A delicious twist on traditional scones, flavoured with gin and lemon zest.
I love getting creative in the kitchen testing out new flavour combinations and scones are perfect for a bit of experimentation. The obvious way to tweak them is by adding extra bits such as the fruit in these very berry scones or the marzipan and mincemeat in this festive version. However, you can also get creative with the liquid you use in the recipe too, infusing the dough with lots of flavour. Usually I use milk for my scones, but I thought I’d have a go with gin instead and they taste amazing.
I’d originally planned to make gin and tonic scones, but watering down the gin with the tonic meant they lacked a bit of a punch. The tonic didn’t really add much to the flavour, so I switched to neat gin instead and then added some lemon zest too. Each scone has around a shot of gin so they’re quite potent and they definitely have a kick to them.
The drizzle of icing makes them look a bit prettier (because I love scones but they can’t complete with cupcakes in the looks department) and also adds a little extra sweetness which goes beautifully with the zestiness of the lemon.
I used Hendrick’s Gin for my scones as it’s what I happened to have in the cupboard, but feel free to switch it for your favourite gin. They should all work equally as well.
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Gin & Lemon Scones
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 50 g unsalted butter - +a little extra for greasing your tin
- 30 g caster sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ lemon - zest only
- 140 ml gin
- 50 g icing sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan.
- Lightly grease a baking tray with butter (or use a non-stick baking mat and then this isn't necessary).
- Put the self-raising flour (250g) into a large bowl. Cut the butter (50g) into cubes and add it to the flour. Rub together the flour and butter using your fingertips until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Finely grate the zest of half a lemon and add it to the flour and butter mixture. Add the caster sugar (30g), baking powder (½ tsp) and salt (¼ tsp) and mix to ensure they're evenly distributed.
- Make a well in the centre and add the gin (140ml) - I like to keep a tablespoon or two back to add at the end to help collect up any stray bits of flour. With as little action as possible mix the gin into the dry ingredients using your hands until the dough has come together. If there's any bits of flour left at the bottom add a touch more gin to help collect it up.
- Place the dough onto a work surface and pat it into a flat circle about 1½ inches thick (don't use a rolling pin). Use a sharp knife to cut it into 6 wedges (you can also use a round cutter to make round scones if you prefer).
- Move the scone wedges onto your prepared baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until the scones sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and move them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the scones have cooled, make your icing. Place your icing sugar (50g) into a bowl and add 1 tsp of cold water. Mix until fully combined. You’ll find that your icing is quite thick and you want it to be just runny so that if you dip a spoon in and hold it up it drips off very slowly (if it’s too quick then it’ll run off and you won’t be left with any icing on the scones). Keep adding and mixing water a drop at a time until you reach the desired consistency. If you accidentally add a little too much, simply add a little more icing sugar. Once your icing is the right consistency, dip in a spoon and use this to drizzle the icing over the scones.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Corn-Free
- Egg-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Lizzie says
We had no eggs in the house but fancied baking something! Came across this recipe and decided to give it a go, and they are fantastic! Thank you so much, I’ll definitely be making these again!
Brian says
I was in love with this idea. I made them and found them dense but flavorful. I wonder why you halved the normal amount of butter or didn’t add eggs to the recipe? Perhaps that would’ve made them less dense.
Charlotte Oates says
This recipe is adapted from my classic scone recipe. If you have a read if that post I’ve gone into some details about the ingredients and quantities I’ve chosen to use.
How long did you leave the scones before eating? I find that mosg scones tend to get a bit dense once they’ve been left for a while as the butter sets. If you warm them for 15 seconds in the microwave this softens the butter and leaves them fluffier again. These scones are a little denser than my original ones as the original ones are softened by the milk, which these don’t include.
Choclette says
What a very splendid idea Charlotte. Who needs gin and tonic when they can have one of your scones?
Pamela says
This looks interesting, I wonder what Pimms No1 would be like maybe just in the icing. I think a little trial of your recipe and then the Pimms.
Charlotte Oates says
I originally tried adding gin in the icing but I found that the sugar was so sweet that it overpowered the flavour of the gin and you couldn’t really taste it (so a waste really). I suspect the same would happen with Pimms, but they’ll still taste good so it might be worth a try. Let me know if you do.
Nicki says
I’ve just made these,using the Gordon’s pink gin, and when mixing the icing I used a tsp of gin then water, the icing had just a hint of gin and were utterly delicious
Rachel says
These look great. Can’t wait to try making them. Have you tried mixing the icing sugar with gin? Would it work?
Charlotte Oates says
I have tried that but I found that the sugar overpowered the flavour of the gin in the icing so it was a bit of a waste of good gin!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
Your scones look fantastic, I love the idea of using gin! Thanks for linking up to Treat Petite
vikki says
I would never have thought of using gin in a scone recipe Charlotte. Brilliant idea but I shame I don’t like gin. You are an inspiration. Thank you X
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
These sound divine Charlotte. Gin is one of my favourite tipples and I imagine the flavour would do well in baking. I saw a Gin & Tonic Cake in an e-mail from Lakeland a couple of weeks back and thought ‘Yum’…. Must try that, but I love that you have not watered down the main flavour….. gin all the way and rightly so! x
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Kate, I haven’t tried a gin & tonic cake yet but it’s quite high up my list!
Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook says
This takes scones to another level! Great addition to a cream tea. Elinor x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Oh my, these are absolutely inspired Charlotte! and having a shot of gin in each scone is going to make for a very happy picnic / afternoon tea party! I’d never considered altering the liquid used in scones to introduce flavour tbh, it’s a great idea 🙂
Angela x
Charlotte Oates says
I got the idea from another blogger a while ago who used fruit puree as their liquid (I’ve just been searching for the recipe to say who it was but I can’t find it). I’m pretty sure you could mix in pretty much any liquid and make a decent scone with it.
Rita Borg says
Hello Charlotte good morning. I came across this beutifull.scones recipe. thank you for your time you spend posting your great and so deleceus recipes.look forward to try them..
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Ohh how interesting.! Not something I would have thought of doing. Not sure I would use Hendricks Im rather too partial to that with tonic but I am certainly interested in trying scones. Anything Gin and i’m in!
Thank you for sharing on #CookBlogShare
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Jacqui, let me know what you think if you give them a try (and which gin you decide to use).