Scones - dairy free and delicious!

As I'm sure I've mentioned, being intolerant to all forms of dairy means I can't eat one of my favourite things - cake. Having a sweet tooth, it's something I look forward to, and relish, and yet unless I bake my own, it's something I cannot eat when I'm out and about.

However, to my delight, one of the things I have noticed since coming back to the UK, is that there are an increasing number of cafes that serve a dairy free option, which is most exciting (not so good for my waistline!!). But it really depends upon where I am as to whether there's a suitable sweet bite. Luckily for me, I live close to Brighton, a small city on the south coast of England that has a reputation as being a little alternative. There are now a number of cafes serving up vegan cake, so not only do I get a choice of cafe, but also a choice of cake!

There's also a fantastic whole food store, Infinity Foods, that not only sells fresh veg and dried products, but bread, cakes and vegan pizza! Recently, I treated myself to a giant dairy free scone. I have to admit I was a little dubious that it would taste as good as a traditional butter laden one, but that soon changed to delight - it was light and packed full of yummy scone flavour. 

I have a bit of a bad scone making history (my children regale with delight the time I used bicarbonate of soda instead of baking powder so the scones tasted of wee!!!), but was inspired to attempt to make my own again - both dairy and wee free!!!

One of the key things about a good scone is the lightness of texture, so I use self-raising flour and add some baking powder for extra lift. A delicate touch seems to be important too when forming and handling the dough; it seems to me that using dairy free margarine as opposed to butter is an advantage here as it is not quite as heavy.

Whenever I make individual scones, something seems to happen in the cutting process and the lightness and air just vanishes in a puff. Fumbling fingers are not good in this scenario. So to be on the safe side, I've found it best to make a single batch scone i.e: form the dough into one single round, half cut through to create sections and bake as a whole, cutting it into individual portions later when cooled. 

So here is my version of non-dairy scone suitable for afternoon tea - serve with dairy free spread and lashings of your favourite jam. 

Dairy-free scones

225g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

t

1 teaspoon baking powder

75g non-dairy margarine

25g caster sugar

75g raisins (if you want fruit scones0

100mls soya milk

teaspoon of granulated sugar

First, heat your oven to 220oC. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl then add the margarine and rub in to make fine bread crumbs. Alternatively, you can pulse in a blender to get the same texture. Stir in the sugar and raisins, then add the milk a little at a time until you form a soft, kneadable dough. Knead gentle for a minute or so until everything seems combined, then form into a single batch. Using a large knife, cut through the dough half way, first down the centre, then at the sides to create 6 sections. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar and brush with a little soya milk and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes (if you're not vegan then brush with egg as it's a better glaze - soya milk doesn't brown as well). Once cooked, cool on a wire tray, then cut into individual portions when you're ready for afternoon tea!