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A delicious twist on traditional scones, flavoured with gin and lemon zest.

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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.

Gin & Lemon Scones

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Makes 6 scones

Ingredients

• 250g self-raising flour
• 50g unsalted butter (+a little extra for greasing your tin)
• 30g caster sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• Zest of half a lemon
• 140ml gin
• 50g icing sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan.
2. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter (or use a non-stick baking mat and then this isn’t necessary).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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).
7. 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.
8. Once cooked, remove them from the oven and move them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
9. 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.

I’m sharing this recipe with the follow challenges… #CookBlogShare with Recipes Made Easy and #TreatPetite with The Baking Explorer and CakeyBoi.