For something sweet, I couldn’t resist sharing one of my favourite recipes. I simply love a good scone. Everyone seems to have a treasured family recipe, but this is a variation of the one we serve every day at Dunbrody House for breakfast and afternoon tea.

The addition of ground almonds gives the scones a wonderfully tender crumb, a slightly richer texture and a delicate nutty flavour without making them heavy. The lemon zest brings freshness and lifts the whole recipe beautifully. Before using it, I like to toss the zest in caster sugar and leave it to dry for a little while. It becomes wonderfully fragrant and makes a lovely finishing touch sprinkled over the warm baked scones.

Whether you enjoy them simply with butter, or piled high with jam and cream, I don’t think there is a better way to welcome everyone back into the routine than with a freshly baked scone and a good cup of tea – definitely required, particularly if you serve the cake while it is still slightly warm!

* The portions in the below recipe indicate the number of scones it will bake.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.

Grate the lemon zest and sprinkle 2 tsp of caster sugar over. Stir to combine and set aside for 30 minutes to crystallise. The lemon zest will dry and attach to the caster sugar.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Add the ground almonds, half of the crystallised lemon zest mix and the rest of the caster sugar. Rub in the butter with your fingertips.

Add the egg and add the buttermilk at this stage, and mix together to a soft pliable dough. If the mixture is too wet and loose, add in a little extra flour. Avoid overworking the dough.

Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and flatten it out to about 3cm in depth.

Using a 5-6cm diameter scone cutter, cut out the scones and transfer to the lined baking tray.

Brush the egg wash over the top of the scone.

Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on size. Smaller scones will cook quicker and larger scones will need extra time. The centre of the scone should be just cooked for the perfect texture and flavour.

Remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar and the rest of the crystallised lemon zest.

Serve the scones with your classic side like jam, butter and freshly whipped cream.