Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones 4

I know I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again, I'm not much of a breakfast lover.  Not that I have anything against "breakfast food".  To the contrary, in fact, I can very happily eat breakfast food for dinner.  It's actually eating breakfast first thing in the morning that I struggle with - my body generally feels a bit happier if it's been up and moving about for a few hours before shovelling in a bit of fodder.  Still, much as I would generally prefer to skip breakfast, conventional wisdom seems to be that one shouldn't begin the working day on an empty stomach.  That being the case, I will often start my weekday morning with a smoothie, or this Tropical Fruit Granola, or even this Banana, Lemon & Passionfruit Guilt-Free Ice Cream (which is really just a frozen smoothie).

Despite my breakfast reticence, however, I do love brunch.  Taken a little later in the morning, and consumed at a more leisurely pace, this to me is how every day should begin.  I love, of course, a good feed of bacon and eggs, almost any kind of omelette, and what would brunch be without a classic eggs benedict?  But, to my way of thinking, every good brunch should also include a little sweetness - maybe something like these Peach & Blueberry Pancakes or this Orange Mango French Toast with Honey Roasted Strawberry Compote.

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones 2

Such thoughts were uppermost in my mind when it came to choosing a dish for our "Let's Do Brunch" theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week.  Leafing through my now much thumbed copy of Nigel Slater's Tender Vol. I, his recipe for a warm pumpkin scone captured my attention.  Nigel's suggestion of serving these with grilled bacon and sharp cheddar cheese would make a great brunch indeed, but as I mentioned I was looking for a little sweetness.  I left out the fresh thyme called for in the original recipe, and my initial thought was to add some prunes to the scones, but I had some fresh dates on hand to be used up, and I figured that some dark chocolate I had lurking in the pantry wouldn't go astray either.

These were quick and simple to make, with a soft, moist centre.  The combination of pumpkin, dates and chocolate strikes just the right balance between sweet and savoury notes, and served with a little drizzle of date syrup (entirely optional, but a nice touch if you have it) or maple syrup, these were the perfect addition to Sunday brunch.  They'd also be great with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee.

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones 1

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Makes 8
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

300g (11 oz) pumpkin, peeled & seeded (I used butternut)
140g (5 oz) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
70g (2-1/2 oz) butter
1x free-range egg, lightly beaten
90ml (3 fl oz) warm milk
handful of fresh or dried dates, roughly chopped
85g (3 oz) dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's Dark Ghana), roughly chopped
a little oil or butter
date syrup or maple syrup to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Cut pumpkin into large chunks, and steam until tender.

Meanwhile, mix flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium-sized bowl.  Cut butter into small cubes, and with your fingertips rub butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Mash pumpkin and stir in the warm milk and egg.  Mix in the dates and chocolate, then add everything to the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.  (Don't be alarmed - the dough is not firm enough to handle like a conventional scone dough - mine was almost more like a thick batter.)

Heat an ovenproof, non-stick fry pan over medium heat.  Melt a little knob of butter in the warmed pan, and add the dough to the pan.  Spread it out and smooth the top.  Turn heat down to low and cook until the underside is firm and browned  - about 5 minutes.

Lightly oil a dinner plate.  Remove pan from the heat and loosen dough from the pan with a palette knife.  Place plate over the top of the pan, then flip everything over so that the scone drops out onto the plate.

Now slide the scone back into the pan, cooked side up. and put the pan into the oven until the other side is cooked and the middle is set - about 5 to 8 minutes.

Turn the scone out onto a wooden board, cut into wedges and serve while still warm.  Drizzle with date or maple syrup if desired.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...


... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Amanda at Move, Love, Eat, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

Sweet New Zealand Badge A


I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum, and at Cook Your Books hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours, and at Hearth & Soul hosted by the gorgeous April at 21st Century Housewife.

See Ya in The Gumbo Badge     Weekend Cooking Badge     Foodie Friday Badge     Cook Your Books Badge      hearthnsoul150

29 comments:

  1. Well, I could have this for breakfast! Also it is quite an unusual recipe and I am trying to imagine the taste, never paired pumping with chocolate before. Great entry for Sweet New Zealand, will get a few heads turning!

    Have a great week

    Alessandra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, definitely a good breakfast treat, Alessandra :-) The pumpkin flavour is pretty subtle - it brings moistness to these more than flavour, and it means that unlike conventional scones these still taste great the next day.

      Delete
  2. I love these are sweetened with dates instead of refined sugar. They look so inviting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Angie. Yes, I think the dates were a good choice too.

      Delete
  3. I bet the dates keep these scones very moist -- they sound like they'd be good for tea, breakfast, or dessert.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Beth, the dates do keep these nice and moist - the pumpkin helps with that too.

      Delete
  4. Love how you changed up these scones, dates are fast becoming a favorite in baked goods for me. Nigel Slater's cookbooks are wonderful. Happy week-end!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cheri. If you like dates, I'm sure you'd enjoy the date syrup if you can get your hands on some.

      Delete
  5. The flavours in the scone sound wonderful and they look so moist and delicious but I'm intrigued by the cooking method - starting it in a fry pan on the stove top seems seems most unusual to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Zosia. It is a little unusual - more like the method for making girdle scones.

      Delete
  6. Lovely scones, Sue! Using pumpkin sounds really good to me, the scones looks really moist and tender. I would definitely love to have a slice or two with a cup of warm tea! Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joyce. They are very moist and tender - good luck with stopping at just two though :-)

      Delete
  7. Those look decadent! My stomach is grumbling for them even though I just finished my own brunch (fritatta) five minutes ago. Do you think you could substitute canned pumpkin?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think these are the best of both worlds. The chocolate definitely brings a note of decadence, but pumpkin and dates enables me to convince myself that I'm eating health food :-) We can't get canned pumpkin here, but you could definitely use that as a substitute.

      Delete
  8. Those are some beautiful looking scones! Thanks for sharing :)

    Happy Blogging!
    Happy Valley Chow

    ReplyDelete
  9. These look absolutely gorgeous! I'm not a big fan of big eggy, bacon-y breakfasts, mainly because I'm hungry as soon as I get up (and that's usually rather early, sigh), but I could wolf down a tray of these scones, no trouble at all. I've just realised I have Tender vol 1 but I don't think I've ever cooked anything from it (the shame). Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lucy. You totally must try a few dishes from Tender - it's a great book. Thanks for stopping by xo

      Delete
  10. Look oozingly gorgeous. Interesting combo - I've done dates & chocolate but not dates, pumpkin & chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lesley - it's a pretty happy combo I think :-)

      Delete
  11. Those look amazing. Perfect for brunch or pretty much any other time!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think this combination of flavors must be heavenly... and am in complete agreement about waiting a few hours before breakfast whenever possible. Wouldn't brunch every day be perfect? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, JoAnn, you're so right - I would love a leisurely brunch every day :-)

      Delete
  13. YES PLEASE!! Two of my fave ingredients - Pumpkin and Chocolate. These will soon be on my b'fast rotation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your scones look amazing--so moist and decadent looking but with the pumpkin, dark chocolate and dates, they are pretty much health food! ;-) I would love these for brunch or tea time.

    ReplyDelete
  15. If I read scones I always think of cream tea ;-) This big one looks amazing ...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Get out! Chocolate Scones! I'm always on board with eating chocolate at breakfast. I like breakfast and brunch foods, I'm just not that into making them. It takes me a while to "get up" in the mornings.
    But I think I could manage these even at my most sleepiest :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. These look amazing, more like brownies! Yum

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I love hearing from you and your comments are like gold to me. Your comment will be visible as soon as it has been approved.