Layered blueberry jam scones

Tender scones made with lemon and yogurt and layered with homemade blueberry jam.

Nur

Jun 29, 2023

153

Thank you for being a part of my syrupy kitchen. Now let’s cook.

Makes: 8 scones

Time: 4 - 5 hours (including chill + baking time)

Ingredients

for the blueberry compote

100 g frozen blueberries
75 g sugar
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2-3 tbsp)
1 tsp lemon zest
2-3 tbsp water (cold)
1 tsp vanilla

for the dough

100 g butter
225 g all purpose flour
75 g sugar
1,5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
125 g greek yogurt (preferably 10% fat, see note)
1 large egg (about 50 g)
1 tbsp lemon zest

Note: It’s important that you use full fat greek yogurt because it has the thickest texture.

Recipe video

Method

Let’s make the blueberry compote

In a pot, add the frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and water.
Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes and mash the blueberries as well as you can whilst cooking.
It’s important that you cook the compote long enough, because if it’s too runny, it won’t stay in the scones.
You’ll know the compote is thick enough when 1 cm (0,4 inch) air bubbles start to form on top and they don’t pop immediately, but stay for 1-2-3 seconds. I know this might be an unusual way to detect if the compote is done, but I tested this recipe many many times and this is the best indicator I found without using a thermometer.
Add the vanilla and mix.
Pour the compote into a bowl and let it cool completely in either the fridge or freezer. This takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
When the compote has cooled it should be scoopable but very sticky. IF it is somehow too hard to scoop, you can add a TINY splash of water and mix it in.

Let’s make the scones

Cut your butter into small cubes and pop in the freezer for 15-30 minutes or until very cold but not frozen.
In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. I like to add this bowl with the ingredients into the fridge so it get’s nice and cold while the butter is chilling.
In a small bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt and egg. If the butter still needs more time to chill, you can also add the yogurt and egg mixture into the fridge.
The next part of the recipe has to be done quickly and everything should stay cold. If your butter starts melting, you can add everything to either the fridge or freezer and continue again once it’s back to being cold.
Once everything is cold, toss the butter in the flour mixture and pinch it between your fingers until most of the flour reaches a sandlike texture but it should still have pea sized chunks of butter.
Make a well in the center of the flour + butter mixture and pour in the yogurt and egg mixture.
Mix it as well as you can with a spoon and then mix it gently with your hands.
This part is optional but I like to form a ball and wrap it in saran wrap and let it cool in the fridge for anywhere from 15-30 minutes.
Flour your work surface and gently press down the dough into a rectangle. I make sure mine is somewhere between 1/2 - 1 cm (0,2 - 0,4 inches) in thickness.
Add half of the blueberry compote to half of the rectangle and cut the dough in half. Sandwich the two pieces together. The easiest way to lift the dough is by using a bench scraper or a large knife.
Now press the dough down gently and flatten it as well as you can. Try keeping the rectangular shape as well as you can.
Add the remaining compote on half of the dough and cut the dough in half again. Sandwich the two pieces again but don’t flatten the dough this time. Just press it down gently so the pieces stick together
Wrap in saran wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Preheat your oven to 175 C (350 F). It’s important that your oven is preheated before you bake scones otherwise they won’t rise and the butter could potentially leak.
Once the oven is hot, cut your scones (that are still cold, because you’ve JUST taken them out of the fridge) into 8 pieces, transfer to a baking paper lined tray
Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle som pearl or demerara sugar on top.
Bake until golden or for about 20-25 minutes.
Enjoy hot from the oven. They also stay very good and soft for a few days when wrapped in an airtight container or a plastic bag.

Method with photos

Part 1: Start out by making the blueberry compote.

In a pot, add the frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and water.

Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes and mash the blueberries as well as you can whilst cooking.

It’s important that you cook the compote long enough, because if it’s too runny, it won’t stay in the scones.

You’ll know the compote is thick enough when 1 cm (0,4 inch) air bubbles start form on top and they don’t pop immediately, but stay for like 1-2-3 seconds. I know this is a weird way to detect if the compote is done, but I tested this recipe many many times and this is the best indicator I found without using a thermometer.

Add the vanilla and mix.

Pour the compote into a bowl and let it cool completely in either the fridge or freezer. This takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

When the compote has cooled it should be scoopable but very sticky. IF it is somehow too hard to scoop, you can add a TINY splash of water and mix it in.

Part 2: Let’s make the scones

Cut your butter into cubes and pop in the freezer for 15-30 minutes or until very cold but not frozen.

In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. I like to add this bowl with the ingredients into the fridge so it get’s nice and cold while the butter is chilling.

In a small bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt and egg. If the butter still needs more time to chill, you can also add the yogurt and egg mixture into the fridge.

The next part of the recipe has to be done quickly and everything should stay cold. If your butter starts melting, you can add everything to either the fridge or freezer and continue again once it’s back to being cold.

Once everything is cold, toss the butter in the flour and pinch it between your fingers until most of the flour reaches a sandlike texture but it should still have pea sized chunks of butter dispersed.

Make a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture and pour in the yogurt and egg mixture.

Mix it as well as you can with a spoon and then mix it gently with your hands.

This part is optional but I like to form a ball and wrap it in saran wrap and let it cool in the fridge for anywhere from 15-30 minutes.

Flour your work surface and gently press down the dough into a rectangle. I make sure mine is somewhere between 1/2 - 1 cm (0,2 - 0,4 inches) in thickness.

Add half of the blueberry compote to half of the rectangle and cut the dough in half.

Sandwich the two pieces together.

Now press the dough down gently and flatten it as well as you can. Try keeping the rectangular shape as well as you can. Mine had a length of about 18 -20 cm (7 - 8 inches).

Add the remaining compote on half of the dough and cut the dough in half again. Sandwich the two pieces again but don’t flatten the dough this time. Just press it down gently so the pieces stick together. It should have hight of about 2 cm or more (0,8 inches) and should be around 13 cm or 5 inches in length. You don’t have to measure your dough, I’m just stating the length to give an idea of how large it should be.

Wrap in saran wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 175 C (350 F). It’s important that your oven is preheated before you bake scones otherwise they won’t rise and the butter will potentially leak.

Once the oven is hot, cut your scones (that are still cold, because you’ve JUST taken them out of the fridge) into 8 pieces, transfer to a baking paper lined tray. I like to cut the scones on the saran wrap for easier clean up.