free-from cheese scones

I love, love, love (and miss) old school cheese scones, they are so yummy fresh from the oven with a bit of butter melting into them. These gluten-free scones are as close to them that I can get and I really do love them too, especially when I get to up the cayenne pepper content and give them a lovely chilli kick!

When I had been baking my 100% dairy-free beetroot muffins and savoury muffins and neighbours and friends came into my home commenting that it smelt of cheese scones or cheese and bacon scones I figured that cheese scones had to be worth a go. In order to keep them light I decided to cook them the same way I cook my savoury muffins. The mix is lumpy and airy so it needs to bake in cases to keep it’s upright shape, and I remove the cases to serve them. I have made beetroot scones which were a delight and you roll the dough out and use a cutter – but they were more dense.

The secret ingredient which made my 100% dairy-free beetroot muffins and savoury muffins smell and taste like they had real cheese in them was marmite! Yep that very unique love/hate ingredient. My partner hates it, but he loved the muffins and the cheese scones. He even got me a special pressie of marmite as he recognised it’s importance in my dairy-free baking.

The marmite completely disappears in the mix and creates a way better cheese flavour than the popular vegan nutritional yeast (which I find disgusting!) So please don’t be put off by the marmite in the mix, and please don’t miss it out. Friends have made this recipe for their children who hate marmite, but they loved the scones as there is no hint of that song marmite flavour.

These gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soya-free scones are are delicious! Sadly for Aars I used too much cayenne pepper in the first batch I made so he found them a little fiery for his tastebuds. We adults, however, LOVED them! The recipe below is aimed at pleasing your little ones so there is not too much cayenne pepper in the recipe – if you want to increase it go ahead! I made gluten-free scones but you can use normal oats and self-raising flour if you don’t need to be gluten free.

gluten-free scones, of the dairy-free cheese variety

• Yield:

  makes 15

• Cooking Method:

  baking

• Prep Time:

  20 mins

• Cook Time:

  20 mins

Allergens:

mustard

Dietary:

dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan

I love cheese scones and really miss them having to be a dairy-free home. These gluten-free scones are very yummy; and pretty close to old school cheese scones - a wonderful creation for my son (and me!). If I am making them for adults I up the cayenne pepper as I love a bit of a kick, but Aars prefers them made with the quantities provided below. I cook these in muffin cases to help them keep their form and shape but serve them without the cases. 

Ingredients:

• 1 C gluten-free oats
• 1 C m!lk alternative (I use oat m!lk)
• sprinkling of ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp ground mace
• ¼ tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp of marmite*
• 2 Tbsp hot water
• 1 C gluten-free self-raising flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¹⁄3 C oil (I use sunflower)
• 1C of your safe free-from cheese (grated)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and pop some cases into your muffin trays.

   

2. In a bowl combine the oats, m!lk and spices. 

3. In a cup combine the marmite and hot water, then the marmite has melted stir into the spiced m!lk and oat mix.

4. In a new bowl combine the flour, baking powder and bicarb then stir into the wet ingredients followed by the oil and dairy-free cheese. Mix until it's just combined, the batter should be lumpy.

5. Dollop into your waiting cases (you can sprinkle some of your special dairy-free cheese on top if you like), then pop them into the oven for 20 minutes.

6. When you remove them from the oven, leave the scones in their trays for 5 minutes out of the oven before transferring them onto cooling racks.

7. Enjoy!

Notes:

*Please don't be put off by the marmite, it disappears in the mix and creates a lovely cheese-y flavour (much more effective than nutritional yeast!)