Almond Scones

Have you ever been to Food for Thought? This vegetarian restaurant, based in London’s Covent Garden, has been there forever and everyday has a long queue out the door with hungry diners keen to get their plates of goodness. While it can by no means be classed a fine dining restaurant (the vibe is far more veggie cafe) they do serve some knockout dishes, packed full of flavour. This scone recipe is a real winner, in fact you’d never guess that they’re dairy-free/vegan, and makes a fantastic after-school snack. While we may be a peanut free household, almonds are ok for us (and great for the dairy avoider as they’re full of calcium) so this is our preferred variation. Next time I may try the chocolate version….

Almond Scones (dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian, vegan, soya-free)

makes about 10 (sorry about the not very good photo!)

• 450g plain flour
• 3 level tsps baking powder
• 75g dairy-free spread
• 50g sugar
• 60g ground almonds (or use cocoa powder)
• 300ml oat milk
• more oat milk to brush
• demerara sugar to sprinkle

– Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade

– Oil and flour a baking sheet

– Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl

– With your fingertips, rub the dairy-free spread into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

– Stir in the sugar and ground almonds (cocoa powder)

– Stir in the oat milk and bring together to form a soft dough

– Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead to form a soft ball.

– With your fingers, press out until 2-3cm thick

– Cut out with a floured cookie cutter

– Place on the baking sheet.

– Brush the tops with oat milk and sprinkle with the demerara sugar

– Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top

– Serve hot or cold, with dairy-free spread, jam or honey.

– Oh, and they freeze brilliantly