Clare Coghill's indulgent recipe for bacon and Mull Cheddar scones from her debut cookbook

The savoury equivalent to our blueberry scones, these delicious bacon scones are irresistible when just out of the oven.

I like to add a little Isle of Mull Cheddar on top of the scones to go along with the crispy bacon and chives. If you can’t find Isle of Mull Cheddar, any mature Cheddar or strong cheese will do.

Ingredients

• 5 rashers streaky bacon
• 400g self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 150g butter, cut into cubes
• 2 eggs
• 150g Isle of Mull Cheddar, grated
• 175ml milk
• 1 tbsp English mustard

To garnish:

• 50g Isle of Mull Cheddar, finely grated
• A small bunch of chives, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan
2. Put the bacon rashers on a lined baking tray and put into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until dark and crispy. Set aside to cool, leaving the oven on, and then chop four of the rashers into little pieces
3. Put the flour into a mixing bowl with the baking powder and sea salt, then add the butter cubes. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb consistency, making sure there are no large chunks of butter left
4. In another bowl beat one of the eggs, then add it to the flour mixture along with 100g of the grated Cheddar, the chopped bacon, milk and English mustard. Loosely mix together with a spoon
5. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, then shape it into a rough circle with your hands, folding it over a few times so it begins to hold together. Remember: you are not looking for a smooth, kneaded dough here — the less interference, the better! Pat the dough down until it’s around 4cm high and pretty even
6. With an 8cm cookie cutter, cut out six scones and place them onto your lined baking tray
7. In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg and brush it over the top of each scone. Scatter over the remaining 50g of grated cheese, then bake the scones for 20 minutes
8. Set the scones aside to cool for 10 minutes. Finely chop the remaining crispy bacon rasher and, while the scones are cooling, pile some finely grated Cheddar, bacon and chopped chives over the tops

'Café Cùil Cook Book; is out November 4 (Kitchen Press, £25). Visit the Kitchen Press website to pre-order.