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:

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.

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:

The Horseradish Scone

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

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. 

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

The Book of Scones - Tried and Tested - Part Eight

We're nearly there, viewers! My project to bake all 50 recipes from the National Trust Book of Scones is nearing its conclusion. Below you will find recipes 36-40, proving that even a non-skilled baker like me is capable of baking deliciousness.

The Bacon, Cheese and Spring Onion Breakfast Scone
I don't know why the utterly amazing wonderfulness of this one surprised me - I mean, it has bacon and cheese in it? That's a pretty nailed-on indication that it was going to be good. You have to try it.

The Leek and Onion Scone
A very fresh-tasting scone - would be great with soup.

The Carrot and Coriander Scone
Full of flavour - again, a great accompaniment to soup.

The Shropshire Blue and Fig Scone
Utterly delicious - cheese gives scones a lightness that you don't expect, while the fig lends a lot of sweetness. 

The Honey Scone
A bit of a departure in its shape but don't let that put you off - the subtle honey flavour ensures that this isn't too sweet. 

I'm going to do the final ten scones in one go - OK, maybe over a couple of days - so look out for the final bake, as it includes the classics (Plain, Fruit, Cheese) as well as the Christmas Pudding scone.

See the previous scone bakes:
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!

The Book of Scones - Tried and Tested - Part Seven

The story so far: I am baking all 50 recipes from the National Trust Book of Scones. The first 30 scones were all sweet - see below for the links to all of those treats. 

This week I turn my hand to the savoury chapter for scones 31-35:

The Welsh Cheese & Herb Scone
You HAVE to try these. I am still staggered by how easy these were to make, compared to how tasty they were. They were like little souffles. Amazing.

The Hazelnut & Stilton Scone
Stilton always feels like a very grown-up ingredient and these scones did indeed feel like they should be served as part of a meal - extremely tasty with a fantastic texture courtesy of the hazelnuts.

The Walnut, Goat's Cheese, and Pear Scone
"So, Sarah, what are you baking for us this week?" "Well, Paul and Prue, I'm doing walnut, goat's cheese and pear scones" - cue Paul Hollywood doing his impressed nodding thing. That's my way of telling you that these are classy scones. Highly recommended.

The Ploughman's Scone
These scones include apple and pickled onions as well as cheese. Very tasty.

The Pumpkin Pie Scone
For scone 35, I reverted back to the safety of a sweet scone and I'll be honest with you: I had doubts about this one, as the pumpkin puree made the dough very soggy. But the end result was literally autumn on a plate - absolutely, stonkingly delicious:

Just 15 more scone recipes to go!

See the previous scone bakes:
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!

The Book of Scones - Tried and Tested - Part Six

This project to bake all 50 scone recipes in the National Trust Book of Scones is now over the half-way mark. Let's continue with scones 26-30!

The Fig, Orange & Walnut Scone
There are many scone recipes in the Book of Scones that surpass expectations and this is one of them. Lovely texture combined with a fantastic combination of flavours. I highly recommend that you give this one a go.  

The Hot Cross Scone
Don't wait for Easter to try these - although if you're really worried about people giving you funny looks, maybe pipe a 'B' on the top instead of a cross and call them Hot Bob's Scones? Whatever you do, just give them a try as they are utterly delicious:

The Apricot Scone
A lovely light and fruity scone! Delicious.

The Blueberry & Lemon Scone
Another lovely light and fruity scone!

The Mulled Wine Scone
The downside of baking mulled wine scones in August is that I had to make the mulled wine as I couldn't find any ready-made stuff. This made my entire house smell of Christmas for 24 hours. Actually, there was no downside.

And with that we have just 20 scones to go! Those of you that prefer a savoury scone can start getting excited as that's what coming next. In the meantime you can get a copy of the Book of Scones at any National Trust shop or from Amazon.

To see the previous scone bakes, visit:
Scone bakes 21-25:
Scone bakes 16-20:
Scone bakes 11-15
Scone bakes 6-10

Scone bakes 1-5

The Book of Scones - Tried and Tested - Part Five

I'm half-way through my mission to bake all 50 scones in the National Trust Book of Scones! Yes indeed, here are scones 20-25:

The Stollen Scone

Look, I know that mentioning C******* in August/September sends some people running over the nearest cliff, but I had to make sure that we were READY. These scones are the baking equivalent of the film The Ten Commandments, in that the ingredients list is a cast of thousands and you wonder how you'll ever fit everything in. But they are so worth it. Amazing. 

The Lemon & Cranberry Scone

I was a little concerned that the flavours in these scones would be very subtle, and they are but in a very good way.

The Apple & Raisin Scone
Look at that greedy scone on the front right, delighted with himself that he stole all the raisins. Never mind; this is a simple yet totally delicious scone.

The Peach, Poppyseed & Vanilla Scone
Poppyseeds are the strangest thing - they look so innocuous and yet they make a huge difference to any baked food item. A really lovely light scone.

The Blackberry & Apple Scone
Move along here, folks, nothing to see - apart from a few scones where I accidentally used twice as many blackberries as were needed. Seriously though - if you ever needed any evidence that I am not an expert baker and anyone can bake scones, look no further: 

So there you have it! Only another 25 scone recipes to go! In the meantime, keep sending me your pictures of your scone bakes - you can get a copy of the Book of Scones at any National Trust shop or from Amazon.

To see the previous scone bakes, visit:
Scone bakes 16-20:
Scone bakes 11-15
Scone bakes 6-10
Scone bakes 1-5

The Book of Scones - Tried and Tested - Part Four

I took a short break from my project to BAKE all 50 scone recipes in the National Trust Book of Scones - you might recall that my original mission was to EAT every National Trust scone, so I've been focusing on that, with recent expeditions to Mount Stewart, Castle Ward and Rowallane Garden in County Down.

So eyes down for scone bakes 16-20!

The Lemon & Coconut Scone
An absolute delight of a scone. I know coconut is not to everyone's liking - in which case, it's probably not the scone for you. But everyone else should make this one a priority.

The Cherry & Vanilla Scones
These are miracle scones, in that they actually contain some cherries. It turns out the 43-year old me is very similar to the 12 year-old me, who used to see "glace cherries" on a recipe for Home Economics and know that those cherries would never see the inside of a mixing bowl, on account of having been eaten on the way to school. At least I have more restraint these days.

The Apple & Cinnamon Scones
A very autumnal scone! 

The Zesty Lemon Scone
Another lemony number - fresh and tasty as anything.

The Orange & Cranberry Scones
These would have been fantastic, but my orange wasn't very cooperative when it came to zesting, so it lacked a little bit of flavour. I will try it again with a friendlier orange. They look the part though!

Only another 30 scone recipes to go! In the meantime, keep sending me your pictures of your scone bakes - you can get a copy of the Book of Scones at any National Trust shop or from Amazon.

To see my previous scone bakes, visit:
Scone bakes 11-15
Scone bakes 6-10
Scone bakes 1-5

Rowallane Garden

Rowallane Garden near Belfast presented me with two very significant challenges:

1. I have a terror of mispronoucing place names - regular viewers will recall my traumas at Trerice last year - and naturally I got Rowallane completely wrong. "I'm off to Roe-a-lane Garden tomorrow!" I trilled to the woman at Castle Ward, who nobly didn't bat an eyelid but said "Oh, it's lovely at Roe-Alan!"

2. It's a garden. Whenever I see a nice garden, I hear Alan Titchmarsh's voice saying "and the gentle willow provides shelter for the charming crocuses that will surely peep through in the Spring" while a trumpet parps away beguilingly in the background, but my trusty inner cynic is always on hard to shout "it took 15 hours of back-breaking work to plant those bulbs". I will not be lulled into a false sense of security that I could be any good at gardening.

Luckily, Rowallane is not one of those extremely neat, structured gardens like Hidcote or Sissinghurst. It does have a nice neat, structured walled garden:

But then the rest of it is more of a rambling estate of trees and shrubs and enclosed areas with boulders and other natural features. I kept expecting to come across a flock of sheep.

There was no guide book so my knowledge is a bit scant:

• The garden was created by the Reverend John Moore in the mid 1800s
• His nephew, Hugh Armytage Moore, continued the work 

The Rowallane scone
But onto the scone. Rowallane is the headquarters of the National Trust in Northern Ireland and so I was expecting the scones to be absolutely tip-top. 

In fact, it was a very surprising scone. Firstly, it was the cheapest cream tea in NT Scone Blog history - I think it was £2.75. Secondly, the cream was whipped cream and it was available in a big pot by the milk, as was the jam. The scone itself was well-baked but very tasty. I ate the whole thing, which is always a good sign.

Rowallane Garden: 3.5 out of 5
Scone: 4 out of 5
Bargain hunter's score: 5 out of 5

In 2019, I went back to Northern Ireland to complete my rounds. Read more about Carrick-a-Rede, Crom, Castle Coole, Cushendun, Divis and the Black Mountain, White Park Bay, Springhill.