Lavender is a soothing herb that is commonly found in sachets and in afternoon tea recipes. This recipe infuses lavender flowers into heavy cream as a flavoring agent for cream scones. The result is a rich, flaky scone with a mild lavender flavor -- perfect for pairing with afternoon tea or for enjoying tea with brunch.
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours, 12 minutes
Yield: 6 large or 12 small scones
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. dried lavender buds
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling if you like
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, frozen
Preparation:
- Combine the heavy cream and lavender flowers in a jar or covered bowl. Refrigerate for six hours or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture. (Alternately, you can use a cheese grater to grate the butter, then use your hands to work it into the flour mixture.) Stop mixing when the texture is similar to coarse cornmeal.
- With minimal mixing, blend in just enough cream to make the dough stick together.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and knead it slightly.
- Form a ball with the dough, then gently form it into one or two discs at 1/2- to one-inch thickness.
- Cut the dough into six triangle-shaped wedges.
- (Optional) Sprinkle with sugar.
- Transfer to a buttered baking sheet or a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake 10-15 minutes, until the scones are golden on top.
- Serve warm with lemon curd, Devonshire cream or clotted cream. For an afternoon tea pairing, serve with Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Assam second flush tea or a lavender herbal infusion.
