pumpkin scone jam sandwiches

Makes 12

Ingredients

Pumpkin Scones:

1 cup wholemeal SR flour
1 cup plain SR flour
1 cup steamed pumpkin (flesh only, about 350g raw pumpkin)
¼ cup (60g) cold butter, cubed
½ cup buttermilk + 2 tbsp extra to brush tops
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp caster sugar
Pinch salt

Raspberry Chia Jam:

1 cup frozen raspberries
¼ cup chia seeds
1-2 tsp honey, to taste
Smooth ricotta, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced.
Place the steamed pumpkin into a small bowl. Mash so that the pumpkin becomes a smooth consistency. Add the nutmeg, sugar and salt and stir to combine.
In a separate medium to large bowl, sift the flours and add the cubes of butter in. With your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Create a well and add the buttermilk and the pumpkin mixture. Use a butter knife to gently stir the mixture until it forms a soft dough. Knead very gently on a flat surface a couple of times with a sprinkle of flour (the scones will turn out tough if you knead the dough like bread so you barely need to knead it at all).
Roll the dough out or stretch it out with your hands until it is about 2cm thick. Using a scone cutter, cut individual scones out and place them on a lined baking tray, so they are just touching (or as they say, kissing) each other. Reshape excess dough and roll/stretch out again to make your final scones.
Brush tops with extra buttermilk and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
To make the chia jam place frozen raspberries with a splash of water in a small saucepan and place over low heat until defrosted. Add chia seeds and stir for a couple of minutes until chia seeds swell up and mixture forms a gel. Add honey to taste.
Serve scones warm with raspberry chia jam and smooth ricotta.