Note: It's very important that the scone dough stays cold at all times if you want to get the perfect scone texture and appearance. So, make sure that your butter and buttermilk are cold (straight from the fridge) and work quite quickly – don’t overwork or over-handle the dough, as that can make the butter start to melt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.

Add the cold cubed butter and work it into the dry ingredients until you get a mixture resembling breadcrumbs, with a few pea-sized pieces here and there.

Add the cold buttermilk and vanilla, and stir everything together until the dough starts clumping together in places but it’s still uneven with some patches of dry flour.

Add the raspberries (if you’re using frozen ones, don’t thaw them!) and white chocolate, and stir well until they’re evenly distributed and most of the flour has been hydrated. Your dough will still be fairly crumbly and shaggy at this point, it shouldn’t hold together or form a ball.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to press it together into a rough ball. Be careful not to overwork it, it needs to stay as cold as possible, otherwise the butter could start to melt. You don’t need to knead it – the aim is to press it together so it won’t fall apart when you cut it into the individual scones, but it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth.At this point, you can add a tiny bit more flour (if the dough is too sticky) or a tiny bit more buttermilk (if it’s too dry and won’t stick together).

Press the dough into a roughly 7-inch (18cm) disc, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.

Cut it into 8 wedges, either with a sharp knife or with a straight-edged metal pastry cutter (bench scraper).

Transfer the scones onto a lined baking sheet, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film (to prevent them from drying out) and chill for at least 15-20 minutes (in the fridge if you used fresh raspberries, in the freezer if you used frozen ones). While the scones are chilling, start pre-heating the oven.Tip: This chilling step sets the butter in the dough and it prevents the scones from spreading too much during baking. This way, they'll puff up in the oven but still retain their pretty wedge shape.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a large baking sheet with parchment/baking paper.Tip: I like to transfer the chilled scones onto a new, room temperature baking sheet (not the one they've been chilled on). That ensures that their bottoms start baking straight away and further prevents spreading.

Place the chilled scones onto the lined baking sheet, spaced as far apart as possible, as they will puff up during baking.

Brush them with a bit of extra buttermilk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake them at 400ºF (200ºC) for 18-20 minutes until golden brown on top and slightly darker around the edges.Tip: If your scones have spread out a bit too much (it can happen because of the white chocolate), you can nudge them into a more perfectly triangular shape while they’re still hot and malleable, straight from the oven. Use a butter knife or a small offset spatula and press it gently along the sides of the scones to correct any points where they've spread too much. But don’t stress about it – these are meant to be rustic!

Once baked, cool them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool – they’re amazing both warm and cooled completely to room temperature.You can serve them as they are, or drizzle them with a simple raspberry icing. To make the raspberry icing: finely mash up the fresh (or thawed frozen) raspberries, add the powdered/icing sugar and vanilla, and then mix everything together until smooth. At this point, you'll get a fairly thick, pink paste. Slowly add the lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency, then drizzle the icing over the scones.

The gluten free raspberry scones are at their best on the day of baking, but you can store them in a closed, air-tight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days. I recommend reheating them before serving.You can reheat them by placing them in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 5-10 minutes until they're heated through and their exterior is crisp. You can also reheat them in the microwave, by microwaving in 10-15 second bursts until they're warm and soft. Note that reheating them in the microwave won't crisp up the crust – but it will make their interior just as soft and tender as it was on the first day.