Makes 8

240g plain flour

10g baking powder

¼ tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper

125g mature cheddar, grated

115g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

75g lime pickle, finely chopped

2 green chillies, finely sliced

125g buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

Put the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and half the cheddar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cold butter, pickle and green chillies, then briefly mix into the flour. Do not overwork – the butter should be visible and in irregular sizes. Mix in the buttermilk a little at a time, then tip out on to a work surface and push the dough together, scraping any dry bits to the middle. Roll out to a roughly 40cm-long rectangle and sprinkle over half the remaining cheese. Fold the top third over the middle and then the bottom third over them both.

Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again to a 40cm-long rectangle. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and fold again as before. Pat the dough into a 3cm-thick rectangle, trim the edges to neaten, then cut into eight even squares. Place on a lined baking sheet and chill for an hour.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg, bake for 12-15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½ and bake for a further eight minutes, until golden. Transfer the scones to a rack and serve warm or cool.