I don’t think there’s a bake more contentious than the scone, but in order to save my reputation, I shall refrain from wading into the murky territory of the jam-or-cream-first debate. I know my preference and shall sit quietly (and smugly) on it. The only truth I’m unwilling to neglect is that a good scone needs (no, deserves!) a good jam. This one is ace.
Orange scruffy scones
Daring to add insult to injury on the already controversial matter of the scone, I’ve dispensed with rolling and cutting, and have instead opted simply to ball these up in what I call “scruffy scones”, though, depending on your origin – in both time and geography – you might wish to call them “rock cakes”. If that’s the case, so be it.
Prep 5 min
Rest 30 min
Cook 50 min
Makes 10
450g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Zest and juice of 1 orange
15g baking powder
½ tsp fine salt
80g caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
200-250g full-fat creme fraiche
1 large egg yolk
Pearl sugar, for dusting (optional)
Clotted cream, to serve
Put the flour, orange zest, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Rub in the butter until you have fine, inelegant breadcrumbs – do this by hand or in a freestanding electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Juice the orange, weigh it (in grams) into a separate bowl, and add enough creme fraiche to bring the total weight up to 300g. Stir to mix, then add to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix – if doing this by hand, use a butter or palette knife to “cut” the wet ingredients into the dry. Once it all starts to clump, get your hands in there and bring it together into a smooth dough. Lightly flour a worktop – and I mean lightly: just a dusting – then knead the dough for 30 seconds to a minute, until smooth. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Divide the scone dough into 10 – I weigh it, then divide that by 10 to be precise. Roll each portion into a rough ball – the scruffier, the better – then put on the lined baking sheet and rest for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the egg yolk with a pinch of salt and the smallest possible splash of water. Once rested, glaze the scruffy scones liberally with the egg wash, using a pastry brush, then generously sprinkle over the pearl sugar, if using.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown and puffed up, then remove from the tray and leave to cool on a rack. Serve with the jam below and, of course, clotted cream.
Cherry, anise and sherry jam
This jam is wonderfully intense in cherry flavour. Even my mother-in-law, who is eternally fussy about spice, didn’t realise the anise was in there, because it doesn’t sing its own melody so much as harmonise with that of the cherry. You’ll need a sterilised jam jar.
Prep 15 min
Infuse 1 hr
Cook 30 min
Makes 1 jar
400g fresh cherries
70ml fino sherry
2 star anise
275g jam sugar
Remove the stalks from the cherries, then take out the stones – I find it oddly satisfying to tear them apart over a bowl and root out the stones with my fingers, but you can, of course, use a newfangled pitting contraption. I ended up with about 340g cherry flesh after I’d done this.
Put the cherries, now worse for wear, into a medium saucepan with the sherry and star anise. On a high heat, bring to a boil, then take off the heat and leave to infuse for an hour – make sure the anise remains fully submerged.
After this time, remove and discard the star anise and add the jam sugar, then put the pan on a medium-high heat. Stirring frequently, allow the jam to boil until it reaches 105C on an instant-read digital thermometer (for me, this took about 17 minutes, but please don’t get bogged down with timings). Pour the hot jam into a sterilised jam jar, seal and leave to cool completely. Store in a cool, dark place, where it will keep for 12 months. Once open, refrigerate and eat within three months.
John Whaite is a cookery writer and TV presenter
This article was amended on 3 July 2023 to remove budget references.
