Nigella Lawson’s buttermilk scones are said to take no longer than “20 minutes to make and bake… from start to finish”.

The iconic chef stated: “I like to make up quite a big batch of scones and freeze some to produce a near-instant cream tea at some future date.”

She promised that buttermilk scones “thaw incredibly quickly”, which is fairly handy when you fancy some during the autumn months.

“Day-old scones can be revived by warming in an oven preheated to 150C (325F/gas two) for five to 10 minutes,” Nigella Lawson added.

Here’s how to make Nigella Lawson’s buttermilk scones to pair with a warming mug of coffee or tea.

Buttermilk scones

Ingredients

• 500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• Two tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Two tsp cream of tartar
• Two tsp caster sugar
• 50g unsalted butter
• 25g soft vegetable shortening
• 300ml buttermilk
• One egg, beaten, for an egg-wash (optional)

For ease, these ingredients can be bought online at the major supermarkets, such as Tesco and Asda. This would save time looking down aisles for the baking ingredients you may not be familiar about.

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C (450F/gas seven). Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.

Put the flour into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and sugar. Chop the butter and the vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour.

Rub the fats into the flour using your fingertips and then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.

Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough down into a round-edged oblong about 4cm thick, then cut out 6cm scones with a fluted cutter.

Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet, and brush with beaten egg (to give golden tops), if you wish.

Cook for 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel. Remove them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and jam.