Scones are a classic English tea time treat and I thought I would ring the changes to this traditional recipe by adding fresh strawberries and making it into a large cake.
I am not a great fan of double cream so have filled with centre with chopped fresh strawberries and extra thick Greek yoghurt. Serve in slices garnished with sprigs of fresh mint.
The secret to perfect light scones is to gently combine the dough mixture by hand – using an electric mixture overworks the dough!
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8 people
Ingredients:
500g self-raising plus extra for dusting
1 ½ tsp baking powder
225g butter, chilled and diced
140g golden caster sugar
75ml full fat milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 large egg, beaten
Filling
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon icing sugar – sieved
600ml extra thick Greek Yoghurt or plant based cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Garnish: Sprigs fresh mint and a dusting of icing sugar
Method
Heat oven to 180C fan/gas 6 and line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment.
For the scone base put the flour in a large bowl with the baking powder and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then add the butter and rub everything together into fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.
Pour the milk, lemon juice and egg into the well and stir together until a soft dough forms.
On a lightly floured surface, bring the dough together by lightly kneading a couple of times.
Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a round about 18cm in diameter.
Using a 4cm heart shaped cookie cutter stamp out a heart shape of one of the round scones.
Place each round on a baking sheet and bake for 25 mins, swapping the trays round halfway through cooking, until the scones are golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, mix the thick yoghurt with the icing sugar and vanilla essence.
Spoon some jam on the flat side of one of the scones and then yoghurt.
Top with the sliced strawberries and the remaining scone. Dust with icing sugar and serve in slices.
