Cut your unsalted butter into small half-inch cubes and put them back in the refrigerator or freezer until the very last second. Keeping the fat as cold as possible is a top-notch professional move.
Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the fresh lemon zest and rub it into the sugar with your fingertips until the mixture is fragrant.
Add the cold butter to the flour and use a pastry cutter or two forks to blend it in until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter left. If you over-blend the mixture into a fine powder, your scones will be heavy and dense instead of light and airy.
Whisk the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla together in a small jug. Pour this into the dry ingredients and stir gently until a shaggy dough forms. Be careful not to over-work the flour at this stage.
Gently fold the chopped strawberries into the shaggy dough with a spatula. Try to keep the berries intact to prevent the juices from bleeding into the batter.
Pat the dough into an eight-inch circle on a floured surface and cut it into eight even wedges. Brush the tops with a little extra heavy cream and bake at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown. Once they have cooled on a wire rack, drizzle with the lemon glaze for a professional finish that adds a sweet and tangy pop to every bite.
