Vegan Apple Scones with Almonds

To Make the Applesauce Glaze

1. Place the water in a small saucepan and add a teaspoon of juice from the lemon. Using a potato peeler, remove two strips of zest and add to the water.
2. Peel and core the apple then roughly dice. Add the apple directly to the lemon water while you continue to chop – this prevents it from turning brown.
3. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and, stirring often, allow to cook until all the cubes of apple have lost their shape completely. Once you have a lump-free apple sauce, turn off the heat and transfer the apple sauce to a bowl and leave to cool.

To Make the Scones

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and 100g sugar.
   Add the chilled vegan butter in cubes and toss to coat in flour. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour so you’re left with large flat flakes of butter in amongst a rough sandy textured mixture. Place in the fridge to chill.
2. In a separate bowl, place a few cups of water and a good squeeze of lemon juice (don’t worry about measuring anything here).
3. Peel and core the baking apple then slice into very fine dice (less than half a cm big if possible). Place the cubes of apple into the lemon water to keep from browning.
   When the apple is fully diced, drain off the water and add the apple to the flour/butter mixture. Stir well to combine. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the 190g apple sauce, vanilla extract, and 60ml plant milk. Whisk well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the other bowl of dry ingredients. Fold everything together until just combined then place the bowl in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
5. Once the mixture is chilled, turn it out onto the lined baking tray and pat it roughly into a thick circle. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide the circle into 8 segments and separate them as much as possible on the baking tray to allow for expansion in the oven.
6. Brush with the remaining plant milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before decorating.

To Decorate

1. In a small bowl, combine the icing sugar and the apple juice. Whisk well until smooth. Drizzle over the scones then top with the toasted flaked almonds.