Ginger and Date Scones

2 cups of self raising flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
Pinch of salt
3/4 cups of buttermilk
60 grams of butter

3/4 cup of dried dates finely chopped

3/4 cup of glace ginger finely chopped

Ground cinnamon 

(Keep a little extra buttermilk for brushing and brown sugar for sprinkling over the scones And also some plain flour for dusting.)

Pre heat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced and cut some baking paper to line a tray. Make sure the tray has a little depth so you can push the scones up against the side and next to each other so that they rise upwards. The tray I usually use is about 3-4cm deep.

Sift flour and salt into a bowl and add sugar and butter. Rub the sugar and butter into the flour till you have an almost bread crumb consistency and combine the dates and ginger till mixed through. Make a well in the centre and add the butter milk. Now I usually use my mixer with a dough mixing attachment but you could also just use a butter knife to manually mix it till combined into a dough.

Make sure you have a clear bench space dusted with plain flour so that the dough does not stick (I like to have a little on my hands as well.) Knead the dough till it's smooth and if it's still a bit too sticky just add a little more plain flour to the bench and knead the dough into it. 

Roll the dough out till it is about 1.5cm thick and make sure your rolling pin has flour on it to avoid sticking. You can use a scone cutter but I just use what I've always seen my mum use... A glass dipped in flour (about 6cm wide). I use some extra flour to roll the sides of the cut scones in then place them on the tray next to each other (touching) so that they can rise upwards.

I use a little left over butter milk to lightly brush then sprinkle a little brown sugar and cinnamon over the top of all the scones. Then pop them in the oven for roughly around 15 minutes or until they are golden brown on top. Once out of the oven I like to give them a little more cinnamon sprinkling just lightly.