Scones with Lemon Zest and Rosella Jam

If you ever studied home economics at school and lived in Ireland, you will have made a basic scone recipe. Scones are quick to make with ingredients you’re likely to have in your kitchen. Nothing beats the taste and enjoyment of a freshly baked scone, generously spread with a layer of clotted cream or butter and your favorite jam. I specifically kept my small batch of home-made rosella jam for serving with these scones which were perfect together. And in keeping with the lemony cranberry taste of rosella jam, added the zest of a lemon to the scone mixture.

I recently came across an article on toasting sugar, a method of caramelizing white sugar without liquefying, so decided to try it…more on that subject in a future post. Added toasted sugar to this scone recipe but in truth, couldn’t tell the difference (in taste) other than small specks of brown if you looked closely at scones surface. Nonetheless it didn’t spoil the happy scone experience.

Maybe you already know this baking tip, when making scones and sometimes pastry, take cold butter (if you like, you can also freeze the butter) and using the large side of a grater, grate the butter (cover the block of butter in flour first) straight into the bowl of flour and then finish by quickly rubbing through with your finger tips…quicker and easier this way.

And if you prefer your scones savory over sweet, you might like to try these za’atar scones or feta cheese and sun-dried tomato scones. 

Scones with Lemon Zest

(Makes 8 to 10 scones)

Ingredients:

• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar or toasted sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 50g salted butter, chilled 
• 1 egg
• 80ml full-fat milk
• plain flour, for dusting the work surface

How to make:

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Fan 200C/Gas 7. Line a baking sheet with nonstick parchment paper.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and lemon zest. Give the ingredients a quick mix together.

Using the large side of a grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and finish using your finger tips to quickly rub in the butter, the mixture should resemble rough breadcrumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture and using a blunt knife mix everything together until a soft dough forms.

Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Using your hands, shape and flatten the dough to a thickness of 2.5cm. Using a 5cm round fluted pastry cutter (flour each time), cut the dough into rounds and carefully place on prepared baking tray. Gather the trimmings together and repeat the process until you have used all the dough.

Bake the scones for about 15 to 17 minutes, or until pale golden brown. When done, transfer scones on to a wire cooling rack. Serve scones warm with clotted cream or butter and a good quality jam. Best eaten on day of baking.

As the baking of these scones coincides with Tandy’s international scone week, thought to include this post and join in. You can view other scones recipes or take part if you wish on her blog http://www.tandysinclair.com