Mark Mitson, Head of Pastry at The Assembly House, writes:

Every week, I bake thousands of scones for The Assembly House in Norwich: fruit scones, cheese, Colman’s Mustard and chive scones, gluten-free scones, vegan scones and these triple chocolate scones: there’s a reason they call me The Afternoon Tea King!

We first unveiled these as part of The Assembly House’s Scone of the Week selection in 2019 and it was an instant, massive hit – so much so, that when we removed them from sale, there was a petition to bring them back.

Chocolate scones are now a permanent addition to the restaurant and Cakeaway takeaway menu and we have fans who are completely addicted: perhaps it’s the addition of Nutella and cream which makes the scones quadruple chocolate.

There are a few simple rules to observe when making scones: never overwork the dough and don’t use too much flour on your work surface when you’re cutting out your shapes.

Don’t add all the liquid in the recipe at once because different kinds of flour have different levels of absorption rates: you are aiming for a soft, but not sticky dough.

Be gentle with your dough and don’t roll it out too thinly. Dip your cutter in flour before you us it and don’t twist it when you cut unless you want misshapen scones!

When you place your scones on the baking tray, place them upside-down on the sheet which helps them to rise more evenly.

For all other scones, I’d use an egg wash for a golden top and not milk, but these are an exception: brush milk on the top for a shine and with either milk or egg be careful not to drip the wash down the side of the scones which can affect the rise.

Like all scones, these are best served warm and while they do freeze well, they’re always better baked and served fresh on the day, just as we do at The Assembly House.

As for the other important details, I’m a ‘scone like cone not scone like gone’ man and just as I insist that it’s jam before cream on a classic scone, it’s got to be Nutella and then cream when you’re eating my chocolate scones. Standards, darling, standards.

Mark Mitson’s Triple Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour

35g cocoa powder

½ tsp baking powder

35g light brown sugar

70g butter

Two eggs

1/2tsp vanilla

100ml milk

35g white chocolate chips

35g milk chocolate chips

Method

1. Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder together

2. Add sugar and butter, rub the butter into the flour.

3. Mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Add the eggs and the vanilla.

5. Add milk to form a soft dough and knead lightly on a table.

6. Roll out to an inch thickness and cut into small rounds (use a glass if you have no cutter)

7. Brush tops with extra milk and bake at 180C for 12 to 15 minutes.

8. Best served warm with Nutella and cream. In that order!


Mark Mitson is head of pastry at The Assembly House in Norwich, assemblyhousenorwich.co.uk