I would like to say there is a wonderful story as to how these came about but the truth of the matter is, I wanted some fruit scones and so decided to make some. Given my penchant for adding tea to things, I thought it would be fun to add some Earl Grey to the scone dough just to give them a little oomph. Although I have called these fruit scones, they are actually sultana scones as I prefer sultanas to the other varieties of dried squashed flies. I know you may be turned off by the sight of lard, but you can just use butter instead. I opted to use it for two reasons. Firstly, I have some in the fridge and need to use it up. Secondly, when revisiting old scone recipes, the more I went back through time the more recipes I came across which used the butter/lard blend to give a shorter scone, so I thought I would give it a go. I think it does help with the lightness of the scone, as so often they can be rather dense, as well as dry and crumbly. I opted to make these as effortless as possible which is why I essentially tip the dough out into the worktop, roll it a little and just evenly portion it up. As Mary Berry would say, they look "rustic". Understandably, if you want to use a cutter and make neat scones, knock yourself out, just try not to handle the dough too much and roll it a lot.
If you don't have loose leaf tea, you can use 3 teabags and rip them open. I think the amount I've suggested is a good middle-ground for people. That said, if you aren't an avid tea lover you can use a little less, and if you LOVE tea then use an extra bag or teaspoon to give that extra zing. You can always change the tea up too and use a different black tea. Go wild!
Makes 9
Hands-on Time 10 minutes
Baking Time 13 minutes
Ingredients
300g Self-raising flour (plus extra for dusting)
1/4 tsp Salt
30g Caster sugar
1 tbsp Loose leaf Earl Grey tea
50g Unsalted butter (chilled)
25g Lard (chilled) - can substitute for butter
100g Sultanas
160ml Milk
30ml Lemon juice
1 Egg, medium
Equipment
Baking parchment
Baking sheet
Food processor
Mixing bowl
Spatula
Jug
Rolling pin
Sharp knife
Small bowl
Pastry brush
Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C(Fan)/410°F/Gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Add the flour, salt, sugar, and tea to the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse until there are no large visible pieces of tea. The flour should look peppered with specks of tea. You may need to give a bowl a little shake if there are a few pieces not being ground down.
Add the butter and lard and again pulse until you have a fine crumb mixture, with no large visible pieces of butter and/or lard.
Tip the mixture into a bowl.
Add the sultanas and toss them into the dry mix using a spatula.
Combine the milk and lemon juice in a jug.
Whilst mixing with the spatula, add the lemony milk to the dry ingredients. Continue to gently mix until the dry and wet ingredients have mostly come together.
Lightly flour a worktop and tip the dough out onto it.
Flour the top of the dough and your rolling pin
Gently roll the dough out into a rough squarish shape, the key thing is that it’s about 3cm thick. You don’t want it too thin.
Using a knife, cut the dough up into similar sized pieces, you should be able to get 9 scones out of this one piece of dough.
Transfer the scones onto the lined baking sheet, ensuring there is a few centimetres between each.
Break the egg into a small bowl and mix using a pastry brush.
Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg.
Pop the sheet into the oven on a middle shelf for 13 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool before tucking in.
Enjoy!
