I’m a little bit obsessed with tea and so when I’m scrolling through Pinterest, tea recipes always catch my eye. Usually you see things made with Earl Grey – for that wonderful Bergamot flavour, or with Matcha – if you’re feeling daring. I wanted to try something that used a different kind of tea.

Assam is my favourite: rich black Indian tea with a bright malty flavour. For a black tea, it’s packed with anti-oxidants and claims many health benefits such as improved blood circulation and stress-relief. I doubt very much that consuming it in scones will be very healthy, but it certainly tastes good!

RECIPE: Assam Tea Scones

SOURCE: Mary Berry’s Scones

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Lightly sweetened bready cake with the fragrant malty flavour of Assam tea in the background.

GOES GREAT WITH: Lashings of jam and a thick dollop of clotted cream. Try serving these as part of an Afternoon Tea

NOTES: I’ve used Assam, but you could try experimenting with any kind of tea. Or follow this link if you want to make plain English Scones.

When brushing the tops with the reserved egg mix, make sure that the mixture doesn’t dribble down the sides of the scones as this will impede the rising.

MAKES: 10

INGREDIENTS:

• 225g (8oz) FLOUR
• 1 heaped tsp. BAKING POWDER
• 40g (1.4oz) BUTTER, cold and chopped into small cubes
• 25g (0.9oz) WHITE GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1 EGG, large
• 150ml (5.3oz) MILK (approx)
• 15g (0.5oz) ASSAM TEA LEAVES

METHOD:

1. First, heat the milk so that it is hot (not boiling), add 2 teaspoons ASSAM TEA LEAVES and leave to steep for at least 20 minutes, but ideally up to an hour.
2. Take the remaining 10g (4 tsp.) of ASSAM TEA and grind it to a fine powder in a pestle & mortar.
3. Preheat the oven to 210c. In a large mixing bowl, add the FLOUR and BAKING POWDER. Add the BUTTER. With your fingertips, rub the butter through the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Stir in the SUGAR and POWDERED TEA.
5. Take the steeped milk and filter out the leaves (discarding them). In a jug, beat the EGG, then add the MILK so that the total amount (of milk and egg) measures 150ml.
6. Gradually add the EGG MIXTURE (reserving a few tablespoons for later) to the dry ingredients, stirring until you have a soft dough. Ideally, you want the dough to be quite wet and sticky. This will give you a better rise in your scones.
7. Now you want to handle the dough as little as possible. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Bring it together and flatten so that it is 2cm thick. Stamp out rounds, using a 5cm cookie cutter, and lift onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
8. Gently pull the off-cuts together, knead lightly, roll and cut until all the dough is used up. Brush the tops with the RESERVED EGG MIXTURE.
9. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. These are best eaten immediately, but will keep for a couple of days if kept in an air-tight container.