Summer 2019Scones & Strawberry Jam recipe

By Natasha Brown, owner of Brown's Cakes

Scones
We are often told that ours are the best scones around. I believe this is down to using buttermilk and by taking care not to over handle the dough mixture.

330g plain flour
60g caster sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
90g butter
110ml buttermilk
90ml milk
One egg, beaten, for a wash over the scones

Preheat the oven to 220°C - 200°C fan oven - gas mark 7.

Crumble the butter in to the flour by hand (or blitz the butter and flour in a food processor) until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Mix in the sugar.

Stir the buttermilk and milk together in a jug and slowly beat in to the flour mixture.

Once the dough has come together tip it onto a floured work surface and gently knead it being careful not to over do it.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until approx. 2cm thick.

Cut out circles from the dough using a 6.5cm cutter using firm downward cuts; don’t wiggle the cutter as this can make them rise lopsided.

Carefully transfer the cut out shapes to a (greased) baking tray and apply an egg wash over the scones using the beaten egg.

Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Test if they are cooked by tapping on the base, if they sound hollow they are cooked, if not then give them a couple more minutes and test again.

To enjoy them at their best, eat the scones on the day they are made.

I love scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. I have included a very easy strawberry jam recipe which doesn’t need any fancy equipment or thermometer and makes just one jar from a punnet of strawberries.

An extra note: These scones also freeze exceptionally well, just bag them up and freeze on the day you make them then give them a couple of hours to defrost when you want to eat them.

Easy Strawberry Jam

This recipe is great if you just want one jar of jam and just have one punnet of strawberries. If I don’t have exactly 250g of strawberries I just use what I have and match it with an equal amount of sugar then add either a little more or less lemon juice depending on the weight of the strawberries.

250g strawberries, washed and dried
250g caster sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
A small knob of butter

Have a small cold plate ready for testing the jam on. If you plan on keeping the jam, you will need a sterilised jar. Old jam jars or clip top jars are easy to sterilise. Just give them a good wash first then place them in a warm oven (around 160°C - 140°C fan - gas mark 3) for 20 minutes. Remove the jar carefully as it will be very hot.

Cut out the core of the strawberries with a sharp knife. With large strawberries cut them in half then just cut out the middles. With smaller ones cut a triangular wedge downwards in to the strawberry.

Place the strawberries in a heavy saucepan and crush them with a potato masher.

Add the sugar and lemon.

Heat gently, until all the sugar is dissolved.

Bring the mixture up to a fast boil and then boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

To test if the jam is ready scoop a little on to a cold plate and pop it in the fridge for a minute. If after one minute the mixture wrinkles when pushed and doesn’t immediately flood back in place, it is ready.

If it is not ready, boil the mixture for a few more minutes and keep testing the same way until it is ready. Once it is ready, leave it to cool for 15 minutes then pour into your prepared container.

I hope you enjoy these simple but ever so British treats...