Apricot Scones

I've tried a few scone recipes and this one is my so far all time favourite.

Put 250ml whole milk into a jug and add 1 tbsp lemon juice and leave standing for at least 5 minutes to curdle.

Rub 80g diced butter into 250g plain flour and 250g strong bread flour until like breadcrumbs.

Add a pinch salt, 80g castor sugar 15g baking powder and the zest from 1 orange. Mix in well.

Use scissors to cut 5 dried apricots cutting each one in half then each half in three pieces and stir evenly into the mix.

Add 2 beaten eggs and the curdled milk. The dough will come together as a very wet dough which is fine for this recipe. Flour a large tray and using a spatula place the dough on the flour and sprinkle more flour on top of the dough turning (not a lot) until you can pat the dough into a nice square shape about 2" thick.

Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 16 equal rectangle scone shapes. Brush the tops lightly with beaten egg.

Lightly flour 2 baking trays to prevent sticking and place the scones with a space between each onto the baking trays and bake in a preheated oven 200 fan, 220C for exactly 13 minutes.

Cooking tip: substitute apricots for any dried fruit, a handful of cranberries, 6 figs are nice; 6 dates work well using wholemeal flour if you want a healthier scone.

Tip : when you cut the scones in half to eat use a fork instead of a knife to pierce all around and this will stop the scone from crumbling.