With Roasted Pears

What a way to start a cosy Sunday morning - fresh from the oven Spiced Honey Scones topped with juicy roasted pears.
Delicately spiced scones with sweet hints of honey match wonderfully with overnight poached pears roasted until golden and juicy. Best served still-warm topped with marzipan yogurt, and roasted pear then finished with a drizzled extra poaching liquid.
I love that they’re not overly sweet, so they can even be served with something like goat’s cheese or avocado for a savoury topping choice. Whatever you serve these Spiced Honey Scones with, sweet or savoury if you have them for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea they will leave you warmly satisfied, you may even need a double batch.
6
2 hours 20 minutes
20 minutes
2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

Pears (start the day before):
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • Vanilla
  • Cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp almond essence
  • 2 pears, quartered and peeled
Scones:
  • 2 1/4 cup spelt flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp spice mix
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup +1 tbsp buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Pears:
  1. In a small saucepan mix together the sugar, water, vanilla, cinnamon and almond essence and put on low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  2. Pour syrup into a separate container with the pears.
  3. Leave pears in syrup for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight.
  4. Once the pears have soaked, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  5. Place the pears on the baking tray and roast them while making the scones.
Scones:
  1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices.
  3. Mix buttermilk, honey and vanilla with your dry ingredients and stir. Use floured hands to finish mixing.
  4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into a disk until about 2cm in thickness. Use a dough scraper or knife to cut the circle into six triangles.
  5. Transfer scones to your prepared baking sheet, arranging the wedges in a circle. Optional, brush the scones with a bit of buttermilk to help them brown.
  6. Turn the oven up to 200 degrees and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until scones are lightly golden brown.
  7. When putting the scones in the oven coat the pears with some honey for the last 10 minutes of baking.
  8. Serve scones with roasted pears drizzled with extra poaching liquid and yogurt or cream. Enjoy!