Fortnum & Mason's scone recipe

After the holidays, it's nice to have a lighter schedule.  I'm enjoying the slower pace and having time to do things, like read, again.  That said, I'm happily staying busy in the kitchen in the new year.  In fact, I've been paying attention to satisfying all my random food cravings!

These cravings run the gamut, from steel cut oatmeal to veggie stews, to, of course, chocolate.  One recent craving I've been having was for scones.  I think it may have something to do with my vague idea for a Christmas afternoon tea of sorts during the holidays that I couldn't manage to make happen.  So with more time to cook more random things, it was time to make another batch of scones!

I have developed a preference for British-style scones (which are lighter, more cake-like than the American counterpart), particularly after having an amazing afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London a couple of years ago.  I came home from that trip to London and wrote about making Battenberg cake and jammy dodgers and I realized I never posted about Fortnum's scones, which I've made a few times as well.  

I started making them after Fortnum published their scone recipe in their cookbook published in 2017.  I had to get my hands on some '00' flour first.  This superfine flour is common in Italian cooking, for making things like pasta; I'm happy to note that it's a lot easier to find this flour now and I can pick up a bag at my local Whole Foods.

I am admittedly quite shaky (i.e., bad) at making things like scones, biscuits, and pie dough.  But, somehow, I keep trying.  So my Fortnum scones don't come out quite as lofty, or uniform, or nearly as beautiful as the real deal.  However, they still taste wonderful!  These scones are delicate in a way - light and soft in texture, and sweet.  They are less buttery and heavy than American scones and more cake-like; they almost melt in your mouth.  After eating the latest batch this past weekend, I realize why I've been craving them! 

When I make British scones, I always get the urge to make a small batch of lemon curd to go with it.  I did just that this past weekend.  It felt so nice to sit down, split open a freshly-baked scone, and slather it with a little homemade lemon curd.  As much as I was enjoying the combination, I couldn't help but think how much I like these scones all by themselves, just enjoying the taste and texture of them.  Needless to say, I was really happy I paid attention to this particular craving and wanted to put down the recipe here.

Lemon curd biscuits

Let's not stop the tea party just yet...and extend it just a teensy bit longer, shall we? I need to put the little tea cups and china I bought on our recent trip to London to good use.

So let's sit a spell and have another cup of tea.  Nothing fancy, but we need something to nibble on.  I know!  How about some lemon curd biscuits to go with our cuppa?  Doesn't that sound good?  A traditional crisp, buttery, British-style biscuit with a refreshing taste of lemon is just the thing to go with a cup of tea on a spring afternoon.  

After we braced the long lines and gawked at the crown jewels at the Tower of London, I bought a couple of souvenirs...the tea cup I'm using here and a little book full of recipes for afternoon tea.  This biscuit recipe in that book called out to me because I adore lemon (and other citrus flavors in desserts) and these biscuits actually have a bit of homemade lemon curd stirred into the dough itself to give it a nice strong lemon flavor.

The dough is a bit dry and I likely handled it a little more than I should have.  I found these biscuits best eaten the day they're made and I really enjoyed the flavor of them...a lovely blend of sweet-and-tart from the lemon curd.  The neat thing is you start the recipe by making a small batch of lemon curd.  After using a portion of it for the biscuits, you end up with a little extra lemon curd as an added bonus!

These lemon curd biscuits are great on their own.  But you know me...I dipped some in chocolate.  Absolutely not necessary but it's a near reflexive move that I can't control at times.  Either way, with or without chocolate, it's just about taking a break and enjoying simple things.  Even if it's a tea party for one sometimes, it's nice to take a moment to treat yourself.  

After the biscuits are made, you still have a small bonus amount of homemade lemon curd leftover.  It's an excellent excuse to bake a fresh batch of (British-style) scones, which is just what I did!  Maybe we have a renewed appreciation for British-style scones now because my family and I enjoyed these immensely over Sunday breakfast.  Lemon curd is simply delicious with scones! 

Use the extra lemon curd from this recipe as a spread for scones