Beer scones with black pepper and orange

Craft beer purists might pale at the thought of pouring a fruity, spicy beer (think good quality IPA or saison) into a bowl of flour, but these scones are worth the sacrifice.

Ingredients

4 ½ cups	Self raising flour (Main)
1 large	Orange, Finely grated zest (Main)
1 tsp	Freshly ground black pepper (Main)
300 ml	Cream, (reserve about a Tbsp)
330 ml	Beer, IPA or saison style (Main)
1 Tbsp	Raw sugar

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 210C and put a baking tray in to heat up.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir through the orange zest and black pepper. Pour in the cream and beer. Fold quickly together to make a soft dough.
3. Dust a large piece of baking paper with flour and turn the dough out on to it. Pat into a rough circle, then cut into wedges. Pull the wedges out so there's at least a finger space between each one (so they've got room to expand while cooking). Brush with the reserved tablespoon of cream and sprinkle over the sugar.
4. Lift up the baking paper and transfer the scones to the hot oven tray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve warm, with lots of cold unsalted butter. These are best eaten the day they're made.

See more of Lucy's cooking with beer recipes

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• Pale ale cheesy pasta bake