. I'll have to come back to the beetroot. 

So here are the final 9 scones:

The Christmas Pudding Scone
The Christmas Pudding Scone has a very, very special place in my heart. Regular readers will remember my 400-mile round trip to Treasurers House near York Minster in 2014 when I was convinced that the Christmas Pudding scone could not live up to expectations and then it did. I will never forget the brandy butter it was served with, either. Mine (below) were not as good but they still tasted amazing. Highly, highly recommended:

Christmas Pudding Scone


The Stilton & Cranberry Scone
Here's another Christmassy number. It contains cheddar as well as Stilton but if I have learned anything from this scone baking project, it is that cheese makes scones lighter. I really didn't expect this.


Stilton and Cranberry Scone

The Wholemeal Fruit Scone
These seemed a little bit more virtuous than some of the other recipes (eg the Triple Chocolate scone) but they were very tasty:

Wholemeal Fruit Scone

The Horseradish Scone
Scones as canapes - who knew. These may be small but they pack a tasty punch:

Horseradish scones

The Roasted Shallot, Gruyere, and Thyme Scone
I have a new-found respect for the contestants on Great British Bake Off, having completed this project. In 49 attempts, I don't think I achieved a single uniform batch of scones, until these ones came out. And they were delicious. 


Roasted Shallot, Gruyere, and Thyme Scone

The Red Pepper, Onion, and Cheese Scone
Another tasty savoury option for you!


Red pepper, onion and cheese scone

The Cheese Scone
I made a number of discoveries during this project and one of them is that cheese can actually make a scone much lighter. Previous cheese scones that I have encountered have been stodgy and greasy, but these ones were utterly delicious.


Cheese scones

The Plain Scone
I won't lie to you - I very nearly binned the rather lumpy one at the back of the baking sheet. But I didn't, as that would be cheating, and the whole purpose of this project is to show that anyone can bake scones.


Plain scones

The Fruit Scone
I left the fruit scone until last. It's the queen of the scone world and I wanted to get as much experience behind me before I attempted them. They were absolutely delicious and they actually looked very good too. 


Fruit scones

The Beetroot Scone
I couldn't find any beetroot, so this one will have to wait.

Here are the previous 40 bakes:
Scone bakes 36-40 - includes the Bacon, Cheese, and Spring Onioni Breakfast Scone!
Scone bakes 31-35 - includes the autumn-on-a-plate Pumpkin Pie Scone!
Scone bakes 26-30 - includes the amazing Fig, Orange and Walnut Scone!
Scone bakes 21-25 - includes the astounding Stollen Scone!
Scone bakes 16-20 - includes the zesty Lemon and Coconut Scone!
Scone bakes 11-15 - includes the Triple Chocolate Scone - say no more!
Scone bakes 6-10 - includes the world-famous Chocolate Orange Scone!
Scone bakes 1-5 - includes the very surprising Earl Grey Scone!


So there you have it - 49 scone recipes tried and tested to give you some inspiration. I highly recommend that you try them - you can find all 50 recipes in the National Trust Book of Scones.