Strawberry,
buckwheat and
keir scones96 GOURMET TRAVELLER
200 gm (1⅓ cups) plain flour,
plus extra for dusting
100 gm (⅔ cup) buckwheat
flour
3½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
20 gm brown sugar
10 gm freeze-dried
strawberries (see note)
140 ml (½ cup) milk kefir
(see note)
180 ml pouring cream
Pure icing sugar, for dusting
STRAWBERRY JAM
375 gm strawberries, hulled,
quartered
185 gm caster sugar
½ small lemon
KEFIR CREAM
80 ml milk kefir (see note)
200 ml thickened cream
20 gm pure icing sugar, siftedStrawberry,
buckwheat and
keir scones
MAKES 8 // PREP TIME 25 MINS //
COOK 35 MINS (PLUS
MACERATING, CHILLING)“Last year, I discovered
the best scone recipe after
volunteering to bake some at a
fundraiser,” says Lee. “Turns
out the secret is to make it
for others, in the company of
friends and serve with lots
of laughter. And never skimp
on the jam and cream.”1 For strawberry jam, place
strawberries and sugar in
a saucepan. Squeeze lemon
juice into pan, add squeezed
lemon half and stand to
macerate (30 minutes). Place
saucepan over medium-high
heat and bring to the boil,
stirring continuously, then
reduce heat to medium and
simmer, stirring often and
skimming scum from surface,
until reduced to jam consistency
(20-25 minutes; see cook’s
notes, p168). Remove lemon
half and set jam aside to cool
to room temperature, then
refrigerate until ready to serve.
2 Preheat oven to 220°C and
dust an oven tray with flour.
Whisk dry ingredients and
freeze-dried strawberries ina bowl to combine. Add kefir
and cream and fold to form
a dough. Pat into a 2cm-thick
rectangle, transfer to tray, cover
and chill for 30 minutes to allow
dough to stabilise. Cut out
rounds with a floured 6cm round
cutter. Return scones to tray,
leaving 1cm between each, and
bake until golden (10-14 minutes).
3 Meanwhile, for kefir cream,
place ingredients in an electric
mixer and whisk to soft peaks.
Serve with warm scones and
jam. Scones are best eaten the
same day.
Note Freeze-dried strawberries
are available from select
supermarkets, delicatessens
or fresh-as.com. Milk kefir is
available from health-food shops
and select supermarkets.80 gm black sesame seeds,
plus extra (about 70gm)
to coat
Small pinch of white
sesame seeds
120 gm unsalted butter
100 gm brown sugar
60 gm caster sugar
1 egg
180 gm black sesame paste
or black tahini (see note)
170 gm plain flour
2½ tsp ground wattleseed
(optional; see note)
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda1 Dry-roast black sesame seeds
in a frying pan over medium
heat, tossing, until fragrant
(3-4 minutes; see cook’s notes
p168). Cool, then grind in a spice
grinder until finely ground, but
not clumping together.
2 Melt butter in a small
saucepan over medium-high
heat until foaming and nut
brown (4-5 minutes). Strain
through a very fine metal sieve
(discard solids) into a bowl.Whisk in sugars to combine,
then whisk in egg and then the
black sesame paste. Fold in
flour, wattleseed, bicarbonate of
soda, ground black sesame and
½ tsp sea salt flakes. Cover and
refrigerate for 3 hours to rest.
3 Preheat oven to 175°C. Line
2 large oven trays with baking
paper and place white and
extra black sesame seeds in
a bowl. Roll dough into 18 balls
(2 tbsp each), then flatten each
ball slightly and coat in sesame
seeds. Place on prepared trays,
leaving about 4cm between
each. Bake, one tray at a time,
until cookies start to feel slightly
firm at the edges (16-18 minutes).
Cool to room temperature on
trays. Cookies will keep for a
week in an airtight container.
Note Black sesame paste
is available from select
health-food stores. Ground
wattleseed is available from
The Essential Ingredient,
Herbie’s Spices and
outbackpride.com.au.Black sesame, brown butter
and wattleseed cookies
MAKES 18 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS CHILLING)“Black sesame adds a dramatic look to these cookies, with brown
butter and wattleseed bringing a further nutty note,” says Lee.
“If you can’t find wattleseed, just leave it out.” Pictured p93.