We had a load of relatives visiting at the weekend immediately after we got back from a short holiday, so I needed some quick and easy bakes. I had to order ingredients online without my recipe books, so I opted for my trusty Delia chocolate cake because I can remember the list of ingredients* and I found these packets of gluten free Helen’s Brilliant Scone Mix. I thought I’d give them a try as I could customise them a bit with some additions.

To make up the mixture I started with a beaten egg, then added buttermilk (you could use whole/soya milk) and melted butter (or vegetable oil). When combined, I tipped in the contents of the packet and stirred until the mixture thickened. It became surprisingly elastic! To my first batch I added raisins and chopped dates, and to the second, chopped ginger (from a jar with syrup).

The mixture is quite sticky and needs to be spooned onto a baking sheet, but it easily made ten decent sized scones. I lined my trays with grease proof paper for ease of removal after cooking. I sprinkled a bit of sugar on the first batch for a crunch but forgot on the second.

I baked them at 200C for the full 15 minutes and they came out looking rather lovely. You might notice there are only nine date & raisin scones in the picture below, as we tested one to check they were adequately cooked!

These are the ginger scones (below). They turned out a bit more coloured but possibly the oven was slightly hotter. I thought they turned out looking nicer than the picture on the packet, which I thought more resembled bread rolls.

The texture inside the scones was lovely and soft – more spongy than a regular scone, but definitely more scone than cake – and the outside had a good crust. They cut in half easily and held together well when spread with jam and clotted cream. And they went down very well indeed.

I do intend to try make my own scones at some point but I would definitely buy this mix again if I was in a rush or wanted something quick.

*I make my own chocolate filling by melting chocolate and mixing with cream, as it’s a lot simpler than Delia’s egg one. However the souffle sponge is lush layered with chocolate and cream fillings.