Directions

• Sieve the flour, caster sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and stir in the orange rind.
• Add the butter cut into small pieces and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Stir in the cranberries.
• Mix to a soft dough with the buttermilk. It should be soft and sticky you may need more than ½ pint.
• Turn dough out onto a well floured work surface and knead very lightly until smooth.
• Pat out to approximately 1 ½ inches / 4 cm thick.
• Cut out using a metal cutter dipped in flour. The number of scones will depend on the size of your cutter. A 2 ½ inch / 6 cm cutter gives you about 8 scones.
• Place on a floured baking tray or one lined with baking parchment and brush the tops with milk.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220°C / 200°C Fan / 425°F / Gas Mark 7 for about 15-20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
• While they are baking make the glaze and the cranberry sauce.
• To make the glaze just mix the orange juice with the granulated sugar, stirring to partially dissolve the sugar. You want the glaze to have a bit of crunch similar to the glaze on a lemon drizzle cake.
• To make the cranberry sauce put the cranberries, orange juice and 4 ounces / 110 grams / ½ cup sugar in a saucepan and cook over a moderate heat, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved.
• Increase the heat up to boiling point stirring continuously. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the cranberries are soft and the sauce is thick.
• At this point taste your sauce. I like my sauce quite sharp – you may need to add more sugar if it is too sharp for your taste.
• Store in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
• When the scones come out of the oven drizzle the glaze over and leave on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes.
• Finish cooling on a wire rack if you are not serving them warm from the oven.