Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Strawberry and Chamomile Scones
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
35 minutes
15 minutes
1 hour 45 minutes
Serves:
12 scones
Dylan created this dish for Great British Bake Off ™ Series 15. This Fix-It reconstruction keeps the restaurant-minded concept the judges praised — pickled strawberries and chamomile against cool clotted cream — while correcting the tough crumb, faint strawberry and lost chamomile they flagged. Paul...
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Ingredients
FOR THE CHAMOMILE-INFUSED CREAM:
Heavy/double cream — 120 ml (1/2 cup)
Loose chamomile flowers (or 3 tea bags) — 3 g (1 tbsp)
FOR THE QUICK PICKLED STRAWBERRIES:
Rice vinegar — 30 ml (2 tbsp)
Caster sugar — 12 g (1 tbsp)
Loose chamomile flowers — 1 g (1 tsp)
Ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered — 120 g (3/4 cup)
FOR THE ROASTED-STRAWBERRY COMPOTE:
Strawberries, halved — 150 g (1 cup)
Caster sugar — 25 g (2 tbsp)
Lemon juice — 5 ml (1 tsp)
FOR THE SCONE DOUGH:
Self-raising flour — 250 g (2 cups)
Baking powder — 5 g (1 tsp)
Caster sugar — 40 g (3 tbsp)
Fine salt — 1.5 g (1/4 tsp)
Freeze-dried strawberry powder — 15 g (3 tbsp)
Cold unsalted butter, grated — 70 g (5 tbsp)
Cold buttermilk — 120 ml (1/2 cup)
Chamomile-infused cream (from above) — 60 ml (1/4 cup)
Egg, for egg wash — 1
TO SERVE:
Clotted cream — 120 g (1/2 cup)
Reserved pickled strawberries and a little syrup
EQUIPMENT:
Digital scales
Small saucepan
Fine sieve or muslin
Large mixing bowl and box grater (or food processor)
5.5 cm (2 in) plain sharp cutter
Baking sheet and baking parchment
Sterilised small jar
Method
STEP 1: INFUSE THE CREAM
Warm the cream gently with the loose chamomile until it is steaming but not boiling. Off the heat, steep for 15 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve and chill. Putting the chamomile into the cream — which then goes into the dough — is what carries the floral note into the bite, rather than losing it in the vinegar. (Makes about 120 ml; you will use 60 ml in the dough.)
STEP 2: QUICK-PICKLE THE STRAWBERRIES
Warm the rice vinegar, caster sugar and chamomile until the sugar dissolves. Cool slightly, pour over the quartered strawberries and leave for 20 minutes only — a short bath keeps the gentle sourness without bleaching out the fruit. Drain, reserving a little syrup.
STEP 3: ROAST THE STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
Toss the halved strawberries with the caster sugar and lemon juice. Roast at 200°C / 400°F for 12–15 minutes until jammy, then crush lightly and cool. This concentrated note delivers real, unmistakable strawberry.
STEP 4: BUILD THE DRY MIX
Whisk together the self-raising flour, baking powder, caster sugar, fine salt and freeze-dried strawberry powder. The powder colours and flavours the crumb itself, so the strawberry is in the scone, not only beside it.
STEP 5: RUB IN THE COLD BUTTER
Grate the cold butter straight into the dry mix and toss with your fingertips just until coarse, keeping the butter in flecks. Cold butter and minimal handling are what keep a scone tender.
STEP 6: BRING TOGETHER LIGHTLY
Make a well, add the cold buttermilk and 60 ml of the chilled chamomile cream, and bring together with a few light strokes of a butter knife. Stop the moment it clumps — do not knead. A shaggy, barely-mixed dough is the goal.
STEP 7: REST, THEN PAT
Tip onto a floured surface, pat (don't roll) to about 3 cm / 1¼ in thick, and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten so the scones bake tender and rise straight.
STEP 8: CUT CLEAN
Dip a sharp 5.5 cm cutter in flour and press straight down — never twist. Twisting seals the sides and gives a squat, lopsided rise; a clean cut gives tall, even scones.
STEP 9: GLAZE AND BAKE
Brush the tops only with beaten egg (egg on the sides also stops the rise). Bake at 220°C fan / 240°C / 475°F for 12–14 minutes until risen and golden.
STEP 10: COOL AND ASSEMBLE
Cool on a wire rack. Split each scone and spoon on clotted cream, a little roasted compote, and a few drained pickled strawberries with a thread of their syrup — layering all three strawberry forms so the headline flavour lands.
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Instructions
FOR THE CHAMOMILE-INFUSED CREAM:
Heavy/double cream — 120 ml (1/2 cup)
Loose chamomile flowers (or 3 tea bags) — 3 g (1 tbsp)
FOR THE QUICK PICKLED STRAWBERRIES:
Rice vinegar — 30 ml (2 tbsp)
Caster sugar — 12 g (1 tbsp)
Loose chamomile flowers — 1 g (1 tsp)
Ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered — 120 g (3/4 cup)
FOR THE ROASTED-STRAWBERRY COMPOTE:
Strawberries, halved — 150 g (1 cup)
Caster sugar — 25 g (2 tbsp)
Lemon juice — 5 ml (1 tsp)
FOR THE SCONE DOUGH:
Self-raising flour — 250 g (2 cups)
Baking powder — 5 g (1 tsp)
Caster sugar — 40 g (3 tbsp)
Fine salt — 1.5 g (1/4 tsp)
Freeze-dried strawberry powder — 15 g (3 tbsp)
Cold unsalted butter, grated — 70 g (5 tbsp)
Cold buttermilk — 120 ml (1/2 cup)
Chamomile-infused cream (from above) — 60 ml (1/4 cup)
Egg, for egg wash — 1
TO SERVE:
Clotted cream — 120 g (1/2 cup)
Reserved pickled strawberries and a little syrup
EQUIPMENT:
Digital scales
Small saucepan
Fine sieve or muslin
Large mixing bowl and box grater (or food processor)
5.5 cm (2 in) plain sharp cutter
Baking sheet and baking parchment
Pastry brush
Wire cooling rack
Sterilised small jar
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: INFUSE THE CREAM
Warm the cream gently with the loose chamomile until it is steaming but not boiling. Off the heat, steep for 15 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve and chill. Putting the chamomile into the cream — which then goes into the dough — is what carries the floral note into the bite, rather than losing it in the vinegar. (Makes about 120 ml; you will use 60 ml in the dough.)
STEP 2: QUICK-PICKLE THE STRAWBERRIES
Warm the rice vinegar, caster sugar and chamomile until the sugar dissolves. Cool slightly, pour over the quartered strawberries and leave for 20 minutes only — a short bath keeps the gentle sourness without bleaching out the fruit. Drain, reserving a little syrup.
STEP 3: ROAST THE STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
Toss the halved strawberries with the caster sugar and lemon juice. Roast at 200°C / 400°F for 12–15 minutes until jammy, then crush lightly and cool. This concentrated note delivers real, unmistakable strawberry.
STEP 4: BUILD THE DRY MIX
Whisk together the self-raising flour, baking powder, caster sugar, fine salt and freeze-dried strawberry powder. The powder colours and flavours the crumb itself, so the strawberry is in the scone, not only beside it.
STEP 5: RUB IN THE COLD BUTTER
Grate the cold butter straight into the dry mix and toss with your fingertips just until coarse, keeping the butter in flecks. Cold butter and minimal handling are what keep a scone tender.
STEP 6: BRING TOGETHER LIGHTLY
Make a well, add the cold buttermilk and 60 ml of the chilled chamomile cream, and bring together with a few light strokes of a butter knife. Stop the moment it clumps — do not knead. A shaggy, barely-mixed dough is the goal.
STEP 7: REST, THEN PAT
Tip onto a floured surface, pat (don't roll) to about 3 cm / 1¼ in thick, and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten so the scones bake tender and rise straight.
STEP 8: CUT CLEAN
Dip a sharp 5.5 cm cutter in flour and press straight down — never twist. Twisting seals the sides and gives a squat, lopsided rise; a clean cut gives tall, even scones.
STEP 9: GLAZE AND BAKE
Brush the tops only with beaten egg (egg on the sides also stops the rise). Bake at 220°C fan / 240°C / 475°F for 12–14 minutes until risen and golden.
STEP 10: COOL AND ASSEMBLE
Cool on a wire rack. Split each scone and spoon on clotted cream, a little roasted compote, and a few drained pickled strawberries with a thread of their syrup — layering all three strawberry forms so the headline flavour lands.
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