Irish Roasted Plum Scones Recipe
There are few things an Irish person takes as seriously as scones. Joe.ie even created “The Great Scone Map” based on how people in Ireland and the UK pronounce the word scone. Is it scone or scon?
These Irish Roasted Plum Scones Recipe create light, buttery soft scones with a crunchy exterior and added fruity, bursts of roasted plums. Perfect with butter or jam and/or whipped cream. Looking for more scones recipes? Check out my Blueberry Buttermilk Scones Recipe, my Irish Strawberry Scones Recipe (With Secret Ingredient- Mashed Potato!), my Pumpkin Spice Scones Recipe, my Apple Buttermilk Scones Recipe or if you’re looking for something savoury, my Wild Garlic Mature Cheddar Scones Recipe.
So how do I make these Irish Roasted Plum Scones from scratch?
To begin making these scones, we need to cook the plums just a little. Toss the sliced plums with brown sugar and place onto a baking tray and bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes until soft when pierced with a knife. Once baked, leave to one side to cool slightly.
For the next step, add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Add in the soft, room temperature butter and rub together with the flour with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs. Next add in the eggs and buttermilk. Mix together briefly until a shaggy dough has formed. Be careful not to over mix , I usually have a little unmixed flour left at the bottom of the bowl. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and pat down gently. If you prefer to keep your scones plain, skip the next steps and go straight to shaping, egg wash and baking.
And how do I add the plums into the scone dough?
I have a little system to be able to fit maximum amounts of fruit into the scone dough without it turning soggy. Add half the plums to the patted down dough. Fold over the dough in a “letter fold”. This means you take one third of the dough and cover it over the middle of the dough. Fold over the other third to seal. Roll out the dough a little bit and repeat with the remaining plums.
Dust the dough well with flour and roll out dough to cutting size. You want them very thick, almost the same height as the pastry cutter. Transfer to a lined baking tray with plenty of space in between. Roll out any leftover dough gently and cut until all the dough is used. Egg wash lightly and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
My recipe uses soft, room temperature butter. This helps the butter incorporate into the flour quicker and evenly. If your butter is too cold or hard, pop into the microwave for 5 second bursts to soften slightly.
Try to handle the dough as little as possible and gently. An overworked doughy results in a tough, chewy scone that won’t rise as well. Dust the dough with flour whenever needed for easier handling but don’t be too heavy handed with it.
I have never frozen scone dough raw, but according to Nigella, you absolutely can freeze them raw. For best results, follow the steps up until the egg wash. Place them directly onto a lined baking tray, don’t egg wash them and freeze like this. After a few hours, once frozen you can place them into airtight containers or ziploc bags and can keep for up to one month. Bake these straight from frozen, just pop them onto a lined baking tray, egg wash and extend baking time by 5-10 minutes.
You can also freeze baked scones. For best results, freeze them on a tray as soon as they are cooled from baking. Once frozen, place them into an airtight container or a ziploc bag. These can last for up to one month. Defrost for an hour and pop them into a hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
This is usually a personal preference. These plum scones are gorgeous still a little warm from the oven slathered with some good Irish butter. You can also add some freshly whipped cream and/or jam to them. If you have lots of plums and would like to make some plum jam too, you can find my perfect plum jam recipe here.
For more Plum Recipes, you can check out my Plum Recipes, here.
Looking for more breakfast and brunch recipe, you can take a peek here.
Irish Roasted Plum Scones
Equipment
- 1 Small sharp knife
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 scone/biscuit cutter
- 1 plastic scraper optional to help move around the dough
- 1-2 Flat baking trays
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Pastry brush
Ingredients
Roasted Plums
- 200 grams plums, stone removed and sliced into wedges
- 20 grams brown sugar
Scones
- 250 grams plain or self raising flour
- 50 grams caster sugar
- 5 grams baking powder
- 60 grams soft, room temperature butter
- 1 whole egg
- 80 grams buttermilk
Egg Wash
- 1 whole egg
- 10 grams milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c (360°f) or 170°c (340°f) if fan assisted.
- Using a small sharp knife, remove the stones from each plum and cut into wedges. Toss in brown sugar and bake for 5-10 minutes until they start to soften.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully. Place in the fridge to speed up the cooling process if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and baking powder. Mix together to ensure no lumps remain.
- Add in the soft room temperature butter and mix together using your hands, using a rubbing method until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add in the egg and buttermilk and mix together until nearly fully combined. A few crumbs at the bottom of the bowl is perfect.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200°c (400°f) or 190°c (380°f) if fan assisted.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and place the scone dough on top. Sprinkle the dough with more flour and gently pat the dough down to flatten slightly.
- Scatter a generous handful (or about half) of the roasted plums over the scone dough.
- Carefully fold the scone dough over itself in half. Sprinkle more flour on top.
- Carefully roll the dough out again to about half the thickness of the dough.
- Scatter over the remaining plums and gently press into the dough. Fold the dough over itself, this time in 3 folds.
- Sprinkle some more flour on the table and on the dough and carefully roll out the scone dough to desired thickness. I like a good thick scone so I roll it out to the thickness of the cutter.
- Dip the scone or biscuit cutter into flour and press into the dough, cutting out the scones. Place the cut scones onto flat, lined baking trays with plenty of space in between.
- Add the egg and milk to a small bowl and using the fork, beat together briefly.
- Brush each scone with the egg wash and bake immediately in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until the scones are evenly a golden brown colour. You may need to turn the tray halfway through baking depending on your oven.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Cold leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped at room temperature for 3-5 days. Leftover scones can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
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