Earl Grey Lemon Scones Recipe

Is there any pastime more quintessentially British than drinking tea and eating scones? This delicious recipe by recipe developer Jennine Rye combines the two, to make a yummy baked treat that is sure to delight any tea lover. While there is a distinct difference between English and American scones, these two pastries have a lot more in common than differences. When you say the word scone to an American, they would likely imagine a triangular-shaped, sweet buttery pastry, perhaps flavored with fruits. For this recipe, however, Rye (herself a Brit) has decided to lean into the English variety, which is usually slightly less sweet. To make the recipe even more English, she's flavored these scones with another British staple: Earl Grey tea.

The origins of Earl Grey tea are disputed, but it is widely considered to be named after an Eighteenth Century British Prime Minister, Charles Grey, who had the title of Earl. It is a black tea blended with Bergamot, which gives it a lighter, more citrusy flavor. It's often served with lemon as well, which enhances the citrus flavor even further. To this day it remains a very popular blend of tea and makes a delicious accompaniment to this Earl Grey lemon scone recipe. Read on to find out how you can make these Earl Grey and lemon-infused scones at home. 

To make this recipe for Earl Grey lemon scones, first, you will need to gather the ingredients. Scones are well known for their relative simplicity, only requiring the basic ingredients of flour, baking powder, butter, milk, sugar, and eggs. To add the Earl Grey flavor, you'll also need Earl Grey tea, either in loose-leaf form or in tea bags. Additionally, you will want some lemon zest which will help to bring out the delicious citrus notes of the tea.

To flavor your scones, you'll infuse the milk with Earl Grey tea and lemon. To do this, simply heat up the milk in a small saucepan, then remove it from the heat source and add the tea and the lemon zest. Whether you use teabags or loose-leaf tea for this scone recipe, leave the mixture to sit and steep until the milk is cool. Then, pour the mixture through a sieve to remove the tea and the lemon zest, leaving you with beautifully flavored milk for the scone dough. 

To form the scone pastry, start by adding the flour, baking powder, and sugar to a large bowl, and then whisk them together to evenly distribute the raising agent. Next, it is time to add the cold butter by rubbing the butter and dry ingredients together using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

For light and fluffy scones it is very important that you use chilled butter. This should prevent the butter from melting until the scones are in the oven, which then creates lift and delicious flaky pastry layers in the scones. In fact, some people even recommend running your hands under the cold tap for a minute before mixing in the cold butter to keep everything as cool as possible. 

When the butter has been mixed in, add the infused milk and eggs to the bowl to form a soft dough, and then roll out the pastry. Make sure you do this on a clean surface, liberally sprinkled with flour to stop the dough from sticking. To make deliciously chunky scones you will want to roll out the pastry keeping it at least 1 inch thick, which you can then cut into whichever shape you choose. The traditional round British shape is achieved by using a circular cookie cutter with crimped edges, but you can also cut them into wedge shapes which will result in a classic American-style scone.

Place the scones on a baking tray and brush them with a little extra whisked egg or milk to give them nice shiny tops then place them in the oven to bake. You'll know they are ready when they have risen and the tops are a lovely golden brown color. You can enjoy the scones while they are still slightly warm from the oven; if you're serving them with butter it will melt very pleasingly into the soft, crumbly pastry. Alternatively, you can serve them with jam and clotted cream for a more traditional accompaniment. Blackcurrant jam goes particularly well with Earl Grey and lemon.

Ideally, you will want to make the scones and enjoy them fresh, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. You can also freeze them straight after baking to help retain their freshness for longer.