Pumpkin & Ginger Beer Scones

I understand that scones are not for everyone. They don't excite people the way that gooey chocolate desserts, cupcakes loaded with a mountain of icing or colourful macarons seem to. I'm sorry to those people, because I had to make scones this weekend. I had a pretty bad week last week and rather than having a major meltdown, making scones seemed like a better option. Plus I've been craving scones like crazy, ever since I baked some CWA scones a few weekends ago for an afternoon tea. And honestly, I can't improve on that recipe much so I knew that I had to do something a little different if I wanted to post a new scone recipe.

The two scone recipes which have been on my to-do list for a long time are lemonade scones and pumpkin scones. I've had many recommendations from readers to replace the milk in the CWA scones with lemon for an even lighter, fluffier scone. But then I thought, who needs lemonade when you can use ginger beer? Lisa did it and they looked awesome. But as I wandered through the supermarket I found myself hovering around the pumpkins. My Mum used to make the most amazing pumpkin scones, so good you could eat them on their own. Unfortunately for all of us, she lost the scrap of paper that the recipe was scrawled on, along with a whole bunch of other recipes :(

It didn't take much searching to come across this pumpkin scone recipe on Gourmet Traveller. It looked fantastic, similar to the ones my Mum used to make. But ever since making the CWA scones, I realised how much I love the fluffy texture of cream-based scone recipes. So rather than using the GT recipe, I thought I'd try to come up with my own cream-based version. And since I had already bought the ginger beer, I figured I'd try and combine that in, along with some ginger and nutmeg. Pumpkin and spices always work great together in my opinion.

It didn't go so well at first, since I was experimenting and just randomly throwing ingredients into a mixing bowl. My first batch had wayyyy too much liquid and were so sloppy that they didn't even form a proper dough. But I think I got the proportions right on the second go, gradually adding the ginger beer until the dough came together without being sticky. And they rose beautifully in the oven, with a super light, airy texture and great colour from the pumpkin. The ginger beer and spices only add a hint of flavour and hardly any sweetness, so I still felt comfortable eating these with strawberry jam and whipped cream. Though I couldn't resist adding a bit of cinnamon and icing sugar to the cream when I whipped it, which was AMAZING and reminded me of the pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon butter that I made not too long ago. But not everyone has my insane sweet tooth and these would be just as good with some salted butter. I kinda love this mish-mash of all my favourite scone recipes, but if you prefer the traditonal pumpkin scone then feel free to try the Gourmet Traveller version.

Pumpkin & Ginger Beer Scones
(loosely based on this Gourmet Traveller recipe, makes 10-12 scones)
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp ground ginger
A pinch of fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used 250g of the Kent variety, chopped into cubes and steamed until tender, then mashed and strained)
1/2 cup ginger beer
Milk, for brushing

Optional: 1 cup whipping cream, 1 tsp ground cinnamon & 1/2 cup icing sugar sifted, whipped together to serve

Preheat oven to 220-230 degrees C. Sift flour, icing sugar, nutmeg and ginger together in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the centre and add cream and pumpkin puree. Using a flat bladed knife, begin to cut wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Gradually begin to add ginger beer until there is enough to form a soft dough. The mixture should hold together but not be sticky. You may not need to use all the ginger beer, I left out about 1 tbsp.

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured surface. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 2-3cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard. Cut out rounds using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in a lined/greased heavy based baking dish that has sides (scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). Brush tops with milk then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until scones are cooked through and golden on the top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then cover with a tea towel (to stop them going hard) until you are ready to serve. Serve warm with butter, or jam & cinnamon whipped cream.