Scones and Eton Mess are both equally British, and equally delicious. What could be more tempting or more summery than a combination of the two? This recipe for Eton Mess Scones is easy to make and ridiculously indulgent.
This basic sweet scone recipe can be used for a number of different fillings but scones are traditionally served with clotted cream and a fruity filling such as jam. Add some dried fruit such as sultanas to the dough if you like.
Eton Mess scone recipe: ingredients
To make 12 scones:
400g self-raising flour
Quarter teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g butter, cubed
3 tablespoons caster sugar
200ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoons milk
Large handful strawberries, halved
Jar of good quality strawberry jam
2 meringue nests, broken into lumps
200ml clotted cream
Eton Mess scone recipe: method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a large bowl and, with cold hands, rub the butter into the flour until it reaches the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. You can also do this in a food processor. Mix in the caster sugar.
Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract and milk to a jug and warm to about hand temperature. Pour into the flour mixture and use a knife to stir the liquid in. Bring the dough together into a lump with your hands without overworking it.
Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and pat down into a round about 2.5cm thick. Use a cutter to press out 12 scones of 5cm round. Dust the cutter with flour as you go along - you'll probably need to reform the dough a couple of times to reach 12 scones.
Place the scones onto a floured baking sheet and brush milk over the tops then sprinkle them with a little sugar. Bake for 13-14 minutes - the tops will turn golden when they're ready. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
To make the Eaton Mess topping, mash the strawberries with the jam and mix the crumbled meringue in with the clotted cream. Slice the scones into halves and top each one with some strawberry mixture and cream mixture.
Cherry scone recipe
If you're not a fan of strawberries or the sweetness of the meringue, substitute some cherries and cherry jam or blackberries and blackberry jam for the fruit and leave out the meringue.
