Bake With Beaut.ie - Banana and Chocolate Chip Scones

In case you missed it, last Tuesday we introduced you to the lovely Rosanne from Irish baking blog Like Mam Used To Bake. From this Sunday on, we will be sharing her sumptuous recipes for glorious goodies. Get ready to impress guests at your Christmas party with this week's delight!

Banana and Chocolate Chip Scones

Every week I am greeted by the sight of a spotty banana languishing in the fruit bowl. As I hate to throw them away I like to come up with different ways to use them up. This sweet scone studded with dark chocolate chips has proven one of my better brainwaves.

I love to smother them generously with Nutella topped off with whipped cream, better still is clotted cream if you can get your hands on some. If you don’t have time to bake with the bananas straight away just pop them into the freezer. I have a drawer in my freezer that at times looks like a banana morgue, but they always find their way into some bake or other. They will be slightly mushy when they defrost but don’t worry; they are perfect for baking with.

If you have any little helpers in the kitchen I’m sure they would love cutting the scones out of the dough. As they only take a few minutes to bake they won’t have to wait too long to taste the fruits of their labour. I love these scones still warm from the oven, but they can also be enjoyed cold.

Ingredients

(makes approx. 10)

450g self-raising flour

2tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

100g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge

200ml buttermilk

1 ripe banana, approximately 100g, peeled and mashed

2tsp vanilla extract

100g plain chocolate chips, or plain chocolate chopped up

1 large egg, beaten

Nutella and whipped cream to serve (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Grate in the cold butter and cut through with a knife until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the buttermilk, banana and vanilla and cut through with a knife until evenly combined. Finally add the chocolate chips and gently cut through - try not to overwork the dough.

Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it just a little to bring it together. Flatten it out to a thickness of approximately 3cm and cut out rounds using a floured pastry cutter. Bring the offcuts of dough together, flatten & cut until you have used it all. You will yield 10 or more scones depending on the size cutter you use.

Place the scones evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the tops only with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

And finally - enjoy!

Are you going to try out this deeelicious recipe?  We'd love to see a twitter-y pic of your work so send us one to @beautie! And sure, if you'd like to send some into the office, we wouldn't say no….