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There is a particular pleasure in a cheese scone eaten warm, with butter melting into the crumb and a pot of strong tea alongside. Where the sweet scone belongs to jam and clotted cream, its savoury cousin holds its own with chutney, pickles and a slice of good ham. It is also remarkably quick to make — from cupboard to cooling rack in well under half an hour, provided you keep your nerve and your hands light.

Why Cheese Scones Deserve a Place at the Tea Table

Afternoon tea tends to be remembered for the sweet things: the Victoria sponge, the jam tarts, the little iced fancies. Yet a plate of savoury scones does something the sweet course cannot. It settles the appetite, gives the tea something to work against, and turns a collection of cakes into a proper spread.

Cheese scones are also forgiving. They need no proving, no yeast, no particular skill with a piping bag. What they do need is a hot oven, a light touch and cheese with enough character to taste of something. Get those three things right and you will be asked to bring them again.

The Ingredients That Do the Work

This recipe makes eight to ten scones, depending on the size of your cutter. Nothing here is expensive, but the quality of two ingredients matters more than the rest.

• 225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder — self-raising flour varies, and this insurance costs nothing
• ½ tsp fine salt
• ½ to 1 tsp English mustard powder — the quiet hero of the recipe
• A good pinch of cayenne pepper
• 50g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 100g mature or extra-mature cheddar, coarsely grated, with a tablespoon held back
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 to 4 tbsp milk, plus a little extra for glazing

The mustard powder is not there to make the scones hot. It sharpens the cheese, lifting the flavour so that a modest amount of cheddar tastes like far more. Mild cheddar simply disappears into the dough, so choose something aged and crumbly, and grate it coarsely rather than finely — those little pockets of cheese are what you want to find when you bite in.

Chives, a spoonful of wholegrain mustard, or a handful of chopped spring onion all make fine additions if you have them. Keep the total additions modest so the dough does not become heavy.

Mixing and Handling the Dough

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6) and line a baking tray with parchment. Put the flour, baking powder, salt, mustard powder and cayenne into a large bowl and whisk them together for a few seconds.

Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Lift the flour as you go, letting it fall back through your fingers; this keeps the mixture airy. If your hands are warm, work quickly or use a pastry blender.

Stir through the grated cheese, keeping that reserved tablespoon aside. Beat the egg with three tablespoons of milk, then pour it in, holding back a spoonful for glazing later. Bring everything together with a round-bladed knife, adding the last tablespoon of milk only if the dough refuses to come together. It should be soft but not sticky.

Now finish the dough with your hands, but only just. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself two or three times — this builds a little layering — then pat it out to about 2.5cm thick. Overworking develops gluten, and gluten makes scones tough and bready rather than short and crumbly.

Cutting, Glazing and Baking

Cut out the scones with a 5cm fluted cutter, pressing straight down and lifting straight up. Do not twist the cutter; a twist seals the edges and stops the scone rising evenly. Gather the trimmings gently, pat them together and cut once more. Anything left after that is best baked as a cook's perk rather than reworked a third time.

Space the scones well apart on the tray. Brush the tops with the reserved egg and milk, then scatter over the reserved cheese. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until they have risen well and the tops are a deep golden brown. Move them to a wire rack and leave them for ten minutes — long enough to firm up, short enough that they are still warm when they reach the table.

Building a Savoury Tea

Split a scone while it is still warm and butter it generously; the butter should melt into the crumb rather than sit on top. From there, the choices are yours.

• Chutney — apple, tomato or caramelised onion all work well, and a sharp one is better than a sweet one
• Pickles — a spoonful of piccalilli or a few cornichons cut through the richness
• Cold meats — ham, or a slice of roast beef with a little horseradish
• Fresh things — watercress, thin cucumber, or a few leaves of rocket

For the tea itself, choose something robust enough to stand up to the cheese. An English breakfast blend or a good Assam, brewed for three or four minutes and taken with a splash of milk, is the traditional answer and still the best one. If you prefer something lighter, a strong Darjeeling works nicely without milk, and a pot of lapsang adds a smoky note that suits mature cheddar surprisingly well.

Keeping and Reviving

These scones are at their finest within an hour or two of baking, and on the day they are made. After that, store them in an airtight tin for up to two days. To bring them back to life, warm them in a moderate oven at 160°C for five to eight minutes, or split and toast them lightly under the grill. Both methods beat a microwave, which will leave them rubbery.

For longer keeping, freeze them on the day of baking and reheat from frozen at 160°C for about twelve minutes. A batch made on a Saturday morning will see you through a fortnight of impromptu teas, and there is something quietly reassuring about knowing that a warm cheese scone is only ever a few minutes away.