Anyone for Pimms Jam?

High tea is synonymous for me with 3 tiered cake plates with scones with jam and cream, cucumber sandwiches and other sweet goodies (like the pictures you see in the Sweet Adventure Blog Hop hosted by Le Delicieux) accompanied by a classic English refreshing drink, Pimms! I thought I'd combine a few of these together in my Sweet Adventure creation for this month: Scones with Pimms Jam and cream!

The jam makes way more than you need for the recipe, but it's also good on toast, Victoria Sponge and over ice cream, as it's more runny than store bought varieties. I also made mini bite sized scones to take to work for morning tea, but you can make them as large as you want depending on the cutter you use!

Pimms Jam (Based on a recipe I found on the ITV website)

750g strawberries, hulled
225g cucumber
1kg jam sugar
rind of 1 lemon
rind of 1 orange
juice of 2 lemons
juice of 2 oranges
4 mint leaves
50 ml Pimms

Quarter the cucumbers, remove the seeds and slice into approx 1/4 cm slices;
Simmer in a little water for 10 mins or so, then remove from heat and drain;
Add all the remaining ingredients except Pimms and mint to a large saucepan and leave for 30-45 mins to mascerate;
Add the drained cucumber and bring to the boil for 10 -15 mins, breaking down the whole strawberries as they become tender, to your liking;
Leave jam mixture to cool for 10 -15 mins;
Add Pimms and finely sliced mint leaves and stir well;
Decant into sterilized jars and allow to set in the fridge.

Scones (based on a recipe from the trusty Readers Digest's The Cookery Year)

450g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

85g butter

120 ml water

120 ml milk

Preheat oven to 200C;

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl;

Add butter and either rub in or use a mixer/food processor till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs;

Gradually add milk/water mixed together till it forms an elastic dough – you may not need all the milk/water mix;

Knead on the benchtop till smooth and roll out to approx. 1 cm thick;

Cut with pastry cutters to the desired size;

Lay quite close together on a preheated baking tray;

Brush with left over milk/water mixture;

Bake for 10 mins till risen and golden.

Assembly

Whip 150 ml cream till it forms stiff peaks

To assemble the scones, half each scone and spoon a little jam onto each half and then either pipe or quenelle a small dollup of cream on top! Enjoy with a glass of Pimms or a pot of tea!