In Celebration of The Royal Wedding: Jamie Oliver's Fruit Scones

 

Did everyone set their alarms this morning?  I must admit that I've been rather excited about The Royal Wedding and happily set my alarm for 4am so that I could watch it live.  I thought the wedding, and everything about it, was beautiful.  

I wanted to make something special in celebration of The Royal Wedding and went back and forth about which recipe to choose.  I looked at recipes for Eton Mess, Toad in the Hole, and various others before finally settling on Jamie Oliver's Fruit Scones.  As Kate was kissing her prince on the balcony of Buckingham Palace I was rolling out scone dough in my pajamas. 

Jamie says "This is a cracking recipe for scones which uses dried cherries as well as the more traditional raisins.  However, feel free to substitute any other dried fruit you like.  Scones freeze really well, so you can make a batch of them, pop some into the freezer, and that way, if you have any unexpected visitors, you can always put them straight into the oven from frozen as a quick and delicious treat.  Spread with jam and serve with clotted cream- nothing else will do!"


Fruit Scones

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Makes 10

1 scant 1 cup mixture of dried cherries and/or raisins

Orange juice, for soaking

4 cups self-rising flour, plus a little extra for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup butter

2 large eggs

1/3 cup milk, plus a little extra for brushing

salt

good-quality jam

2/3 cup clotted cream or heavy cream, whipped

To make your dough:  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Soak the cherries and raisins in a little bowl with just enough orange juice to cover them.  While they're soaking, you can either pulse the flour, baking powder, and butter in a food processor just until the mixture starts to look like breadcrumbs (don't be tempted to over-pulse!), or you can blend them together by hand.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.  In another bowl, beat the eggs and milk with a fork.  Drain your cherries and raisins in a strainer and add them to the beaten eggs and milk with a good pinch of salt.  Then pour your beaten eggs, milk, cherries and raisins into the well of the flour mixture and stir well, adding a splash more milk if necessary, until you have a soft, dry dough.  If your dough feels a little dry and doesn't come together, add an extra splash of milk.

To make your scones: Dust a clean work surface and your rolling pin with flour.  Roll out the dough until it's 3/4 inch thick.  Using a 2-1/2 inch round biscuit cutter, or the rim of a glass, cut out 10 circles from the dough and place these on a non-stick cookie sheet (you may have to roll your dough out again in order to get all 10 rounds out of it, but try not to knead it too much, as you don't want to overwork it).  Dip a pastry brush into some milk and brush the top of each scone.  Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until risen and brown.  Take them out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To serve your scones:  Cut each scone in half across the middle.  Spoon a dollop of jam on to the bottom half of each one, followed by a dollop of clotted (or whipped) cream, and put the tops back on.  Serve on a large plate in the middle of the table, or on individual plates - and don't forget a pot of tea!

Notes/Results:  Delicious served with cherry preserves and whipped cream.  A perfect breakfast to serve whilst watching The Royal Wedding!