Fool-proof and crowd pleasing, everyone needs a good scone recipe up their sleeve. Keep some of these in the freezer to quickly defrost when soup’s on the menu for lunch (try spreading them with Marmite).

Ingredients
220g plain flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
130g grated cheese (cheddar, gouda, whatever you have in the fridge that isn’t soft – a mix of 50g cheddar and 50g parmesan is nice)
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder or 1 teaspoon Dijon or wholegrain mustard
50g cold butter
100ml milk

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 5. Line a baking tray/sheet with baking paper.

Mix together the flour and baking powder. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Quickly stir through 100g of the cheese and the mustard powder – if you’re using Dijon or wholegrain whisk it into the milk.

Pour most of the milk in, and give the whole thing and good mix together with your hands – you want it coming together in a firm dough. Add the rest of the milk if necessary, and if it’s still too crumbly a drop more.

Sprinkle your worksurface with flour and turn your dough onto it. Roll it out with a rolling pin until it’s 2cm thick – this looks quite thick if you’re used to making pastry or biscuits! Using a biscuit cutter or a glass about 6cm diameter, cut round out and place them on the baking tray. Scrunch it back together when you can’t cut any more, roll it out again and keep going cutting them out – when you’re left with the last little bit just form it into about the right shape with your hands.

Brush the tops of the scones with milk and distribute the final 30g cheese over each one.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden on top.

Tip: try adding chopped bacon, prosciutto etc; chopped chives or finely sliced spring onions to the mix before adding the milk.