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English Scones with Rhubarb Curd | Mother’s Day

scone with rhubarb curd

Mother’s Day will soon be upon us; only a week to go. Do you have any special plans for your mums? Perhaps you will be going out to brunch, lunch or dinner and fighting the crowds for a table like we did last year. I actually prefer to not eat out because I am an impatient being and waiting for a table in a crowded restaurant with poor service is not my idea of a fun Mother’s Day.

What I would like is my family to make me brunch or an afternoon tea. However, since I really don’t like them messing up my kitchen and using my expensive equipment, I probably won’t get it. 

You wonderful readers have come here looking for ideas because you are going to make your mums something special and I can at least help with that. I hope to post a few new recipes and link a couple of old ones this week that can be incorporated into a beautiful brunch or an elegant afternoon tea for your special mother or grandmother.

First up is this wonderful recipe for rhubarb curd. Gorgeous, pinkish red stalks of this tart and irresistible vegetable (often mistaken for a fruit but rhubarb is a close relative of garden sorrel) should be hitting your stores and markets now. 

rhubarb curd

I have been wanting to make this rhubarb curd for months now since I first saw the recipe in my BBC Good Food magazine. I waited patiently for the rhubarb season to arrive. The magazine recipe is actually made using the early season, forced rhubarb, however, I searched high and low for it back in January and February but to no avail. Spring rhubarb season is here now so I am jumping head first into it. I love rhubarb and try to use it all season long in various desserts and such. I hope to try it in savoury applications this year because I discovered that the Iranians use rhubarb in their main dishes.

The rhubarb curd is tangy, buttery and quite mellow. It is perfect for spreading on toast, drizzling over some Angel Food cake, spooning into little tartlets or in this case, dolloped onto freshly baked English scones.

No afternoon tea is complete without the required scones, clotted cream, butter, jam and curd. These scones can very easily be served at a Mother’s Day breakfast or brunch also. There is never a bad time to eat a hot scone with lashings of cream and jam, or curd.

scones

I am always trying out scone recipes trying to find that one perfect recipe. I am going to have to devote some time to tinkering with these recipes to come up with one I like. Todays recipe is from Mary Berry, who happens to be a well known baker and competition judge in the UK. Mary’s recipe turned out really well; they rose beautifully to lofty heights, were moist and tender inside, and fairly easy to make. It’s only slightly adapted to include US cup measurements and all purpose flour, which everyone in the US has in their pantry, instead of self raising (which I think everyone in the UK has in theirs!)

scones

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English Scones with Rhubarb Curd | Mother’s Day Treats

Serves: 2 jars/10 scones

Rhubarb Curd recipe adapted from Good Food Magazine. English Scones recipe adapted from Mary Berry.
Ingredients
RHUBARB CURD
  • 6 large stalks/600g rhubarb, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped
  • 4 large eggs
  • 15 tablespoons/200g butter, diced
  • 4 teaspoons cornflour/cornstarch
  • ¾ cup/175g caster/superfine sugar
  • grenadine or natural food colour, optional
ENGLISH SCONES
  • 3 cups/450g all purpose/plain flour
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 6 tablespoons/75g butter, chilled and diced
  • ¼ cup/50g sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup/225mL milk, approx
Instructions
RHUBARB CURD
  1. Chop the rhubarb in a blender or food processor, getting it as fine as possible.
  2. Set a sieve over a bowl and pour in the ground rhubarb.
  3. Let the rhubarb drain out the juice.
  4. Press on the pulp to get out as much juice as possible.
  5. Add the eggs, butter, cornstarch, sugar and 250 ml/1 cup of the rhubarb juice, saving the rest, into a pan set over very low heat.
  6. Whisk until the butter has melted and then stir constantly until the curd begins to thicken.
  7. Don't raise the heat or you will curdle the eggs.
  8. Make sure to stir around the edges as this is where it might start to stick first.
  9. When the curd begins to bubble, strain the curd into a clean bowl to catch any curdled eggs.
  10. Stir in ½ cup/100mL more of the reserved juice and add a small splash of grenadine or food colouring, if desired.
  11. Place in fridge to chill.
  12. Once cold, check to see if you want the taste a bit sharper and then add a splash more of the rhubarb juice.
  13. Spoon into jars.
  14. Makes 2 12oz jars.
  15. Curd will keep in the fridge for a week.
ENGLISH SCONES
  1. Preheat oven to 400℉/200℃ and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Beat the eggs in a measuring cup and add milk to make up to 1¼ cup/300mL
  3. Put aside two tablespoons for brushing on top.
  4. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl a couple of times.
  5. Add the chilled butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  6. Doesn't have to be too fine, a few lumps of butter are fine.
  7. Add the milk and egg mixture and gently bring the dough together.
  8. If it looks a bit dry, add a bit from the reserved milk egg mixture.
  9. Pat gently into a circle 1 inch/2cm high.
  10. Using a 2"/4cm cutter, stamp out scones.
  11. Put the scraps back together and stamp out the rest of the scones.
  12. Should be able to get 8-10 scones depending on the size of your cutter.
  13. Press the cutter straight down, without twisting, so you get even rise on the scones.
  14. Place on the baking sheet and brush just the tops with the egg milk mixture.
  15. Bake in the oven for about 12-14 minutes until golden brown on top.
  16. Serve immediately with the rhubarb curd, jam and clotted cream.
Notes
I used the 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in the rhubarb curd and although it was thick, I felt it could be a bit more firm. When you add the juice after it comes off the heat, that does thin it out a bit. I suggest maybe increasing the cornstarch to 5 or even 6 teaspoons and then thinning it out afterwards. The grenadine is for colour. The curd will not stay pink once the eggs are added. My yolks were so yellow, that the curd ended up being an unappetising tan colour. I did not have any grenadine so I used an all natural food colouring (made from beets) That added a nice pink tone to the curd.
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The English Scone recipe can do double duty as a base for strawberry shortcakes, another great addition to any brunch or afternoon tea table. Fresh, ripe strawberries macerated in some sugar and crushed slightly to release some of their ruby red juice, make a perfect filling and topping for the rich, buttery scones. A billowy, dollop of freshly whipped cream completes the ensemble.

strawberry shortcake

 For a savoury addition to your brunch or tea, consider adding an exotic mushroom tart: mushroom tart

 or some Kale, Potato, Feta Phyllo Rolls:kale, potato and feta phyllo rolls

I hope these give you some ideas for treating your mother in style. I know I would love to be pampered like this!

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead!

From-the-Farm-Button-Final1


Comments

    • Thanks David! Scones are my favourite teatime treat and nothing can shake those genes from me!

    • Thank you John! I had to help out the colour a bit but I am happy it turned out ok. It tasted really nice.. Rhubarby!

    • Thank you Kiran! The rhubarb curd was definitely different and really good. Nice way to get that rhubarb flavor in some way other than a pie! Though I love pie….

    • Thanks Denise! I hope your girls spoil their mama on Mother’s Day! Hope you have a good one too.

  10. Rhubarb curd is such a really unique idea. A little sweet and little sour. Happy mums’ day to you a little early and wishing that your family spoils you rotten on this special day or at least just helps with the dishes…LOL. Take care, BAM
    Bam’s Kitchen recently posted..Pantry Fried RiceMy Profile

  13. This is one recipe, Nazneen, that I’ll pass on. Although your scones look fantastic, I just cannot get on the rhubarb bandwagon. I’ve tried it countless times, prepared by well-meaning family members and friends, only to reject it after a mere nibble. I have to say, though, it sure does look good in your photos.
    ChgoJohn recently posted..You Say Frittatas and I Say FrittateMy Profile

    • Now that’s a surprise! I thought you’d be all over rhubarb! But I can see why you might not like it and if you don’t like it, you won’t like the curd…however good it looks! The scones are great with butter and jam though!

    • I don’t know Lail….I am such a control freak 🙂 My hubby will probably end up making breakfast (but I will have to clean up…he makes such a big mess)

    • Thanks Karen! Yes, I was surprised at how much the colour changed, I wasn’t planning on adding the color but had to in the end!

  16. These are lovely, Nazneen. The Atlantic is between me and my mom, so we’ll only be able to share recipes, not tasty treats, but I might make these anyways, especially since my Englishman loves scones 🙂

    • Thanks Francesca! Thank you for stopping by! I hope your mom has a great Mother’s Day.

  17. For all Daddy-s out there no more excuses but to make one of these delights by Nazneen. All of them look amazing. And I am a lover of fruit curds. My refrigerator is always stocked up with them…I make them almost every week (raspberry, lemon, orange, passion fruit etc) and then use them up in tarts, cookies, cakes or mousse. I have not tried rhubarb and I am making it tomorrow. Thank you for the inspiration.
    Sugar et al recently posted..A Place called Home! Passion Fruit Mouse with Strawberry Meringue Crumble.My Profile

    • Thanks Sonali! All your curds sound wonderful!! I really want to try the passion fruit one! I hope you like the rhubarb one.

  18. What a wonderful idea – rhubarb curd!! I’ve done passionfruit curd this year for the first time and it was fabulous – a bit runny, but delicious on fruit tarts and fresh fruit with ice-cream. I’m now going to look for rhubarb to make this as well! Re the scones – I like the 3-1-1 scones and they never fail. 3 parts sugar, 1 part lemonade, 1 part cream and a pinch of salt. They come out perfect every time!
    Thanks so much for your wonderful blog – I love the food that you show us!

    • Thank you Lorelle for reading and commenting! It’s for you that we do all this…we love our readers!

    • Thanks GG! Believe me, my children won’t either! The curd is great to have in the fridge for that special flavour that only rhubarb imparts. I plan to have a great Mother’s Day!!

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