I hate wasting food. I am not one of those people who regularly goes through the contents of their fridge or freezer and throws away any products that happen to be in the past the “Best Before date” category, I am just not that organised, and also, as I said, I hate wasting food. I mean, there are, of course, certain types of food that are simply unsafe if consumed some time after their “use by date” – fresh or cooked meat, fish, eggs, for example, so extra care needs to be taken when those are concerned. When it comes to fruits or vegetables, or cheeses… well, I certainly do not pay too much attention on Best before date label, they can stay in my fridge for a long time, so long as they are not mouldy (excepting mouldy cheeses of course, because they are mouldy to start with) or smelly and rotten, they can still be used, especially if they are subjected to high temperatures.

I often end up having quite a few of leftovers of different types of cheese in the fridge that really need using up, as it is a bit past its best to be eaten with the usual cheese board, so I usually use them up by making a real winner in our household: a cheese scone. This time I was super keen to bake something: I was itching to use my shiny new oven! I used to have a gas oven which was a bit of a pain: small shelves, burnt bottoms as the flame was on the bottom at the back of the oven itself and no fan to spread the heat. Well, I guess the good thing is that I never had cakes with soggy bottoms 🙂 – The Great British Bake Off fans will know what I mean here.

This scone is a perfect thing to bake and test the new electric oven – quick and easy.

The beauty of the cheese scone is that it takes very little effort to make, it really is so easy and quick to cook but tastes delicious!

All you need is butter, flour, milk, baking powder and cheese

I use 450 grams (3 cups) of plain flour

4 heaped teaspoons of baking powder

85 grams (3/8 cup or 3oz or 6 tablespoons) of unsalted butter

350ml (1 1/2 cups or 12 fl oz) of milk

Crumbled cheese leftovers and a small piece of cheddar for grating over the scone (I think most types of cheese can work here, cheddar, stilton, wensleydale, goats cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, camembert) – the more variety the more flavoursome the scone will be! And you can be very generous with cheese if you want your scone very cheesy 🙂

All that needs to be done is sifting of flour with the baking powder, then butter rubbed into flour until there are no lumps of butter left in the bowl, then slowly incorporate the crumbly dough with milk (save a little milk for basting the scone afterwards), then mix in the crumbled cheese and  a large

Working butter into the flour

Once milk and cheese crumbles are added, shape the dough on the baking tray, baste it with some milk.

Score the scone with the palette knife

Then grate some cheese on top – it will create a gorgeous crust on the scone during baking.

Ready to go into the preheated oven! 220C (425F or gas mark 7) is probably the best temperature for it.

It really does not need to be neat!

Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes on the top shelf until well risen and beautifully golden 🙂 The aroma in the kitchen is enticing!

Voila! The scone is ready!

Mmmm, crusty, cheesy fluffiness is ready to be eaten!

That is all that needs to be done! All that is left to do is eat it with some pickle or chutney. This scone is very nice when fresh out of the oven, but it keeps really well for a few days and can be eaten cold or reheated in the microwave.

Enjoy!