Stop scones from being dry with ingredient that makes them 'so light they're fluffy'

Scones are often perceived as dry lumps of pastry, but that's often down to follwing the wrong recipe. When made right, you're in for a treat - a sweet, moist scone with a light, fluffy interior and an exterior that's delightfully crunchy and golden.

This delightful transformation is all down to one secret ingredient recommended by baker and content creator Erika Kwee, also known as the Pancake Princess. She swears by almond paste as the key to "perfectly moist, tender scones". Almond paste is a dense, sweet concoction primarily made from ground almonds, icing sugar and flour.

Almond paste is a favourite among bakers for creating fillings for pies and pastries like croissants, and for baking cakes and biscuits. You can easily find tubes or cans of almond paste in the baking aisle of most supermarkets.

Incorporating chunks of almond paste into the layers of scone dough results in delightful pockets of chewiness that harmonise beautifully with the crumbly pastry.

If you fancy making your own almond paste, the process is quite straightforward.

The high fat content and creamy texture of almond paste can "protect scones from turning dry and crumbly". If they manage to last that long, these scrumptious treats will "stay sweeter, lighter and fluffier for days on end".

Almond paste lends a sweet, rich almond essence to scones, reminiscent of an almond croissant.

Simply combine almond flour (or ground almonds), plain flour, icing sugar, water and almond extract in a food processor and blend until you achieve a smooth dough.

How to add almond paste to scones

To incorporate the almond paste, begin by preparing the dough as per usual, then roll it out and allow it to cool down.

Next, thinly roll out the almond paste and shape it into squares. Roll the cooled scone dough into a rectangle.

Place a piece of the almond paste onto the scone dough and fold it over.

Repeat this step once more, cut the dough using a round cutter, glaze with milk or cream and pop it in the oven to bake.