When we were young we used to go camping at an elevation of 1,550 meters (5,090 ft) in Faqra, Lebanon. Two things I still remember from that splendid location; playing around the ruins of the Great Temple of Faqra, where the earliest civilizations worshiped their God. And a bountiful Mulberry tree that got me in trouble with mom every time I lay my hands on (and return home with purple fingers and stained clothes). I was nut for those sweet little berries and it was well worth every garment my mom ditched;-)

As messy as it may get, I still impatiently wait for my share of mulberries that my mom-in-law sends us seasonally. Mulberries have high levels of protein and iron and help loosing weight by blocking sugar. We all don’t mind that last point, no! The second batch I received was almost overripe so I found a good use of them; squeezed some to make syrup “sharab toot” and preserved the rest as jam.

While the mulberries were boiling to make jam, I thought to myself having this under my belt now, it sure tastes better with rich, flaky, soft scones. Sitôt dit sitôt fait, and the scones were baking in the oven.

… later when mulberry jam was served with scones, I should probably had someone hiding the plate from me because it was kind of hard to stop eating!

And this how I make it:

Mulberry Jam

Ingredients

• 1kg fresh ripe mulberries
• 750g sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

1. Pull all the stems of the fruits and put them into a large saucepan.
2. Heat it over medium heat and crush the berries to squish out the juice.
3. Bring it to a boil then add the sugar and lemon juice.
4. Reduce the heat and stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves.
5. Bring it back up to the boil for a few minutes and then bottle and seal the jam.

Scones Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients

• 3 cups / 350g self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• ¾ cup / 85g butter, diced
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg beaten
• ¾ cup / 175 ml milk
• 50g sultanas
• Self-raising flour for dusting

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Mix the self-raising flour, sugar and the butter into a large bowl; rub in butter using your fingers until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Whisk together the egg, the milk and the vanilla; reserve 2 teaspoons for glazing.
3. Add the sultanas and the egg mixture to the flour kneading gently to a dough.
4. Press dough out on a floured surface to 2cm thickness and cut out the scones out with a round 6cm cutter.
5.  Glaze with the beaten egg and place the scones 2 cm apart on a baking tray into the oven for 10-12mn.
6. Let it cool on a wire rack while covered with a clean tea towel for a soft scone result.

These are best served slightly warm and homemade mulberry jam.