MARTHA‘S CORONATION CROWN SCONES

These scones are perfect for celebrating, as they are each shaped into crowns! Garnish with gold leaf or lustre spray if you’re feeling luxurious. They are flavoured with King Charles’ favourite tea: Darjeeling sweetened with honey. Makes 10 scones

Ingredients Ingredients:

• 160ml milk
• 1 Darjeeling teabag (or 1 tsp loose-leaf tea)
• 15g raw honey
• 300g self-raising flour
• 75g butter, cold and cubed
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten Clotted cream and strawberry jam, to serve

Method

1. Place the teabag (or loose-leaf tea) into a small saucepan and pour over the milk. Heat gently, until the mixture is steaming, then turn off the heat and leave the tea to steep for 30 minutes. Remove the teabag or strain the milk into a small jug, then add the honey and mix well.

2. Preheat the oven to 180o C/160o C fan and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

3. Place the flour into a large bowl and add the cubes of butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it is well combined and roughly resembles breadcrumbs – it is ok to be able to see a few small pieces of butter as this will create a flaky texture.

4. Gradually pour the infused milk and honey mixture into the centre of the well, stirring using a round bladed knife. A soft, rough dough should form. You may need to add a little more milk to mop up any excess flour. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to smooth out the dough and bring it together into a ball.

5. Gently roll the dough out to a thickness of around 3cm. Reroll the remaining dough, taking care not to handle the dough too much, and punch out more scones – you should get 10 in total.

6. Use a pair of scissors to snip small triangles in the top of the dough from the outside in, and press them upwards to form a crown-like ring around the scone. You need to push the scissors slightly into the scone to create a point that stands proud.

7. Chill the scones for 1 hour to firm up (if you skip this, they won’t hold their shape). Arrange the scones on a baking tray, then brush the tops and crown points with a little egg wash.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until risen and golden brown. Serve warm from the oven, split in two, with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Recipe by Martha Collins Baker and Recipe writer