Scones with homemade strawberry jam

Sweet and crumbly, scones are a quintessentially British bake that taste of outdoor adventures in warmer weather. Paired with strawberry jam (and whipped coconut cream if you like), these vegan scones are the perfect addition to afternoon tea with friends. 

Vegan-scones with homemade strawberry jam

Recipe by Richard Church (www.richardchurchphoto.com)

Makes: 8-10 | Prep time: 15-20 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

For the scones:

• 400g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g vegan margarine
• 100g unrefined caster sugar
• 100g raisins
• 175ml dairy-free milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the jam:

• 800g ripe strawberries, stalked and quartered
• 300g sugar
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 150ml cold water

Method

For the scones:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 7/220C/425F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Put the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarb of soda and margarine into a bowl and rub together with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (takes about 5 minutes).
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring together with your hands. Knead on a lightly-floured surface until fully combined, and then roll out to about 3cm thick. Use a medium-sized pastry cutter to cut out your scone shapes and then load them onto the baking tray, leaving a little space in between them. Re-roll the pastry to use as much as possible.
4. When you are done, put the baking tray in the middle of the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are risen and golden. Allow to cool before serving.

For the jam: 

1. Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Put a lid half on (that is, leave a gap for steam to escape) and gently simmer for 1 hour.
2. Remove the lid and simmer for another 90 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick, jam-like consistency. Allow to cool a little and then either pour into a clean jam jar or can properly in canning jars. It will keep in the fridge for about a month in a jam jar.