English Scones & Vegan Cream Teas!

It’s Wimbledon season! And, for once, it looks like a Brit might actually have a shot at winning. If Murray does make it, he’ll be the first Brit to win the men’s singles title since Fred Perry in 1936!

Fred Perry

[Source]

Like many Brits, Wimbledon is the time of year when I indulge in an English scone or two and big piles of English strawberries.  This year, I decided to go one step further and have been making full-on English Cream Teas 🙂

But how can you have scones or cream tea if you don’t consume dairy, you ask?  Well, I’ve got some great tasting alternatives for you.  In fact, I would even stretch as far as saying that they taste better than the traditional recipes.  English scones are often very dry and heavy (hence why they need so much cream and jam in the middle), but these dairy-free scones are much lighter and moist in the middle. In fact, fresh out of the oven they don’t even need any filling.

Dairy Free Scone (Vegan)

As a dairy-free alternative to clotted cream, I make a thick, spreadable coconut cream, lightly sweetened and flavoured with a hint of vanilla.  For me, the flavour and texture of this coconut “clotted” cream pairs perfectly with strawberry jam.

Vegan Cream Tea

This dairy-free cream tea is far healthier than a traditional cream tea.  Since the scones don’t contain any butter, lard or cow’s milk, they contain far less fat and calories, plus they’re cholesterol-free.  Replacing clotted cream with coconut cream means that the bad fats are replaced with good, heart-healthy fats.  It is also low on sugar as we use a sugar-free strawberry spread instead of jam.

This is a cream tea that is going to fill you with goodness   I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

[print_this]

English Scones (Dairy-free / Egg-free / Vegan)

Makes 9 large scones
Hands-on time: 20 minutes    Ready in: 35 minutes

Ingredients
300ml / 1¼ cups soya milk (or almond milk)
10ml / 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
270g / 2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
270g /
2 cups fine wholemeal (wholewheat pastry) flour or chapatti flour
20g / 4 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

90g / 6 TBSP dairy-free spread/vegan butter
80g / ½ cup raisins (optional)
3 TBSP unrefined caster sugar (or coconut sugar)

Soya milk, for glaze, optional

Suggested filling
Sugar-free strawberry spread (we love St Dalfour)
Coconut “clotted” cream (recipe below)

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan) / 425F. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Whisk together the milk and vinegar in a jug and set to one side.

Place the flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and stir through to combine. Using your finger tips, rub in the dairy-free spread/vegan butter until fully incorporated. Mix in the sugar and raisins (if using).

Make a well in the centre and pour in about three quarters of the milk and vinegar. Stir gently to combine. Add the remaining liquid, a little at a time, and use your hand to bring the mixture together into a soft, slightly sticky dough (depending on the type of flour you use, you may not need all the milk). Do not overwork the mixture, as this will result in heavy scones.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top and gently roll out to a thickness of 2.5cm / 1 inch. Cut out the dough using a 7.5cm / 3inch metal pastry cutter.  Press down swiftly on the cutter, lift straight up and push out the dough onto the prepared tray. Do not twist the cutter as you press down otherwise you will end up with funny shaped scones. Repeat until all the dough is used up, re-rolling the scraps as needed.

Brush the tops of the scones with a little soya milk, if desired, for a golden glaze.

Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. After 10 minutes of baking, turn the tray round 180 degrees so that they brown evenly. Leave to cool slightly before serving. They are best served fresh, but will last a couple of days in an airtight container. They also freeze well.

For a dairy-free / vegan cream tea, fill the scones with strawberry jam and coconut “clotted cream” and serve with a pot of freshly brewed tea.

[/print_this]

Vegan Cream Tea

[print_this]

Coconut “Clotted” Cream

Preparation time: 24+ hours chilling time for the coconut cream
Hands-on time: 5 minutes    Ready in: 5 minutes

Ingredients
250ml / 8½ oz can coconut cream (I use Sainsbury’s or Waitrose coconut cream)
1 TBSP icing (powdered) sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Method
Place the can of coconut cream in the fridge at least 24 hours in advance (this helps the cream to separate from the water). Without shaking the can, carefully open it and scoop the solid coconut cream into a measuring jug (you can discard the water). If your house is very warm, first chill the jug in the freezer for a few minutes.

Use a fork to break up the coconut cream then beat using an electric hand mixer until smooth.

Sieve in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and beat again to combine. Taste test and add a touch more sweetener, if desired.

Chill until ready to serve. This cream will keep up to a week in the fridge. It may firm up over time, so whisk with a fork, if needed, before serving.

[/print_this]

Vegan Scone

 

UPDATE

So delighted to hear that this recipe made the finals of the first-ever Great Vegan Bake-Off!

Thank you Peta

 

15 thoughts on “English Scones & Vegan Cream Teas!

      1. hi would you please forward me the recipe for gluten free scones, would it work using coconut oil. Thank you Denise

  1. These look wonderful! Scones are one of my favorite foods, but you’re right – they’re usually so unhealthy that I rarely make them. This recipe is very creative and so much healthier, I’ll have to keep it in mind the next time I’m craving scones. 🙂

  2. Hurrah for Wimbledon! I’ve just got back from holiday so I’ve missed the first week and have a lot of catching up to do.
    Your English cream tea looks super- love that you used coconut cream 🙂

  3. Coconut clotted cream sounds amazing. I’m not a huge fan of cream, on desserts I’ve always preferred ice cream or custard than cream and on scones, I don’t like a lot of cream but I would smother one in coconut clotted cream.

    1. Thanks Sandra for your kind words ♥
      I never expected in a million years that my Cream Tea would make it to the finals, but I’m really chuffed that it did!
      There are so many great entries in the finals & I’m struggling to decide which one to vote for. I hope they share all the recipes in the end as I’d love to try them all!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.