Buttery Scone Ring - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
1/2 cup butter, melted and hot
1 cup finely grated mature cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 deg F/200 deg Celsius.
Whip together the oil and egg.
Add the buttermilk or yoghurt. Beat well.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
Mix in the liquid mixture until a soft dough forms. Work lightly and quickly: scones do not like heavy hands.
On a floured board, pat the dough flat until about 1 1/2 inch thick.
Press out circles with a cookie cutter.
Pack these rounds, with edges overlapping a tiny bit, around the rim of a greased pie plate or other shallow round oven dish.
There should be about 8 - 10 scones, and they fit into most regular-sized pie dishes.
Mix together the ingredients for the topping, making sure the butter is hot -- not boiling!
Spread the topping carefully over the raw scone ring with a wooden spoon, a knife or a spatula.
Sprinkle over a little extra cayenne (or paprika powder) over for colour.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until puffy and golden.
Serve hot or warm, and extra butter is unnecessary.