OUR SIGNATURE
Cheese Scones with Marmite Butter
Our Head Baker Rachel had one thing on her mind when planning the bakes for our first cafe: cheese scones. Really big, really fluffy, seriously cheesy scones. And they quickly became a firm favourite at Luminary. By nature, they’re wonderfully quick and simple to make – an easy crowd pleaser that are both endearing and impressive to be pulling out of the oven if you have guests. Serve them warm and slathered with Marmite butter for a salty, savoury treat.
MAKES 12
For the scones
900g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp mustard powder
a generous pinch of cayenne pepper
100g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm cubes
250g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
280ml whole milk
280ml cold water
1 medium egg, beaten, or 1 tbsp milk, for glazing
cracked black pepper
For the Marmite butter
150g salted butter, softened at room temperature
40g Marmite (or other yeast extract)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4 and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, mustard powder and cayenne pepper. Add the cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until only a few small lumps remain and it looks a bit like breadcrumbs. Stir in 200g of the grated cheese.
Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the milk and cold water. Use a blunt butter knife to stir the dry mixture into the liquids until it starts to form a soft dough.
Once it’s nearly combined, get your hands involved. Bring the dough together into a ball and tip out onto a floured work surface, getting every last bit of flour out of the bowl. It might be stickier than you’d expect, but avoid the temptation to add more flour.
Liberally dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough to about 4cm thick. Use a 9cm round cutter to cut out circles of dough and place them on the lined baking tray, about 5cm apart. Re-roll the scraps until you have used up all the dough.
Brush the top of each scone with beaten egg or milk and sprinkle with the remaining 50g of grated cheese and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Bake for 20–25 minutes until well-risen and golden brown.
While the scones are in the oven, prepare the Marmite butter. Mix together the softened butter and Marmite until marbled and swirly with glossy Marmite streaks.
Once the scones are baked, leave for 5 minutes to cool slightly before serving with the salty savoury butter. They’re best eaten on the day they are made, and exceptionally good when warm.
