The perfect pumpkin scone recipe and its must try delectable toppings

If you’ve ever had a scone before then you’re likely aware that they’re a deliciously delightful way to start your day, to have as an afternoon snack, or even as an after-dinner dessert. But what exactly are these delectable nuggets of joy?

Firstly, not to be confused with what Americans call “biscuits,” scones are a type of pasty made from either oat or wheat baking powder mixed with a raising agent. Some scones are baked with fruit in them, but all are slightly sweet in flavour and will often be glazed with an egg-white wash.

A fun fact about scones, however, is that depending on how it’s pronounced correlates to the deciding factor of what type of scone you get when you order!

In the UK, you’re likely to receive a sweet scone but they do offer savoury ones too. In Scotland, you might be served a soda scone, a potato scone or even a tattie scone. Ireland’s scones contain sultanas instead of raisins and Hungarians enjoy their scones, called pogácsa, savoury topped with cheese or dill.

Head down over to our kiwi neighbours and you’ll be served a girdle scone, which is cooked on stove-top griddles instead of being oven baked.

Here in Australia, you’re likely to find yourself munching on a heavenly pumpkin scone.

Pumpkin scores are an iconic Queensland afternoon delight made by an iconic Queensland woman, the late Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen, former senator and wife of long-serving Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Loved by Australians far and wide, these scones had even been recommended by royalty when Queen Elizabeth II told her son, Prince Charles, about their deliciousness.

“In his speech, Prince Charles said that every time he came to Queensland he found Sir Joh was still the premier. He wondered whether this was due to the pumpkin scones that his mother had told him about!” she wrote in her cookbook Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s Classic Country Collection. 

So, without further ado, Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s famous scone recipe…

Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s famous pumpkin scone recipe

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Half a cup of sugar 
• A quarter of a teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin (cold)
• 2 cups self-raising flour

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 250C. Beat together butter, sugar and salt, mixing until light and fluffy. 
2. Add egg, then pumpkin and stir in the flour until just combined.
3. Turn your dough onto the floured board and cut it into squares.
4. Place in the tray on the top shelf of an oven set for 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove the scones from the oven, allow them to cool before serving with your choice of jam toppings.